Taking a Stand by Others

(Please note that this post is about taking a stand against abortion. I am only providing an example of a group taking a stand. I do not want to start any ethical discussions.)

Many groups are formed just for the purpose of taking a stand. Take, for instance, PETA. PETA just stands up for the ethical treatment of animals as the name suggests. Other groups will take a stand for something they believe in, even if people do not expect anything. This happened about a year ago in my church.

I go to St. Mary's, a Catholic church. As a fundamental Catholic teaching, we believe that abortion is wrong. Anyway, last year, Congress was debating on some Pro-Choice legislation. Honestly, I do not remember exactly what it was, but I am pretty sure it was mainly about whether or not health care programs should cover abortion costs. My church, and many other Catholic churches in our diocese, decided to take a stand. Leaders in my church such as council members, our deacon, and our priest urged us to write letters to our representatives in Congress. They said that if we did so, they would mail all of the letters to Congress. After about two weeks, almost every family had a letter to send in. I was very proud of our congregation when the stamps went on the envelopes and the letters went on their way.

Our letters probably did not do much. I do not really know the outcome of that particular debate. However, I still felt accomplished. At least our view was made known. We stood up for what we believed in. Sometimes, taking a stand does not do much good. We keep taking a stand simply because we are waiting for that chance that it will make a difference for someone.