Today in the United States we celebrate and remember the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, a remarkable man who worked tirelessly to fight injustice. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963), King says, "To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust."
In our world today, so many things are unjust. Of course, this has typically been the case throughout human history, but in the last century, popular culture has lowered itself so far as to say that life itself is replaceable and easily removable. Of all the injustices that have ever existed, the idea that life is not a God-given, unalienable right and can just be thrown away is the greatest injustice of all. Without acknowledgment of this right, all other injustices are excusable. If life itself does not matter, why would anything else? On this Friday, January 22nd, we mourn the 48th anniversary of a United States court case that legalized the murder of millions upon millions of children.
Martin Luther King Jr. says, "We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was 'legal' and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was 'illegal.' It was 'illegal' to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany." The violent murder of the most vulnerable, innocent members of our society is tolerated and promoted in today's society. Everything that the Nazis did was largely tolerated. Slavery and segregation were largely tolerated. Evil will not cease to be tolerated until a group of people decides to stand up to the horrible injustice and not be afraid of the consequences. In this day and age, we cannot afford to be bashful about good and true beliefs. We need to be faithful and strong in our defense of Truth and Goodness.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a great example of this. Of course, not all of his beliefs were in line with Catholic teaching, but he certainly was influential and a good example of fighting for the Truth. He was placed in jail numerous times during his fight against racism and segregation, and would not deny his beliefs in exchange for his freedom. We, as Christians and members of the pro-life movement, need to be prepared to do the same. We need to be prepared for persecution because of our belief in the Truth, and we can not give up or back down. Many of the world's most influential people are against us and against the Truth. We need to remember that no matter who is against us, God is for us, and He is infinitely more influential than any political leader, businessman, or movie star that has ever or will ever exist.
In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "I have a dream." I, along with millions of other rational human beings, have a dream that someday the right to life for all people will be upheld and respected throughout the entire world, and I believe with all of my heart that with God on our side, our dream will come true.
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