The Invisible War

Did you get your “Pocket Coupon Directory” in the mail? Ours came a few days ago.

There are special deals in the little book from Blackjack Pizza, Grease Monkey, liquor stores, Ace Hardware and – wonder of wonders, “Planned Parenthood.”

The PP coupon features a photo of an attractive young woman wearing a mod hairdo. A quote attributed to her in the photo says, “I am taking care of myself.”

What does that mean? I think it means she is leaning on Planned Parenthood to help her take care of a problem.

PP services, says the coupon, include “all birth control methods (most available without an exam).” It also offers what it euphemistically calls “emergency contraception – available to go.”

This may mean that when the girl is on her way to a tryst with her lover, she can “swing by” the PP location and pick up a few condoms. Or, it might mean the cute girl in the picture can party with her man on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning, PP will help her take care of a “problem.” (Meaning: a pregnancy.)

Another time, when the girl isn’t in such a passionate rush, she can stop in at Planned Parenthood to avail herself of pregnancy testing, urine STD testing, rapid HIV testing, and free cancer screening. Fortunately for those of us planning in advance to be promiscuous, PP does have a Greeley address.

Those kind-hearted, loving people at Planned Parenthood have all of female humanity at heart, don’t they? They are so generous. Controlling the world’s population, after all, is an important job.

If she “accidentally” gets pregnant, our young model stands to benefit from the Planned Parenthood largesse. She can qualify for a $10 discount with the coupon! Just think, she can obtain a Chemically Induced Morning After Abortion – and a $10 bonus for being promiscuous!

Well? Isn’t that what they’re saying? It is what they’re saying.

All of the services offered by Planned Parenthood would be unnecessary if the pert young thing (or her man) had just said “no” the night before. Abstinence? Did Planned Parenthood mention abstinence anywhere? Well yes, they vaguely alluded to it. Abstinence is one method of birth control, and they offer “all methods.”

I suppose what’s so galling and offensive about all this is the blasé way in which Planned Parenthood is thrown in with auto parts and pizza delivery.

It’s as if it was “normal” or “usual” to get a $10 discount coupon for your condoms or your abortion right along with your $10 discount coupon when you get your car brakes fixed. That coupon book is just full of wonderful, wholesome bargains.

Or is it? My own view is that abortion is never something to view with nonchalance. Abortion is nothing less than the Invisible War, preying on the defenseless unborn, taking massive numbers of lives every day, all the time. It’s not a pizza party.

An abortion on its own merits is ghastly enough. Put a wholesome discount coupon in the mix, and it can summon nausea.

This week’s word: Genealogy, the useless science.

My old-time dictionary says “genealogy” is a recorded history of the descent of a person or family from an ancestor. It’s the science or study of family descent.

The first exposure I had to genealogy was in Idaho, where it was quite popular among the Mormons. It was a matter of great pride to them if they could prove they were descendants of Brigham Young or Joseph Smith or Daniel Boone or George Washington, for that matter.

Some of the LDS folks became so enamored of the past that they were unable to concentrate sufficiently on the present. Their fixation or obsession was remarkable.

They lived the lives of their forebears, vicariously. The past was preferred to the present, and no thought was given to the future.

Their mistake is easy to see. They were attempting to mortgage their heritage – to springboard from something with which they had nothing to do.

There are genuine reasons for the study of genealogy – the paths of inherited disease being the main one. But if you’re looking into the past for something to build you up today, you’re on thin ice.

Be what you can be, not what your ancestors were.

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Next week’s word: Delusion.

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