Posted by
Raymond Auld on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 9:50:34 PM
June 30, 2009
An Open Letter to President Barack Obama
Dear President Obama, I respectfully ask you to reconsider your position regarding our nations policy on abortion and its impact on all human interactions. You have great gifts of communication and leadership and an opportunity to use those gifts in the spirit of the man you so admire, Abraham Lincoln, who grew in his understanding that all lives are sacred. Just as it was then, so it is now, that understanding of the sanctity of life is critical to the very survival of our nation. It has been shown throughout history that deviation from that premise results in the self destruction of a society which is so inclined. Cultivating a culture of life is one of the most important tasks facing our nation today. That task will be affected for years to come by your leadership and the Supreme Court appointments you will likely continue to be called upon to make. It is my hope and prayer that you and other leaders of our country realize the impact of your decisions upon our Country and all of Humanity.
1) “We pray for healers
And makers of peace
And God does lovingly send them
Suitably named – acting elite
We quickly agree to end them”
May we plant seeds of peace in our world by respecting all life and help bring about a better understanding of the sanctity of life and how it is foundational and essential for a good and just society to exist. To not do so opens the door for repeating some of the terrible human behaviors of the past. We have repeatedly pledged to not let such behavior happen again and yet we do that very thing in various forms that we don’t seem to recognize. The seeds of international wars, tyrannical abuse, and violence in the streets, brother against brother, are planted when the lives of the unborn are not protected.
Inflicting violence and abuse upon others has increased throughout our world. Through your leadership, and public dialogue, I believe we can make it personally and socially unacceptable to view and describe others in any less than fully human and respectful terms. To do any less sows the seeds for inhuman behavior to continue to occur such as ending the lives of unborn children, neighborhood gang wars, despotic abuse of citizenry, institutional genocide that has been shown to target poor neighborhoods, and the infliction of other forms of violence upon fellow human beings. We cannot and must not use language that takes away or shields the human reality of the human beings to whom we refer. When we see our own humanity reflected in others, understanding and compassion are the outcome in our behaviors. These are the seeds for peace and love among all people wherever and whoever they may be.
(2) “for when we dehumanize any group we allow ourselves the power to treat them in
less-than-human ways. Historically, these assumptions have been the cornerstone
of the greatest atrocities known to humankind”.
Words greatly matter! Our hearts and minds are changed when we acknowledge each other’s humanity in our thoughts and social discourse. God humbled himself by sharing in our humanity. What we do to our brothers and sisters here on earth, we do to Him. By continually striving to bring each other to that understanding we can and will improve present conditions. We must respect all life. We must change our hearts!
May the peace and love of the Lord be with you always!
Raymond Auld
(1) Rachel, by R. Donald, 2000
(2) Souls Beneath and Beyond Autism, by Sharon Rosenbloom & Thomas Balsamo, 2003