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The New Kids on the Block - Everybody
Wants Them! They’re called Generation Y, the Millennials and Echo Boomers. Regardless of what they’re called, there are 60 million of them currently between the ages of 8 and 23, compared to the mere 17 million in Generation X before them. Advertisers caught on very quickly, recognizing the tremendous buying power of this upcoming generation, and adjusted their messages and products accordingly. Now everything from politicians to church groups are studying, analyzing and trying to influence this upcoming generation of young adults. They all recognize that the sheer numbers provide this generation with the ability to change society and political landscapes of the future. The good news is, Gen Yers are spiritual, optimistic, ambitious and idealistic. They want the truth and want to do what’s right. This generation does not want to be like their parents. They want to be and do better. Since many come from homes of divorce and/or are latchkey kids, they want stable marriages and homes for themselves and their children. Gen Yers are also primarily pro-life on abortion. They believe the unborn child is “pure potential” and could be the very person who finds a cure for cancer or AIDS. This generation is also highly intelligent, inquisitive and accustomed to getting information with the click of a mouse. They are, in fact, the computer generation.
The Internet is the Gen Y medium of choice, beating out TV, radio and even the telephone. They get all of their information, talk with friends and make decisions “on line.” Everything is only a click away. In January 2001, Gen Y ranked second only to the 35-to-49-year-old business users in Internet use per month and will likely exceed them in 2003. Their primary uses of the Internet are to communicate, be entertained and acquire information. Based upon three years of research and a year’s worth of website development, The Caring Foundation is launching a multifaceted website designed specifically for the Gen Yers with a target date of January 20 or soon thereafter. The site’s content, design, interactivity, etc., have been evaluated and approved by demographically and ethnically diverse teens from across the country. The site is based exclusively upon information provided to The
Caring Foundation by Gen Yers. Multiple types of research included:
The Caring Foundation’s goal is to make this site one of
their “favorite places” where their lives can be enhanced in positive
ways. It will provide inspiring stories of other teens, interactive self-affirmations
and character-building quotes, along with e-cards and opportunities to win cool
CDs. For those facing an unplanned pregnancy, there are personal testimonies
from other teens who have “been there, done that,” along with extensive
information on fetology, abortion and a cyber connection to a national crisis
pregnancy network. The goal is to provide Gen Yers with their own site which will
be helpful, informative, interesting and entertaining, honest and non-patronizing.
The site will reaffirm their positive beliefs and idealism, provide tools for
them to build upon their character and be resilient to peer pressure and encourage
them to become critical thinkers. It will cause them to come away feeling good
about themselves. Their most frequent request was to have a place to turn to ask questions and share experiences. Here is just a sampling of the site content.
Mirror/Mirror This area shares first-hand, inspiring stories from teens who have successfully dealt with some sort of identity crisis or tough life challenge. Real teens reflect upon how they felt, what they did, who or what helped them and how it is for them now. These include video, audio and text components with a link to their own story submission form. Stop That Thought! If you’re having negative feelings about yourself, just pick the one that applies and you automatically get a positive affirmation to counteract that pessimistic mindset. The goal of the process is to practice saying the affirmation until the truth is felt in the words and those words become the way you respond to challenges. (The visual here includes a video of a rhino walking away with the words “Turn your back on those ugly thoughts.”) Been There/Done That Gen Yers will be able to read first-hand, personal stories from both boys and girls and their experiences with unplanned pregnancy, abortion, adoption and parenthood. These stories include video, audio and text components. There is also a link to a submission form so they can share their own story. Quick Comebacks This part of the site provides fetal development facts in the form of quick, cool comebacks in everyday conversations with friends and parents. These will connect their experiences before birth with who they are today. The site name, gravityteen.com, was also tested extensively and
designed to enhance the drive-to messages of:
Promotion of the website will be primarily through television, radio and Internet advertising. Two additional television ads will be in production shortly. The two current television and three radio commercials will be part of the site launching in late January, airing extensively on MTV and popular rock radio stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. Extensive, on-line advertising will begin at the same time and consist of keywords, ads in the form of banners, instant messages and ads from other popular teen sites, etc. In addition to the above advertising methods, print handouts to teens will be available from The Caring Foundation at 1-888-588-9258. So gravitate – to gravityteen.com.
Media Semantics I often speak about semantics, the words we should use when talking
about abortion. The following is euphemistically called a Code of Ethics
for Journalists on Abortion. It’s a tongue-in-cheek jab at journalists. “Use ‘fetus’ in all prenatal contexts, not just those involving abortion. Never mention ‘mother’ in abortion contexts – always say ‘woman.’ Always use ‘pro-choice’ for abortion rights supporters. Avoid discussing why some pro-choice groups defend coercive abortion programs in China. “Always say ‘anti-abortion’, never ‘pro-life’, to describe abortion rights opponents. In stories involving non-treatment of handicapped infants or euthanasia, you should express surprise that ‘anti-abortion forces’ are even interested. “Photographs of pro-choice demonstrations should show calm, rational behavior. Avoid shots of aggressive or verbally abusive behavior. Focus on young women and grandmotherly figures. However, photographs of anti-abortion blockades should illustrate dangerous, aggressive behavior, men with bullhorns (especially overweight older ones). Avoid shots of young women or children. Use upward camera angles and extreme close-ups to illustrate their danger to our society. “With abortion surveys, always ask: ‘Do you believe abortion should be a private decision between a woman and her physician?’ And avoid questions such as, ‘Should abortion be legal in the second trimester?’ They might say no. “Articles on abortion surveys should downplay socio-economic
factors. If faced with heavy support for abortion among the affluent, treat
it as a result of education, not of income. Never mention hostility to abortion
by poor and minority women. Abortion is for the best for poor women. “Never admit that the rich want abortion for the poor. Don’t
look into Planned Parenthood’s history; you don’t want to know. “No connection exists between a politician’s support
for abortion and his womanizing. Also, men who support abortion have only the
best of motives. Men who oppose abortion want to force women to bear children.
Remember, there are no harmful results from abortion.” This tongue-in-cheek report is where much of our media is today – very biased and very pro-abortion. Twenty Children Here’s a story from an issue of Voices for the Unborn.
It’s about Mrs. Lucille Dippolito who knows a lot about large families.
She is the happy mother of twenty children! Talking with her, you see a wisdom
that counteracts the folly of the Culture of Death. I’m quoting her: “I said to people [after having a certain
number], ‘I’m retired.’ I now have one to do the laundry, one
to do the baking; they rotate their duties.” Mrs. Dippolito realized quickly that many members of the family
do not simply mean more work to do, but more to do the work. It also means more
to give love, as she explains, “When number nineteen came, he got so much
love from the family. If he were an only child, he would never have gotten so
much love! When you have a large family, the children are getting all kinds
of love from their brothers and sisters; and there’s nothing more joyful
than a baby.” It’s not size alone, of course, that brings virtue to a family.
It’s how the family members see their relationship with each other, and
with their daily tasks. The Dippolito family knows the Christian value of work,
and how work shapes the human person. Mrs. Dippolito again says, “Each child has a responsibility.
We butchered our meat; we had a dairy cow. It was a mini-farm on ten acres.
A friend once asked us, ‘Is there anything in this house that’s not
homemade?’ I sew, but now my kids make my clothes. I give to them, but
look what I got back!” Her attitude stands in sharp contrast to the “give your children
all they want” mentality. She has strong words for this: “Oh,”
she says, “that’s the worst thing you could do! Just providing everything
their hearts desire – that’s absolutely wrong. They need to develop
their talents. Doing is learning; they have to be doers.” She speaks of the joy she has in her children: “Watching
them grow, seeing the things that they give back – seeing them become good
citizens. My one daughter is a nurse and has helped bring people back to life.
Look at the great joys! You watch them take their first step, say their first
word. These are things that money can’t buy! The blessings far outweigh
the hardships. You know, the world dwells on the hardships. Everything has pain,
but also joy with it. You have bitter, but you have sweet. We’re not in
heaven yet!” So the next time you hear someone say, “Well, two children are more than enough,” maybe pass along the story of Mrs. Dippolito. Unborn Baby Finally Laid to Rest Sublette, Kansas is a sleepy little town in the Southwest corner of the state that boasts only 1,500 people. This slice of small-town America is where people know their neighbors and mailmen – a bastion of down-to-earth, pro-life people, right? Well, not everyone is pro-life. In 1994, Sharon and Vaughn Lower aquired a plot in the Haskell
County Cemetery. The land was purchased with their own personal funds. They
and others held a Mexican food sale to raise money for a beautiful headstone
that read “In Loving Memory Of All Unborn Babies.” Also carved into
the granite stone is Isaiah 49:15-16, “I will never forget you. See, upon
the palms of my hands I have written your name.” The Lowers never intended
to bury human remains there, but instead wanted to provide a place for women
and men who have lost a child to abortion or miscarriage, to pray and find solace
and comfort. Making a political statement on abortion, they said, was not in
the equation. The County Cemetery Board quickly stepped in and demanded that
the memorial be removed. When the Lowers refused, the cemetery board sued, citing
a state law that they said required the burial of human remains, as well as
the name of the person buried, if a stone is to be erected in the cemetery. The state law in question could easily be interpreted to allow
for the display of the Lower’s memorial. It states that the cemetery cannot
be used for “any purpose other than for burial or other intended cemetery
purposes.” A memorial to veterans, for example, may follow the “other
intended cemetery purposes” exception. Why was the reaction of the cemetery board so heavy-handed? The
answer may lie with the board chairman, Dana Leonard, who, in a deposition,
revealed a steadfast opinion that the Lowers were only trying to make a “political
statement on abortion.” The general feeling, according to Jack Shultz,
the Lower’s attorney, was that Mr. Leonard’s aggressive position carried
the day and that the other board members were followers and not doers. It’s interesting to note that, while the board was so intent
on making sure that human remains were buried next to the Lower’s stone,
the same cemetery contains a headstone with a woman’s name that is actually
buried in Dodge City, KS. Further, a dog – yes the animal species –
called Josie King, is also buried in the cemetery. As the lawsuit ultimately made its way to the State Supreme Court,
the memorial was the subject of vandalism. On one occasion, horse manure was
dumped on the stone. Flowers left at the memorial have been pulled up and scattered.
The most disturbing incident was damage, created by gunshot, to the stone. On October 25, 2002, the Court concluded that the stone violated
state law and ordered it removed. A November 1 Associated Press article,
reporting this latest development, crossed my desk three days after it was written.
It was clear that unless they buried human remains at this memorial within the
next couple of days, they would be forced to remove the stone, and local grieving
parents would have no place to find comfort. My thoughts immediately turned to the twelve-week-old unborn baby
boy that was stored in a cabinet in my office. Approximately eight years ago
I came across this beautifully developed child, preserved in a glass vial, tucked
away in a box. Not knowing his origin or what to do with the body, I placed
him out of sight so that he would not be on display, trusting that the Lord
would direct when the time came. Reading the news article regarding Sublette,
I knew that time had come. I telephoned Sharon Lower and offered to ship the baby’s
body to her for internment in the cemetery. This would provide a dignified burial
for the body left in our safekeeping, as well as make it possible to maintain
this moving memorial to unborn babies. Sharon later phoned back, saying they
would be honored to inter the baby in Sublette.
The baby’s body was shipped and a graveside service was set
for Saturday, November 23. We requested that no pictures be taken of the body
and that the service be dignified. The funeral service was very fitting for one of God’s smallest
human creations. The baby was given the name Isaiah, matching the scripture
engraved on the stone. A local funeral home donated a tiny casket, and a volunteer
sewed a blanket with blue satin trim for Isaiah to be wrapped in. A moving poem
was written and read at the service. Those attending brought red roses and other
mementoes to place on the casket. Mr. Leonard’s attempt to silence the message of pain after
abortion has backfired. This development in the sleepy little town of Sublette,
Kansas received the attention of several newspaper editors, including USA
Today. The Lowers and many others in the pro-life movement know the healing
effect a memorial of this type has on the mothers and fathers of aborted babies.
Thousands of memorials to unborn babies, most without human remains, dot the
landscape of our nation, many of them in cemeteries.
Mr. Dana Leonard and others need to understand that pro-lifers
offer hope and healing to hurting parents, a noble gesture that should be revered,
not attacked using the court system as a bully club.
Completely revised and expanded. Previous editions have sold millions of
Books are available from Hayes Publishing Co.,
Inc. - 6304 Hamilton Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45244
Aggressive is an Understatement Recently, Americans have seen encouraging headlines in the news
which tell us the numbers of abortions in America are declining. This slow,
downward trend indicates that more people are being educated about the humanity
of the unborn child. There’s more good news. Fewer teens are having sex.
Newsweek recently dedicated a cover story to the increasing number of teens
who have decided to hold onto their virginity. It seems that our youth are coming
to the realization that abortion, rampant sexually transmitted diseases, including
AIDS, and the often-emotional turmoil that accompany casual sex are not worth
the brief physical pleasure they receive in return. Every American is hailing this information as great news, right?
Not so. The abortion industry sees the writing on the wall. Those who depend
upon income from the abortion and sex-related industry fear that this good news
means their padded bank accounts will dwindle. In order to flourish, the abortion
industry needs people to be having sex and getting pregnant so that the stream
of abortion customers will sustain the cash flow they have grown accustomed
to. Planned Parenthood (PP) is not about to sit on its laurels and
let the cash registers go silent. They are leaving no stone unturned in their
campaign to aggressively pursue every possible customer. Here is an example. Planned Parenthood worked out a cozy business arrangement with
the school system in Morrow County, Ohio. They will pay teenagers $100 to train
them as “outreach workers.” This is a fancy term for teenage salespeople
promoting PP’s products to their peers. They will then be paid a bonus
for every teenage customer they bring in. What is equally outrageous is where they are getting the money
to pay their young sales staff. The funds will come from the Temporary Assistance
to Needy Families program. Does this mean that fewer needy families will be
getting crucial financial assistance for the basic necessities of life to feed
Planned Parenthood’s aggressive marketing campaign? In 2001, PP received
more than $200 million in government dollars alone. Their total income was over
$672 million. After expenses, they had a profit of nearly $39 million. Does
this sound like a needy family to you? Because Planned Parenthood has hundreds of millions of dollars
to throw around, they can buy their way into communities. Here’s a case
in point. A confidential financial agreement between PP of Central Texas
and the city of Waco has made it possible for them to promote their radical
pro-abortion agenda in the public library system. An undisclosed amount of money
(reported to be less than $10,000) was paid by PP to put their “specialized
collection of books, periodicals, pamphlets, videos, curricula and teaching
aids” into, as PP says, “a branch of the Waco-McLennan County Public
Library System.” This collection of pro-abortion propaganda is opportunistically
called “women’s health care” materials. One of the titles of
this “health care” material is “The True Meaning of ‘Right
to Life.’” Did you think that just anybody could access these materials?
Not on your life. PP warns that it can deny access “to anyone who has participated
in protests” against them. An October 28 open house at the Audre Rapoport
Library banned several pro-life women from attending who, earlier in the day,
had protested at PP. Another brazen attempt of public relations by PP is to make Christmas
cards available that read, “Choice on Earth.” The inside of the card
reads, “Warmest wishes for a peaceful holiday season.” Keep in mind
that “choice” means abortion-on-demand during all nine months of pregnancy,
even partial-birth abortion, which kills a baby during delivery. This is the
same abortion that has brutally killed over 40 million innocent babies. Then
they The next time they are looking for nominations for the “Lecherous Parasite on Society” award, I have a suggestion for them. STATES EXCHANGE Today’s youth are pummeled with a pro-sex message at every turn. Movies, music, the Internet, advertising and their peers regularly present an in-your-face message that sex is good for everyone, regardless of age or circumstances, and with no negative consequences. Gone are the days of naive television viewing. Sadly, the innocence of the Brady Bunch is but a memory. In its place is programming that, years ago, would have made the Playboy Channel blush. Further, it is impossible for our youth to avoid. This sex-saturated society has resulted in more pregnancy and abortion for them.
Sex & Young America stands out because the kids featured deal with sex in a very frank and honest way. It is fast-paced and tailor-made to appeal to teenagers. The series contains four videos. The one designed for parents will open their eyes to the reality of just how exposed and vulnerable their children are to the potential for sexual activity. Several teenagers frankly discuss their experiences and knowledge of sex. Parents may be shocked to learn how many youth actually define the term “virginity.” Teens on the video also tell parents how to communicate with them on the subject of sex. There is a video exclusively for girls and another for boys where, in a discussion group, the opposite sex communicates to the other on the do’s and don’ts of personal relationships. Finally, there is a video for the group leaders who will take the teenagers through the discussion series workbook. The complete series is available for $89.95. For more information, contact Sex & Young America, 800 Compton Rd., #8, Cincinnati, OH 45231. Phone 513.521.6227. Web www.sexandyoungamerica.com
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Do
they have insecurities, problems, peer and adult pressures and concerns of all
kinds? Of course they do – they’re growing adolescents. The real question
is: Will they maintain their current positive attitudes and pro-life/pro-family
values into adulthood? That all depends upon who reaches their hearts and minds
over the next several years.
MALE
VOICE: “Yeh, I know there's still a lot of stuff I have to learn
about life. One of the things I have figured out… dealing with
something hard is going to probably be painful, but not dealing with
it at all is just going to make things harder in the end. I learned
to trust my own judgment. And you know what?… I am strong enough.
I am strong enough. I'm not the only one either. There's plenty of us
who've done the same. So can you.”
FEMALE
VOICE: “It's frightening being seventeen and pregnant. Not daring
to talk to anyone. Desperately wanting to know… What other girls
did… And how it worked out.
Life
Issues Today
Life
Issues Institute has such a memorial in the entry of our international headquarters.
It’s a life-sized bronze depicting Christ and a woman who’s had an
abortion. The aborted baby is nestled in Christ’s arm as He extends His
forgiveness to the woman. A few steps away is a chapel that offers additional
healing through prayer and meditation. In addition, our office is used for a
woman’s post-abortion healing group after office hours. We understand that
with every abortion there is one dead and several wounded.
have
the gall to wish recipients of these cards a “peaceful holiday season”!
Planned Parenthood doesn’t get it. Tearing innocent unborn babies limb
from limb; puncturing their skulls and sucking out their brains; ignoring the
emotional devastation that often results in women is NOT peaceful.
The
National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families has developed
a good tool to help Generation Y deal with sexual situations and avoid a possible
future abortion decision. Sex & Young America is an interactive discussion
series aimed at equipping today’s youth with ways to respond to the constant
lure of sex, as well as ways to assist their peers who struggle with its effects.