Looking at life

Reflections on why we march

Donald DeMarco: 

The word “life” has several shades of meaning. In this article I call attention to just two of its meanings. The first is the life that is the focus of the various marches for life. It refers to the sacredness of life. All human life, including the life of the unborn, is invested with an indelible value that safeguards it against and from undue exploitation. This is a most important understanding of life insofar as it recognizes the dignity of life and demands that all examples of human life be treated with justice. Kudos to all who march for life in this sense. Their message is needed in a world where unborn life, in particular, is grossly undervalued and violently mistreated.

The second meaning of life I want to present is, so to speak, more down to earth. It is the life we are living. It is not an ideal in any sense but refers simply to the particular kind of life that people are living as they move from day to day. How well does this second meaning of life relate to the first meaning?

I am old enough to remember when hard core pornography, marijuana, abortion, and euthanasia were not only illegal, but criminal. Today, especially in Canada, they are all flourishing. The reason they were proscribed was because they were considered bad for people. Pornography was injurious to the mind as well as to the family and society in general. Maturity requires the ability to postpone gratification. Pornography is a form of immediate gratification and self-indulgence that is incompatible with the process of becoming a mature person. Science had supplied enough convincing evidence that marijuana, taken as a recreational drug, is harmful in a variety of ways. Abortion was understood as the killing of an innocent human being. Euthanasia, putting to death people who are sick rather than offer them palliative care, was unthinkable. Today the rate of euthanasia continues to escalate.

As these forms of hedonistic self-indulgence become part of the social landscape, certain correlative virtues are suppressed, such as modesty, chastity, fortitude, generosity, personal responsibility, and the extended care that is expected of the medical profession. The net effect must be highly deleterious to the way many people are living. Life in the 21st century is very different from life in the middle of the previous century. The situation is troubling. Many are deeply concerned. And that is why marches continue. 

We ask the question: what kind of lives are people living today in North American society? The family is in trouble, suicide rates are rising, and young people question the very meaning of life. The age of anxiety has sharpened its focus. “How did we get here” people ask. The simple answer is by legalizing a number of acts that were formerly regarded as criminal. Liberalism has been very effective in sweeping away the bulwarks against vice.

The point I want to make here is that the way many people are living in today’s culture has a significant impact on how they view the dignity of life. Surely the various marches for life would be more effective if more people were living lives that were receptive of their messages. Unavoidably, the marchers speak to people who are living their lives in such a way that they are deaf to the pro-life message. Not everyone is on the same page.

What can be done? Should there be other marches: for virtue, mental health, and palliative care? In the past, marches for civil rights were effective in convincing people of the gross injustice of racial discrimination. We look to education but find the predominance and influence of highly dubious ideologues. Churches are being vandalized and their leaders are ineffective. Politicians are busy placating the crowd.

There is hope, however, in those who live in a way that is receptive of the value of life. They must do more to spread the word, not only through the word, but by the way they live. In the final analysis, virtue must be more attractive than vice and a happy family should serve as a beacon of encouragement. We need to take to heart and put into practice the message that The Interim brings. Although it cannot march, it surely can inspire.

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