Reflections on a Great Convention.(Brief Article)(Editorial)

It's not often that everyday experience so tidily reinforces the thrust of something one is the process of writing. Here I am, a third of the way through an editorial the point of which is how NRLC's convention reinforced for me the importance of reaching out to new allies, and I'm talking with one of the brightest intellectuals in the academic firmament.

He's articulate, thoughtful, and blessed with a dry wit. And he's unabashedly pro-life! Over the years I had read some of his writings outside the abortion context but it was only in the last couple of months that I was informed he was not a rival in the abortion battle but a companion. A mutual friend suggested we talk after my new acquaintance (overly) praised some of my work.

On reflection, the 30th annual NRLC convention held in Pittsburgh reminded me how, in one sense, our battle plan never changes. We must (a) energize those already identified as friends to the unborn; (b) "fish where the fishes are" - - go trolling for new supporters in waters where they are likely to congregate; and (c) keep an eye out for an occasional pro-lifer in forums where you wouldn't necessarily expect droves of pro-lifers to be assembling because, well, you've got to start somewhere!

Any number of workshops and general sessions "preached to the choir," inveighing them, in turn, to also preach to the choir back home. People who travel hundreds, even thousands of miles (and who typically pay for the trip out of their own pocket) to attend a convention are hard-core by any definition.

They were reminded that they have been chosen by the Author of Life to work tirelessly on behalf of His children. And even as speakers encouraged them to personally press on, the audience was also asked to go back to their local chapters and encourage like-minded souls to do...likewise.

But what really resonates as I look back on June 27-29 is the enormous unrealized potential that exists out there if only we have the courage to be creative and the willingness to meld the best of the old with new and innovative ways. It may sound odd to use the word courage when all that is demanded is, for example, to talk to your pastor whom you already know to be in your corner. But sometimes familiarity breeds temerity.

The workshops on working with the Hispanic and African-American communities were brimming with urgency. These are naturally pro-life communities. As Rai Rojas, NRLC's director of Hispanic outreach, put it, Hispanics don't like abortion.