Commentary: National Equality March Underscores a Tug of War in 'Civil Rights'

Are 'Civil Rights' conferred by civil government simply because there are those who desire them or are they based upon a higher law?

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - One of the prominent groups at the National Equality March was socialistworkers.org., the online expression of the "Socialist Worker" newspaper, founded in 1977 by the International Socialist Organization.

In recent years they have become strong proponents of what are being called "gay,lesbian and transgender rights" and have taken a special interest in what they are calling "the new LGBT activism." They write:

"The new LGBT activism recalls the central lesson of U.S. history--that social progress only comes through struggle. Ironically, during his presidential campaign, Barack Obama himself repeatedly invoked the history of U.S. social movements as he asked for support. At one debate with his Democratic rivals, Obama declined to claim that Martin Luther King would have supported him, and said that King 'would call on the American people to hold us accountable.'

"Fortunately, thousands of young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are doing just that--mobilizing to hold Obama accountable for his promises of change. It's an example that should be followed everywhere."

In other words, LGBT activists are taking their cues from the civil rights movements of the 1960's as well as other related events in history.This claim was reinforced at the march by NAACP Chairman Julian Bond who affirmed the comparison.

The claim for LGBT activism as a legacy of the civil rights movement looms in a stark contrast to the work going on to secure the foundational Human Right to Life and defend marriage as between a man and a woman - and the family founded upon it as the first cell of - and model for - a truly human and just society.

In recent years, Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, confirmed the pro-life stand of her uncle and that the cause of civil rights continues on behalf of the unborn and families. In a story by LifeNews.com, King stated, "He once said, 'The Negro cannot win as long as he is willing to sacrifice the lives of his children for comfort and safety.' She said her uncle would understand that to include the destruction of unborn children.

"I know in my heart that if Uncle Martin were alive today, he would join with me in the greatest civil rights struggle of this generation - the recognition of the unborn child's basic right to life." A quote from Dr. Martin Luther King confirms this claimm of his niece and the perspective it reveals,"A just law squares with the moral law of the law of God. An unjust law . . . is out of harmony with the moral law."

In an open letter to Prolife Leaders, Randall Terry, long-time prolife activist and founder of Operation Rescue calls for a return to public demonstrations of resolve on behalf of the unborn, the elderly and the infirm.

"Intense social activism - such as was displayed by Susan B. Anthony and the suffragettes, Dr. King and the civil rights activists, Mary Jones and the child-labor reformers, William Lloyd Garrison and the abolitionists - the stuff that victory is made of - is dying in the pro-life movement. Without it, victory is impossible.

In fact, many new pro-life workers and leaders have little or no vision to actually end legalized child-killing in our lifetime, or perhaps ever. They have embraced defeat and altered their rhetoric and plans to match their vision.

First generation pro-life leaders are retiring and dying, and the next generation of pro-life advocates is largely made up of culture war pacifists, with no will to fight and win. They have confused education, post abortive work, CPCs, 'dialogue,' etc, for open war."

While these words may bring about a recoiling response in some of us, there is no doubt that the civil rights movement would have not amounted to anything without activism. People went to the streets as the visible body of ascent concerning race. The message was simple - "red and yellow, black and white; they are precious in his sight." By their sheer numbers, however, these words were heard around the world.

Several years ago I joined with other clergy in a walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL. We were not making a statement of our own but rather remembering the sacrifice necessary by the brave men and women who were beaten and even killed just for their color.

I can still recall the feeling I had with every step, thinking of those who had made that walk more than three decades before, walking toward barricades and billy club wielding police on the other side. Not only was their cause just, it was morally right.

In the current struggle for the soul of our society, civilization is in the balance with contending forces taking their place on one side of the rope or the other.

For those who don't see the dichotomy, the cause of LGBT activists can produce a domino effect of cultural aberrations affecting our respect for human dignity, life, family, freedom, and the basis of our real solidarity as children of God. There is a lot at stake and, as socialworker.org points out; a new generation of fiercely committed followers has entered the fray.

Pro-life leaders from across the country are calling for people to get more involved. Each one may have a different approach but all are responding to the moral call to stand for truth. Not everyone does it the same way. Some are more dramatic, others are more diplomatic. Some are more confrontive, others are more comforting.

The key is we all need to be doing something, or actually several "some-things."

We need to pray like we've never prayed before regarding the issues facing our country, especially in the areas of life, family, freedom, and humanity.

We need to be more vocal about about the liberating truths taught by our Church and found in the Gospel. As St. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16 - "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." We must also insist upon the foundational truths derived from the Natural Law which is knowable by all through reason and binding upon all. Christian teaching expounds upon this Natural Law.

We need to be more visible in the various prolife activities taking place all the time. The list is endless: March for Life, Life Chains, 40 Days for Life, Vigils at abortion clinics, pro-life demonstrations, lobbying at the local, state, and national level... the list is endless.

So what about the foundational cause, the first right, the Right to Life? What about marriage as between a man and a woman, the very foundation of family and the first society? What about keeping God as the one in whom we trust? These and other truths will be lost without our dedicated and focused activity.

How will it all come out in this tug of war?

Those on the other side of the rope are serious about their commitment. It all depends on how we come to understand the real extent and reach of the "culture of death" with which we contend and how dedicated we are to building a new culture of life and laying out our claim in the public square.

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Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online. He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

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