The March for Life 2011

Every year around January 22, tens and hundreds of thousands take to the streets of Washington D.C. to protest the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. The rally / protest, known as March for Life is largely ignored by the media - both traditional outlets and more conservative outlets. In fact, if you didn't go yourself or know to Google it, you just might never know it happened.

I know that on Monday, January 24th 2011 there were no less then 27,000 people on the Washington Mall. I know that because before the March, they packed into two stadiums that hold that many people for a youth rally. I also know that the 27,000 is a minimum because I didn't go to the youth rallies at all. But I went to the March. And so did as many as 300,000 other people.

When did we start ignoring 300,000 of anything? There are 30,000 people protesting in Egypt, and it makes the news in America. This was ten times that (albeit a peaceful protest).

After the march I was invigorated to give more attention to my pro-life blog, and to helping the fight for life in any way I can. But today I write to show that the March took place. That it happened. And that there are hundreds of thousands of people who believe in this so much that they make a quick trip in the dead of winter not to sight-see but to pray and march and use our freedom of speech and assembly to protest a decision that they believe to be wrong.

Although the only historical site I saw on my trip was Ford's Theater, I felt awed to be in the nation's capital. I was in the heart of Democracy. America, in my humble opinion, still remains the freest country in the world, and Washington D.C., with all its flaws and corruptions, still remains the heart of the country.

But as I walked to the Supreme Court, I realized there were flaws. I don't think the country needs any kind of revamping - because I think any form of government is going to have flaws, and lots of them. But there I realized that the nine justices on the Supreme Court have a concentration of power that can be almost dictatorial. Roe v. Wade is not the only case that has shown the power of the Supreme Court, but it shows it very well.

The only way for the people, the supposed rulers in our democratic republic, to change Roe v. Wade is to either collect together a supermajority of votes to change the constitution, or to find a way to perfectly time the appointment of pro-life judges to the Supreme Court with a case of import that may cause the court to change course. Both are unlikely. As to the first option, it seems a little odd that nine justices, many who no longer serve, were able to rule over millions and millions of Americans - over half by most estimates - who believe abortion to not only be morally wrong, but to be murder.

As I approached the Supreme Court, I saw all the guards standing outside like statues, dressed in black uniforms. I applaud the guards - they are doing their job, and making sure a fight does not break out, either because of our rally or because of the counter-protestors on the Supreme Court steps. I am sure as they stood there, they had to think about their position in this battle of hearts and minds - I hope that our side put on an honorable showing. I think that both sides did, and although I find the pro-choice argument sickening, I appreciate that we were able to engage in healthy debate.

But seeing all those guards brought to mine other, less free, countries, where armed guards walk the street day in and day out. And I realized that, great as our country is, there is a kind of sick imbalance of power which allows the Supreme Court, symbolized by these guards, to authorize the killing of millions of unborn babies a year. But we were doing it differently - we were there to bring about change peacefully.

The temperature was in the twenties. It was cold. I hope that people who saw us or knew of us took that into consideration. I hope that they understand that this topic means so much to us, that we are willing to give up two precious vacation days, hundreds of dollars, and a lot of luxuries to go on the march. To try to get the attention of the country. And in doing so, we are not "out to get women" or trying to be oppressive "anti-choice" people. We are crying out for justice for the unborn children in America, and asking for recognition of the pain that abortion has caused millions of women and men as well.

Ultimately that is why we were there - to change hearts and minds. The hearts and minds of legislators, the court, Americans, and women in crisis situations. And if even one heart was changed, then I will be happy with what we did.