The Fortnight for Freedom may be over but we must continue to stand against the Health and Human Services Mandate to force Catholics to pay for contraception and abortion. There are many reasons to oppose this. It makes a mockery of the First Amendment. It pushes on an unsuspecting public birth control pills which many doctors now believe responsible for an epidemic of breast cancer and other health issues. However. to me, the most important reason is that it takes away from us rights that have been paid for by the blood of the American soldiers wounded or killed in battle throughout our history.
Catholic soldiers have fought in every war this country has been involved in. They fought to protect and preserve the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. If need be they were and are willing to sacrifice their lives so that we could enjoy our freedoms, including the right to follow our faith as we see fit. Too often they’ve laid down their lives.
Was this sacrifice in vain? Did they give their lives for nothing? Did they fight to have their own government rather than their Church define the meaning of their faith? Is this what so many soldiers volunteered for? Is this what they were willing to die for? Is this what the hundreds of thousands who died in our wars fought for? Is this what the millions who fought our wars risked their lives for, so that our administration could redefine what it means to be Catholic, Pentecostal or whatever? Isn’t that one of the reasons so many left Europe and started the United States?
It is ironic that we are engaged in a war against terrorists who want to impose their form of Islam on the world. It is ironic that we have refugees coming to America from Iraq and other countries seeking freedom of religion. It is ironic that all this is happening while our government claims the right to redefine our faith. How can we order our soldiers into battle to defend rights their own government is taking away?
Does our administration not respect our soldiers and all they fought for? Do they not understand they dishonor all those who served in uniform throughout our history? Their attack on religious liberty mocks the sacrifices of all who served to protect our freedoms. This is not the country they fought for. This is not the government they died to support.
Our rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment but more importantly they are paid for by the blood and sweat of all the Americans who served our country for more than 200 years.
