Hope for the Helpless

In keeping with my pledge to dedicate some posts to more optimistic topics, it would seem appropriate to comment on the recent "miracle" in Turkey. This last Sunday, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake shattered Eastern Turkey, destroying a some 2,000 buildings and causing at least 534 people as of now. Yet amidst this terrible disaster comes a story of hope that perhaps rescue efforts are paying off and saving lives (from the Telegraph):

The family made international headlines as three generations - baby, mother and grandmother - were pulled from under the rubble of a collapsed apartment block in Ercis, 48 hours after the earthquake hit eastern Turkey.

The image of the new-born baby in the arms of a rescuer became beacon of hope for the thousands of families affected by the quake.

This relatively surprising development obviously should push the rescuers to renew their efforts and hopefully save more lives. Yet another less obvious premise underlies the story and the attention that has been given to this wonderful event: the fact that culture still values life. The fact that a new-born's survival can become a "beacon of hope for...thousands" clearly indicates that life, especially the life of the helpless, remains something that people, even those in dire need, cherish dearly.

So what can we take from this? First, the culture of death is NOT representative of the wishes of the world as a whole. Perhaps it dominates our media and the popular culture images we are bombarded with, but all it takes a bit of spotlight, a countering "image" to wake up the good that does exist within humanity. This stresses the importance of building positive media power that can successfully impact culture for Christ and render the value of life, especially unborn life, visible. There is a reason Planned Parenthood and their cohorts fear the ultrasound. They understand all too well the power of knowledge to awaken concern for life, and they will do everything they can to stop the spread of pro-life messages in the mainstream media. But the relentless advance of technology means all their efforts to deny this cause cannot hold back what remains embedded within each human heart.

We can and we will prevail, so long as every sidewalk before every abortion mill becomes an "occupation" of hope for those condemned within. So long as every action we take both among our friends and in front of the ballot box gives testimony to the fact that we have not lost sight of dignity of the human person. This, I am confident, is the future we are moving towards. It is only a matter of time, and may we pray this time is mercifully short. Human life is in the balance.