Pete Vere
The Interim
My belongings are safely tucked into boxes that surround me. In a few days, I will pick up the U-Haul, load it up with the boxes and depart for the Great White North. I never thought I would miss the United States, but these past few years have seen me living the American dream as a social and religious commentator. This experience definitely changed my view of both America and Americans.
Four years’ ago, my wife and I left Ottawa for Scranton, Pa. Admittedly, we felt somewhat intimidated by our future prospects. The envelope next to my passport contained a freshly minted degree from Saint Paul University. Sonya and I were still adjusting to our new life as a married couple, and our first child rested peacefully in my wife’s womb. Together, Sonya and I contemplated our journey to another country where we knew neither friends nor family.
In retrospect, it scared us to let go of the security we felt as Canadians. Both of us grew up in a small northern Ontario community with gun control, socialized healthcare and other government institutions that distinguished Canada from America’s rugged individualism. And with Bill Clinton occupying the White House, America’s cultural outlook was just as bleak as Canada’s social policy under Jean Chretien.
Yet God provided. He provided Americans with a new president – one much more sympathetic to pro-life concerns. On a smaller scale, God provided me with wonderful new friends and co-workers, helping ease my transition into the profession of canon law while boosting my confidence as a Catholic journalist.
More important, God provided Sonya with some new friends from Pennsylvania’s right-to-life movement. These friends eased her transition into motherhood. Pennsylvania boasts the most energetic pro-life activists in the United States, so we were not without maternal assistance when our daughter arrived about a week before either of her grandmothers.
Jasmine’s birth taught us a valuable lesson about the American people. Despite the negative stereotype within the Canadian media, Americans really aren’t that scary. Americans are passionate about their country and their flag, but one quickly discovers a spirit of generosity fuelling their patriotism. Our neighbours to the south assume that America is the best country in the world; they also assume that God has called America to share its prosperity with American and non-American alike. Sharing one’s many blessings is simply the right thing to do.
American pro-lifers bring a similar passion, generosity and moral certitude to the right-to-life movement. By sheer coincidence, the apartment we rented in Pennsylvania stood just a couple houses down from where Bob Casey retired.
Casey was a legendary pro-life Democrat and the retired governor of Pennsylvania. He always placed principle before politics or party affiliation. While still living in the governor’s mansion, he stood up to Bill Clinton in defence of the child in the womb. It cost him major support within what has unfortunately been dubbed the Abortion Party. Nevertheless, it was the right thing to do.
I still recall when Sonya and I brought Jasmine home from the maternity ward. Governor Casey greeted us on the street, congratulated us on becoming new parents and asked to hold Jasmine for a few moments. Although I don’t usually trust politicians with babies, how could one refuse this old warhorse of the right-to-life movement? His eyes marvelled with the mystery of human life.
Sonya and I felt safe with our daughter in the retired governor’s arms. As a politician, Casey consistently showed great passion in standing by his pro-life convictions. He did not kiss babies during the campaign and kill them when elected to office. Rather, he provided generous leadership in making the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hospitable to all. American or non-American, born or unborn – the governor recognized the intrinsic dignity of every human life. He welcomed life with open arms. Governor Casey represented the true nobility of the American passion.
This passion is particularly noticeable when exerted in defence of civil liberty. Americans will go to any length to defend the First Amendment, which covers both freedom of religion and freedom of speech. This struck home during the recent debate over Bill C-250. Whereas the mainstream Canadian media successfully framed the debate in terms of anti-hate legislation, the conservative American media pulled no punches. The latter branded this dreadful piece of legislation as the “Ban the Bible Bill.”
Bill C-250 astounded many Americans. “How could any democracy, let alone a Western one, so flagrantly silence freedom of religion and freedom of expression?” I often heard. After living the past four years under the First Amendment, I wondered the same thing. Yet, keeping in mind the fate of Scott Brockie, Hugh Owens and other victims of Canada’s various human rights tribunals, I avoided answering the question in any Canadian publication.
Instead, several American publications graciously posted my reaction to Bill C-250 on their websites, where Canadian readers could also access it. Granted, this legislation only affected the American pro-life movement indirectly, and these publications were not likely to pick up any new subscribers from Canada. Yet, this was the last thing on their mind. The civil liberties of Canadians were now under attack by the culture of death. Our American brothers and sisters would sacrifice their own time, money and resources to stand with us in defending the culture of life. It was simply the right thing to do.
In the end, I look forward to returning to Canada. Several years have passed since I last engaged the culture war in the land of my birth.I now appreciate the passion our American brothers and sisters bring to the culture war, the hospitality and generosity they share within the international pro-life community, and the bold tenacity with which they assert religious freedom and freedom of expression in defence of the unborn. God bless the American right-to-life movement.
