I heard a knock at my front door. I admit I usually do not answer if it is a solicitor, but when I looked through the glass, I could see a well-poised young woman standing on my porch. My guess is she was in her mid-twenties, smartly dressed and checking her iPad.
The young lady smiled and greeted me when I opened the door. I was impressed—she was polite and professional. I said hello and smiled. She noted she was from Planned Parenthood and was getting the word out about the organization and women’s reproductive rights, including abortion. She asked me if I was familiar with the group.
I smiled and told her I was and asked her if she could tell me a bit about the organization. She began to rattle off the familiar sound bites. I listened for a bit—but then stopped her when she hit the topic of abortion, asking, “Why would a woman need an abortion?” I intentionally placed emphasis on the word, need. She looked at me, a bit puzzled. After a few seconds, she continued with the familiar sound bites on how abortion was for women who were raped or in medical cases.
I smiled and repeated my question. I then asked if she could offer statistics on how many abortions were performed for cases of rape and give examples of medical needs for abortion.
She looked at me, not able to answer my question. After a few seconds of silence, she looked at me and said, “I can tell you are against abortion.”
I politely responded, “That is not why I am asking you the questions. I want to know what you know about Planned Parenthood. You came to my door to talk to me about women’s reproductive health issues and the organization. If you are going door-to-door to talk about Planned Parenthood and its services, your fervor and conviction should lead to you being able to answer my questions.”
She started to fumble with her iPad and turned to leave.
“Don’t leave,” I said. “I genuinely want to know what you know and believe. Since you cannot answer my questions, let me ask another. Do you know who founded Planned Parenthood?”
I received a deer in the headlights look as she shook her head ‘no.’ I continued, “Margaret Sanger was the founder of Planned Parenthood. She wrote on the topic of eugenics. Her writings on selective reproduction majorly influenced the leader of a European nation of her day. Do you know who that was? He was quite an admirer.”
At this point, she looked down, shook her head, and started to walk off the porch.
My final words as she left were, “If you want people to listen to what you have to say, you need to have a depth of knowledge and conviction. By the way, the European leader’s name was Adolf Hitler.”
She paused, looked back at me, and then continued down the sidewalk to the house next door.
A sense of sadness overwhelmed me. I was reminded of the Carmelite nun, St. Edith Stein, whose life was a constant search for Truth. She spoke openly of the role of women in the world, noting, “The nation does not simply need what we have. It needs what we are.” Edith Stein was martyred at Auschwitz for her Jewish roots. Her tenacity in search of indisputable Truth is an example for us today, who often settle for emotionally driven sound bites in lieu of the much deeper reality that is often difficult to accept but necessary for our well-being and happiness.
We need to spend time considering what we are—perhaps even more important as Christians—whose we are. Are we puppets repeating sound bites gleaned from social media fueled by corporate or political greed? Or do we take the deep dive in search of absolute Truth that not only defines us, but guides our steps and trajectory?
In the end, Truth
does matter if we are to be a light and hope for others. We are all responsible
for living with a conviction that proclaims the Truth, which ultimately leads
to God. Our eternity depends on it.
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