Why?-Part 1

People feel threatened when you care about things too much-even if you do not try to force others to care in the same way: just your witness itself gives rise to hostility.

Case in point: several years ago at my old job we were standing around the 'water cooler' and talking politics-it was a presidential election year. My colleague was straddling the fence between George Bush and Al Gore. I made the comment that while I couldn't necessarily make a convincing argument to vote for GW Bush, I couldn't in conscience vote for Al Gore because of his stance on several issues, first and foremost being abortion. My colleague agreed that abortion was something he was uncomfortable with, but that it wasn't that big an issue. I responded saying that 4000 abortions a day was a pretty big issue to me. He questioned my "pretty big number." I responded that it was a number that wasn't disputed by the pro-abortion side-it was a fact readily available for all to see. He still said it seemed to be a "pretty big number". I agreed it was a big number-and challenged him to find out for himself if it were a true number. But he never did and never would talk with me again on the issue or on anything related because he knew he would have do something if he found out what I was saying was true. It would change his world of complacency.

I know at a parish where we once lived, there was opposition to doing any parish-wide pro-life activities outside of January, "We do pro-life in January. That is the time to do it." What hogwash! This is why abortion is still legal in this country.

In many cases, there are some people who want to "be involved" in all parish activities. But if we have "too many" activities then one can't do it all-thus let us not do so much. I just don't understand.

And how about homeschooling? One homeschooling family in a parish is okay. Maybe even two or three. But if more show up, some people think our very existence condemns the way others raise or raised their own children. I can't explain the hostility any other way. But it is there. And while I admit there are some homeschoolers who will vocally condemn others for not homeschoolers, these the are the exception and are no more numerous than those who vehemently condemn homeschooling. One of the mainstays of homeschooling is that it is the parent's (sacred) obligation and duty to provide for the education of their children in the way they see as best. Thus we can't condemn another parent's discernment for their own children.

to be continued ....