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this pretty much says it all…

(H/T: Amy for compiling some links from the 2008 March for Life & Barbara for taking the photo)

This says it all:

Excerpted from Open Book:

Nancy Pelosi is in a very powerful position, a Catholic, and is working in opposition to a fundamental, moral teaching of her faith: the preciousness of each human life from conception. She lives in a country in which unborn human beings are unprotected by the law, in which the culture, at every level, dehumanizes them, and she, who is in a position to do something about this, in word and deed, does nothing to help the cause of bringing greater awareness of the humanity of the unborn, and works against legal protection and is the hero of organizations that are the activist core arrayed against the humanity of the unborn. There is not a speck of ambiguity here.

After I finished reading Wicked last night, it isn’t no surprised why it was turned into a hit musical.

The idea of reading the book after seeing the musical and being entranced by the soundtrack really came from my sister. She started reading the book a while ago, and after a few failed attempts of getting through the first few chapters she finished it and found it fascinating, eagerly awaiting to see the show and see how the story had deviated from the book. I decided last year to pick it up after seeing it for sale at Costco and started reading it while I was in NY for the holidays. I finally finished it last night and I can definitely see why some people–my coworker for instance–didn’t enjoy it after seeing the musical first. The basic premise of the musical can be found in the 400+ pages of the book, with the characters being basically the same, but the story was drastically changed.

The change made to accommodate the Broadway crowd was perfectly understandable. The story of Elphaba–also known as the Wicked Witch of the West–is one full of sadness and tragedy. The small glimpse of the psyche of the Witch we get in L. Frank Baum’s novel and in the Judy Garland movie is very brief, with the focus on Dorothy and her “annoying dog”. Gregory Maguire fills in the background of Elphaba as a girl with a tough childhood; the girl that no one wanted; the social outcast with very strong notions of wrong and right. By the time I finished reading the book, I felt a deep sadness for the green skinned child rejected by society who longed for nothing more than love.

How many people do we know who are social outcasts? How do we feel about those who are marginalized in our society? Do we go out of our way and help those who are less fortunate or do we cross to the other side of the street to avoid having to make contact with them? Do we look at them with pity and a desire to provide some comfort to those who often have no one to care for them?

Sadly, the answer to those questions are often filled with negativity. The majority of us are self-centered and conscious only of how other people perceive us. We live in a “me, Me, ME!” world where we weigh action with reward. What will this get me? What will other people think? We care more for our own ego than we do with the suffering of others.

We need to ask ourselves now, “am I do enough to help the less fortunate?”
Catholic Social teaching demands that it is not enough to simply pray for those in need. We need to take action. Volunteer at your local Loaves and Fishes serving meals to those who are hungry. Help build homes with Habitat for Humanity for those who have no shelter. Speak out for injustice and put an end to the death penalty. Speak out for those who have no voice to protect themselves and help put an end of our culture of death. Donate to charitable organizations such as Caritas International, Catholic Charities, or a relief organization of your choice.

We cannot simply sit back and shut ourselves off from the world. We need to leave our protective shells and take action. Sitting back and doing nothing is no different than doing the inequity ourselves.

Matthew 25: 35-45

[The king said,] ‘for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’

And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’

He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’

I attended a Teen Sexual Abuse Workshop last night and some of the information I received was surprising and revealing.

Statistics

• One out of every three women are sexually assaulted before the age of 18
• One out of every five men are sexually assaulted before the age of 18

Victims

• Sexual Assault is a non-biased crime. It affects people of all ages, genders, and races
• Lower class areas have higher rates of reported sexual assault
• Victims are not chosen based on what they wear or how they look
• Greater than 50% of all sexual assault occurs in a house. The second most likely place is inside a car
• The greatest number of sexual assaults occur between 6pm and 6am. For children, the times are closely correlated to mealtimes

Perpetrators

• 95% of all sexual assault are commited by men
• Perpetrators are non-race or age related. However, the average age of convicted sexual assaulters is 30
• 80-85% of all perpertrators are known by their victims
• Weapons are normally not used in sexual assault. Perpetrators rely on the element of surprise
• Sexual assault is not a crime about sex. It’s about power & control

The greatest resource we have to help victims of sexual assault are counselors trained to handle such cases. As youth workers, we are mandated reporters in suspicions of abuse and neglect. If you work with youth and suspect abuse has taken place, you must report this to Child Protective Services.

If you have been a victim of sexual assault, there are rape crisis centers here to help you.

In Santa Clara County: 408.287.3000
In San Mateo County: 650.493.7273

These numbers can be used by other relations of abuse victims (counselors, teachers, friends, relatives, etc) to receive information and advice about how to handle these situations. NOTE: Rape Crisis Centers are NOT mandated reporting agencies. They can protect your confidentiality.

I only bring this to light because sexual assault is often a crime in which the victims are the ones blamed and one where victims often feel ashamed or guilty. It is the job of those of us who work with young people to inform them of their rights and to educate, empathize and empower victims of sexual assault.

I have some Age of Consent (regarding SART exams, court procedings, notification, etc) information for California which I can share with anyone seeking additional information, as well as contacts in different organizations for those interested.

i saw this a long time ago and i totally forgot about it until i was looking through some of sarah’s music on itunes just now:

http://www.worldonfire.ca/

just watch the video and think about how lucky you are…and wonder if there’s anything you can do to help those in need