When George Gershwin wrote “summertime and the livin’ is easy”, I think it’s safe to say he was never a pro-life activist and never worked on a political campaign. In spite of the classic song lyrics, the characters in Porgy and Bess were living through hard times, more difficult than any of us can imagine. Yet, the beauty of this song transcends race, generation, and time, to evoke a gentle, easy time full of hope.
We do not live in gentle, easy times. That does not mean that we do not have hope.
Our hope does not come through our circumstances, or even through who is elected president. For me, hope comes from an inexhaustible source, Jesus Christ – his life, death, and resurrection. His sacrifice for you and me, if we accept the terms of his offer, gives hope for the present and future greater than anything the world has to offer. It is my prayer that if you do not have this hope, you will seek it fervently.
We have hope in the truth — the truth of the humanity of an unborn child. History is filled with examples of the continuing struggle to secure and maintain basic human rights. The right to life for all humans from fertilization to natural death is the human rights struggle of our generation.
We have hope in progress. The culmination of years of hard work has resulted in the election of pro-life governors, legislative majorities across the country, and leaders in the U.S. Congress who are taking action to protect human life at every stage. Record numbers of pro-life bills are becoming law and, best of all, abortion rates have plummeted to record lows.
The swirl of national politics, international chaos, and social unrest can diminish our hope and overwhelm our ability to imagine how we can change anything. We can’t afford to let that happen. This summer, teach your children and grandchildren, share with your neighbors, and engage with your community. Show them hope and give the pro-life movement hands and feet. After the summer comes the fall, and a very important election.
The fall election is essential and historic both nationally and locally. This election comes at a time when we have tremendous momentum in the protection of unborn children and we have a responsibility to keep it going until abortion is eradicated from our shores
[ORTL PAC has a need for pro-lifers who are interested in paid campaign work. There are opportunities this summer and fall for people who are motivated to get out the vote for pro-life candidates. Email our deputy PAC director, David, at david@ortl.org.]
