"I've Learned...".(social justice)(Brief Article)

Over the weekend an old and dear friend sent me a sheaf of quotes attributed to CBS newsman and curmudgeon Andy Rooney. They are in the form of "I've learned...."

One I found particularly fetching: "I've learned... it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular." And, wouldn't you know it, not 12 hours later I myself experience one of those small things that make life so spectacular.

It's the custom in my church that after a child is baptized, the pastor lifts the little one up high, sort of an introduction to the congregation of the one whom, corporately, we have just pledged to help rear in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It's a nice touch.

Well, having just completed the ceremony, our pastor (who is miked so we can hear what is said) elevated this very young child toward the heavens. Not content to be an idle spectator, as the young man returned to earth, he added (with impeccable timing) his own two cents worth: a gigantic burp. The congregation cracked up.

Small things were on display in this ceremony of commitment symbolic of great truths: That we are one human family in the fight for dignity and justice; that we assume obligations when we become parents; that little ones "communicate" with us in their own special ways.

Not everyone shares what we consider to be imperishable truths even about children whom they can see with their own two eyes! It is your special gift that you are able to make the logical extension: that all these truths apply every bit as much to the children growing in their mother's wombs.

Andy Rooney is credited with another keen insight which pro-lifers can appreciate: "I've learned... that to ignore the facts does not change the facts." Clearly there are many what ought to be indisputable facts in this issue of NRL News which, alas, are denied by some people, minimized by other people, and ignored by most.