Alexandra Jezierski
Everywhere we turn, hundreds upon hundreds of social justice issues clamour for our attention. The activists behind each compete relentlessly for the support of young people. Where there is the vigour and fiery determination of the young generation, the injustices against life will undoubtedly be abolished. How can the pro-life movement rally youth to view life issues as the most deserving and worthy of their attention? We must permeate our world with the message that the right to life is a preliminary value that must be protected before any other rights can be exercised.
To have an effective approach towards youth, we must ask: what is important to our generation? What values do we hold dear? Young people tend to be idealistic, dreaming of a world free of discrimination and injustice. We are seekers of the truth, with an innate yearning for honesty, accuracy, and facts. We must educate our peers in an engaging manner about the scientific facts regarding the development of a child in the womb, as well as the qualifications for personhood that every human being possesses from the moment of conception to natural death. Images and ultrasonography in particular are powerful ways of visually exposing the lies of the culture of death.
We must also teach youth the facts about abortion, contraception, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, and similar issues, so that they can realize that all of these are the most abominable crimes against humanity, because they end the life of a vulnerable human being. Youth are naturally sensitive to discrimination, and therefore, issues such as sex-selective or racially targeted abortions, and the extermination of the disabled through both abortion and euthanasia, should be framed as acts of such a nature.
When we unravel the deception of the culture of death and the irony of their slogans, such as “woman’s right to choose,” and “right to die” and adopt our own terminology to better represent the pro-life movement in popular culture, such as referring to pregnant women as “mothers” and not “mothers-to-be,” we will be one step closer to making our respect for life more obvious to other youth. Explanations of the newest research into fetal pain, the methods of abortions, and the health and emotional risks to the woman, can go a long way in changing a young person’s perspective on abortion. Our approach should include education through eye-opening imagery, facts, and statistics that show that the urgency of life issues surpasses all others.
Another dramatic way of presenting the issue is to ask: “Who is affected?” Abortion and euthanasia affect a young person in a very direct and personal way. It is happening to our own generation, in our own country. It is happening every day, to the people we might have known, might have laughed with, talked with, lived with. We are missing one quarter of our generation: siblings, friends, classmates, acquaintances, perhaps our future spouses whom we will never meet because they have been the victims of an abortion, therefore, victims of our silence and inaction on this issue.
It affects the lives of our loved ones (who may be taken from our lives) through euthanasia. Each of our own lives is in danger, too. In the event of an injury, accident, or old age, we also may be thought not fit for living. Whereas with abortion, we live with the “it could have been me” mentality, with the threat of euthanasia we constantly live with the fear that “it might be me.”
To convince our friends of their pivotal role in ending these abuses, we must first reach out to them with the pro-life message and then empower them so that they can in turn reach out to their peers. Through past experience, I have discovered that the best way to create peer networking on this issue is through the example of youth who are already involved. Seeing the passion and dedication of other young people is what inspired me to action; when more and more youth become involved, others will be inspired to follow suit. Being visible as vivacious, energetic young pro-life advocates creates a compelling contrast to the stereotype of old white men as anti-abortion activists, and will magnetically draw other teens.
The pro-life movement must concentrate on adjusting our focus to the changing interests of the new generations, leaving our imprint in traditional media, such as cinematography, and music, and social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others. Social media is becoming an extremely powerful tool since young people use it on a daily basis; it is an open door through which we can promote the message of life to youth across the world. To encourage breaking away from the status quo despite the controversy of the issue, we should promote the counter-cultural, pro-life views of celebrities, such as Justin Bieber and Tim Tebow. We also need to give teenagers a sense of purpose by showing them how to use their individual talents and interests for the good of our movement. Music, for example, has been proven to wield a great influence on the mind of the individual. Those gifted with singing or composing abilities should be encouraged to promote the pro-life message in this way. Similarly, those with writing, public speaking, artistic, or leadership abilities can use their talents to impact the culture of life.
Young people have the vigour and passion for life that, if channeled creatively, will be the key to winning the fight against the violation of the most fundamental human right. If we reach out to society and place the dignity of life at the core of its essence and thinking, permeating it inside and out with the pro-life message, young people will inevitably be drawn towards this issue. We will then be responding to the exhortation of Pope John Paul II, “the future is in your hearts and in your hands. God is entrusting to you the task, at once difficult and uplifting, of working with Him in the building of the civilization of love.”
Alexandra Jezierski is home-schooled in Kingsville, Ont. She finished second in the Fr. Ted Colleton Scholarship contest. She organized Letters for Life, which resulted in more than 100,000 letters and postcards being sent to parliamentarians and the Prime Minister.
