Life Reflections™

The Ultimate Cluster & Bully

All of us are familiar with the schoolyard bully. This bully uses physicalness to overwhelm with fear a weaker or smaller person. Instead of "doing" a constructive activity that develops his or her own personal gifts, the bully chooses to accentuate something(s) seen as negative in the targeted person so as to, in essence, build himself or herself up. In other words, building oneself up by "ripping" value from another. Isn't this the same human dynamic as the premeditated destruction of innocent human life that is connected with human embryonic stem cell research?

Morality must be "on the sidelines" for a bully to carry out his or her mission on a smaller/weaker person. Destruction is the modus operandi. A bully—focused only on the mission—is inverted to communion, has set out to negatively effect the targeted person's future, and chooses to be "fixated" on something his or her human target either possesses as God-given or is generated from personal choice. In other words, a dedicated bully chooses limited options for his or her own life while "ripping" value out of others and further limiting their options—the exact opposite of the intrinsic meaning of communion and the related protection and nurturing of the God-given potential of the other person.

Families and organizations that bully have leaders that are bullies. All too often the leadership will promote a cluster and bully paradigm in an attempt to change the behavior of an individual (communion's demand for change is always at least bilateral and often multilateral), when the human dignity of the targeted person needs to be embraced over intra-family or intra-organization competition. A positive focus—on the potential and future of this targeted person—is needed as the intrinsic component of human dignity it is, the truth needs to be embraced persistently, and/or attempts to change history need to stop.

All too often politicians and political organizations cluster and bully by drawing an opponent to communion— under insincere or false pretense—then ultimately refusing to engage in an honest and open discussion or debate. As relates to promoting human embryonic stem cell research in 2005, politicians in support have used people currently suffering from incurable and disabling diseases for their purposes, while holding out false hope for cures. This is also a form of bullying.

While keeping this bully profile in mind, let's consider the most vulnerable of our society, the unborn and those in a permanent vegetative state—in and outside the mother's womb of life. Having "hidden personhood" in common, life as gift is easily manipulated and destroyed in the name of progress and efficiency, the "greater good". For those who carry out their lives strictly from a utilitarian paradigm, there can be no conscious difference between human embryos, an unborn child, or the permanent vegetative state (PVS). They are all seen as very much the same from "globs of tissue" to uselessness to non-persons. Therefore, to these enablers and promoters of the obfuscation of truth, life becomes a convenience to the one "in control". All too frequently, this equals a death sentence to innocent human life. What is the cause for treating life itself simply as "instrument" to be used by man or woman for his or her own purposes?

What images come to mind thinking about the slaughtering of human embryos in the name of the "greater good" (which seems to be severed from the common good in our culture today) or aborting the unborn during early pregnancy in any number of "medical procedures"? What images come to mind thinking about the grisly dismembering of an unborn child partially outside the body of the mother during the partial birth abortion procedure? Taking of a senior citizen's life in the name of mercy? How many teenagers will succumb to teenage bullycide—suicide to escape severe bullying ultimately suggesting that the teen's life is worthless—in the next year alone? How many adult suicides trace back to inhuman abuse from bullying by an individual, organization or so-called family?

Apostle Luke reports Pentecost in The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2, Verses 1-4, concerning the Coming of the Holy Spirit—tongues of fire coming to rest on human beings in communion. Does not Pentecost, in its perfection of divine communion that enters humanity, lead the way for the extinction, by obsolescence, of the bully and the related behavior that is fundamentally anti-communion in nature? Pentecost speaks from the perfect fullness of communion of the Holy Trinity and to the God-given potential of the person—embedded at conception—in its integration with the person's human dignity.

The Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus Christ as He promised, empowered the Apostles to speak in many tongues so those that later gathered in a large crowd—having heard the sound "like a strong driving wind"—would be amazed that Galileans could speak in the numerous tongues of the crowd. Everyone "got the message" in their own tongue. There was no misunderstanding of the message from the Apostles because of the use of a "foreign" language.

Will the United States of America, founded on a belief in God, succumb to a "cluster and bully" paradigm in the name of "the greater good" or will we, in the Pro-Life Movement, be able to speak a language all moral and ethical people—all men and women of goodwill—can hear and understand about the need to protect all innocent human life from the moment of conception to natural death as a vital part of America's common good? An elevated, accelerating, fever pitch for human embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning, and fetal farming (including the purchase and sale of human fetuses) tells us that unless we open the minds and soften the hearts—very soon—of those caught in the "structures of sin" built by the culture of death, the future taking of innocent human life will be unprecedented in human history.

We can not wage this battle alone. Would you give a generous credit card contribution today through our secure site? Your support as a member of Pro-Life Maryland will make a real difference. You'll be empowering our lobbying team, our legislative team, and our educational outreach and evangelization efforts. Click here www.prolifemaryland.org to make your contribution now.

Prayer of the Faithful
Almighty God, we give you thanks for those who are courageously fighting to preserve the rights and lives of the innocent. Lord, we ask you to protect and strengthen our pro- life legislators, and enlighten the hearts and minds of all of our elected officials to the truth about the gift of human life. We also pray for all those who are suffering from debilitating diseases. May we live in communion with them, and serve to heal and alleviate their suffering by promoting effective and ethical treatments that uphold the dignity of the human person. Lord, please help us to work tirelessly to protect innocent human life by softening hearts and helping others to recognize the sacredness of life when it is most vulnerable. Help us always to be like the Good Samaritan in our daily efforts to do your will. All praise and glory to you. Amen

Anthony R. Souza, MTS
President & CEO