Abortion and Michael Collins/Irish Story

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Don_Schneider

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Many have noted that the condemnation of those who kill abortion doctors seems hypocritical. If it would have been okay to have killed Hitler, then why would it not be to kill others engaging in the holocaust of latter day Holy Innocents?

I wrote a flash (less than 1,000 words) short story that some might be interested in reading because it has a tie-in to this topic by way of analogy. Unlike my other piece, I haven’t as yet been able to find a publisher for it. This one takes but five minutes to read and would also be of interest to those interested in modern Irish history; especially the Struggle for Independence.

Anyone who saw the movie *Michael Collins *will recognize its references. It is loosely based upon a story my elderly uncle told me. He has long been involved with Irish affairs and had known personally Eamon de Valera. (I’m half Irish.) Although my uncle does know for a fact that the man in question had been in a British prison as a young teen for a few years prior to the truce, he does not know if the man’s implication as to why that had been is true or mere brag. The back story comes entirely from my imagination.

Although I am a loyal son of the old sod, I simply cannot in good conscience condone Collins’s tactics (that nevertheless proved successful). When confronted with superior force, there is some honor is engaging in guerrilla warfare. There is no honor in bushwhacking people, regardless of the validity of the cause. Even Collins seemed to recognize such as he did not try to compel anyone to join “The Squad.”

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us that one of the attributes of a **just war **is that there must be a reasonable chance of winning. We have no hope in waging a successful war against the government of the United States. Therefore, it is immoral to try. We must place our faith in God that he will take aborted babies into His divine heart and ultimately mete out justice to their murderers. I believe that attempting to fight terror with terror is against both the laws of God and the spirit of his divine Son.

As a Navy veteran who served with Marines aboard a ship, I can attest to you that if the captain of our ship had ordered his Marine reaction squad to throw a crewman overboard, they would have done so without hesitation or asking why. Very few members of the military would defect to our side even if they agreed with our cause. If a campaign of terror intensified against abortion providers and politicians who support them, then the government would react with increasing levels of severity. We would be crushed, and the slaughter of the innocents would continue unabated.

For those interested in reading my brief story for a parallel view, please click on the following link and thanks!”:

wwwdnschneidercom.xbuild.com/#/on-writing-page-10/4533091089
 
Don_Schneider said:
Many have noted that the condemnation of those who kill abortion doctors seems hypocritical. If it would have been okay to have killed Hitler, then why would it not be to kill others engaging in the holocaust of latter day Holy Innocents?
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The reason that this would not be okay is that it does not follow the requirement for just war that “the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain”. Now yes it is permanant for that abortionist, but not for the pro-life cause as a whole. Killing Hitler would have been lasting, grave, and certain damage to the nazi party.
St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us that one of the attributes of a just war is that there must be a reasonable chance of winning. We have no hope in waging a successful war against the government of the United States. Therefore, it is immoral to try. We must place our faith in God that he will take aborted babies into His divine heart and ultimately mete out justice to their murderers.
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That argument makes no sense. You are basically saying that because YOU feel that we do not have a reasonable chance at winning the abortion battle we should not try?? That is outrageous. That would mean that it would have been immoral for Jews to try to escape/fight the nazis.
 
Dear Peter:

Since you seem to be criticizing my remarks from both the left *and *the right, it’s a little difficult for me to discern what your true sentiments are. However, I shall try to address your criticism…

“The reason that this would not be okay is that it does not follow the requirement for just war that “the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain”. Now yes it is permanant for that abortionist, but not for the pro-life cause as a whole. Killing Hitler would have been lasting, grave, and certain damage to the nazi party.”

–I agree with you here. However, I am addressing a hypothetical situation where the fringes of the pro-life movement managed to garner far more assassins that what they have been able to thus far; about one a decade. If they had even thirty such people a year, then either abortion would end or the government would resort to increasingly repressive measures. In my estimation, the case would almost certainly be the latter.

My point is that even in this eventuality, I cannot morally sanction pure terror measures to combat legalized abortion, as evil as it is.

“That argument makes no sense. You are basically saying that because YOU feel that we do not have a reasonable chance at winning the abortion battle we should not try?? That is outrageous. That would mean that it would have been immoral for Jews to try to escape/fight the nazis.”

–I think here that you are misinterpreting my remarks. I was referring to attempting an armed rebellion against the government of the United States. I was saying that that is what I hold to be impossible to win. That by no means indicates that I believe that other non-violent means to attempt to end legalized abortion should cease. Oh, God no!

Thanks for the response.
 
PeterMuz said:
The reason that this would not be okay is that it does not follow the requirement for just war that “the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain”. Now yes it is permanant for that abortionist, but not for the pro-life cause as a whole. Killing Hitler would have been lasting, grave, and certain damage to the nazi party.
Those attempting to kill Hitler had no recourse to a higher authority; opponents of abortion still do.
That argument makes no sense. You are basically saying that because YOU feel that we do not have a reasonable chance at winning the abortion battle we should not try?? That is outrageous. That would mean that it would have been immoral for Jews to try to escape/fight the nazis.
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Dear St. Francis:

“I like this story, and the other one which you have only part of up. I hope you keep writing.”

Well, thank you very much. However, your comment puzzles me and somewhat concerns me. What other story that I only have part of it up? I’ve written only two works of fiction, a long short story entitled “Pride’s Prison” which my signature links to and a flash (very short) story entitled “The Altar Boy” which my OP links to. Both are up in their entireties.

“Pride’s Prison” was published on an ezine in two parts, both of which are up and I link to from my website. The other I have posted directly on the site in its entirety. (You have to click from one page to the next ( three in all) where indicated.)

In regard to “Pride’s Prison,” perhaps you didn’t realize that there are two links (at the bottom of the same, introductory page) to click, one for the first half of the story and one for the second. If you only read the first half of it, I hope you will, when convenient, go back and click on the second half to read, as the first few pages of the story’s second half are its entire purpose. If one reads just the first half, then I’m afraid it would seem just a run of the mill science fiction story. It’s much more than that. The SF element is just a veneer to make the plot tenable and nothing more. It reads like mainstream fiction. I believe the first few pages of the second half of the story are very moving. I put everything I had into them and don’t believe I could ever write that well again.

In regard to “The Altar Boy” which you apparently did read in its entirety, I hope you see the parallel between this story and the shooting of abortion doctors today. The protagonist must wrestle with his conscience even though he has heretofore not lived an exemplary life. I think about him as a sort of Irish Oskar Schindler, a man who risked his life and sacrificed his reputation amongst many of his own to do what he knew to be right.

Anyway, thanks for the kind comment! It’s appreciated.
 
Don_Schneider said:
Dear St. Francis:

“I like this story, and the other one which you have only part of up. I hope you keep writing.”

Well, thank you very much. However, your comment puzzles me and somewhat concerns me. What other story that I only have part of it up? I’ve written only two works of fiction, a long short story entitled “Pride’s Prison” which my signature links to and a flash (very short) story entitled “The Altar Boy” which my OP links to. Both are up in their entireties.

“Pride’s Prison” was published on an ezine in two parts, both of which are up and I link to from my website. The other I have posted directly on the site in its entirety. (You have to click from one page to the next ( three in all) where indicated.)

In regard to “Pride’s Prison,” perhaps you didn’t realize that there are two links (at the bottom of the same, introductory page) to click, one for the first half of the story and one for the second. If you only read the first half of it, I hope you will, when convenient, go back and click on the second half to read, as the first few pages of the story’s second half are its entire purpose. If one reads just the first half, then I’m afraid it would seem just a run of the mill science fiction story. It’s much more than that. The SF element is just a veneer to make the plot tenable and nothing more. It reads like mainstream fiction. I believe the first few pages of the second half of the story are very moving. I put everything I had into them and don’t believe I could ever write that well again.

In regard to “The Altar Boy” which you apparently did read in its entirety, I hope you see the parallel between this story and the shooting of abortion doctors today. The protagonist must wrestle with his conscience even though he has heretofore not lived an exemplary life. I think about him as a sort of Irish Oskar Schindler, a man who risked his life and sacrificed his reputation amongst many of his own to do what he knew to be right.

Anyway, thanks for the kind comment! It’s appreciated.
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I must have done something wrong as I got to a place which said that more parts would be posted later… :o I’ll go back and check it out again!
 
Dear St. Francis:

In regard to “Pride’s Prison,” it was published in two halves in two consecutive issues of Bewildering Stories. Each of the two halves is divided into two parts. You can continue directly on from one part to the next within each of the two halves. Simply click at the end of the first part where indicated to continue onto the next.

In regard to the second half, the easiest way to access it is to return to the page on my website which I link to in my signature and simply click on the second link button to access the second half and then repeat the process.

At the end of the first half it indicates that the piece is to be continued because that had been the case at the time it was originally published. That was over two years ago now, so the second half has long since also been published.

Thanks again for your interest and kind comments. It is very much appreciated, Francis. Also, thank you for having been the first one here to welcome me!

By the way, your clarification to another poster regarding my position as stated was exactly right. Thanks for that as well!

Best regards,

Don
 
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