Well, sorry for the delay, but after Blogs for Life, the rest of Tuesday was a whirlwind!
Earlier, Eric, Joe and Ann had breakfast with a group of pro-lifers at the White House and received an address from the President! They got to see the room where FDR delivered his “fireside chats”.
That’s where Eric is sitting flipping through a volume of H.L. Mencken.
The March for life was amazing. The air on the Mall was absolutely electric. Hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers gathered on the streets of the Capital with signs, all there to let the world know that they stand for life.
As we gathered to hear some inspiring speakers, including Senator Sam Brownback once again, we met other pro-lifers from across the country. People were chanting, singing, laughing, and all the while proclaiming their love for life (the year’s new hot chant seemed to be We love babies/yes we do!/We love babies/how about you?) The weather was definitely brisk, but having come from our -5 degree weather it was felt balmy. We met a group of teens from Omaha, Nebraska, where Eric had just been last week, along with two priests from their parish. They were might have been the most excited people I have ever seen! These kids had some great chants going and they were so excited they were literally bouncing up and down. We called it the “bounce for life”, and it was contagious!
Perhaps one of the most striking things was the age of the crowd, which was largely 25 or younger. This bodes very well for the future of the movement. Young people, almost regardless of religion, seem to be moving to the pro-life side in droves, and as cliche as it sounds, children are the future of any movement. To have such great conviction for life among these young folks is cause for great optimism. We marched past the National Archives, the National Gallery, the Department of Labor, the Capitol Building, and ended up at the Supreme Court building, which is a strikingly beautiful example of architecture that reflects the gravity of the work done there. 
Two pro-choicers showed up (from what I hear they are the same and only pro-choice supporters that always show up) and will likely garner all the media attention. It’s pretty typical for the media to put up the picture of the two pro-choicers and say something like “Supporters from both sides of the abortion issue came to Capital Hill today”. After the march there was much rejoicing and fellowship amongst the pro-life forces and I got to sit in on an interview Eric did with Drew Mariani of Relevant Radio, whose show I greatly enjoy. The interview was a roundtable discussion with Eric and several other pro-life leaders and I got to meet Drew in person. What a treat that was!
So what’s the bottom line? I can tell you after a couple days of sharing meals and hearing talks with the top brass of the pro-life movement, that the movement is alive, excited, and winning! People are being mobilized all around the country, even all around the globe, and a big part of what making people stand up and take notice is the events surrounding the Planned Parenthood facility in Aurora, IL. The effort right in our back yards, the effort that regular people like us have undertaken one hour of prayer at a time, is making people all over the world stand up and take notice. So next time you consider whether or not to spend an hour on the sidewalk praying or counseling, the next time you consider whether or not to attend that pro-life event, the next time you consider if it’s worth it or if you can really have an impact, you must know that you should, it is, and you can. The world is watching. P.S. More pix on our flickr page here.
