The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery

A couple weeks after the House passed the 13 Amendment, abolishing slavery, this poem appeared in Harper's Weekly (02/18/1865)


FREE AMERICA.

A SHOUT of joy is ringing through the land,
And men long bowed and broken rise and stand,
As if uplifted by God's bared right hand—
Our country shall be free!

The great decree enfolds the final deed;
No doubtful future closes round our need;
The blessed fruit hangs ripe within the seed—
Our country now is free!

Our mighty sacrifice has wafted sweet
Prevailing incense to God's judgment-seat;
Our martyrs sitting by the angels' feet
Know their earth-home is free.

God said, “Let Freedom be,” as erst “Let Light,”
And burst a new creation on our sight,
Created in our hearts, and named aright
America the Free!

By this we pass from pain to realms of balm,
Striking our lessening tumult through with calm,
Harmonious, holy, happy, with the psalm—
Our native land is free.

O'er life's warm heights within the luminous sky,
Through death's cold vales where endless shadows lie,
Ring forth the psalm to all who live and die—
Our land—our land is free!

Almighty God! we swear by Thy high throne,
Though pain, blood, peril in our path be sown,
This glorious land we now may call our own
Shall be forever free!

Archbishop Nienstedt calls Obama ‘anti-Catholic,’ vows to pull support from Notre Dame

Archbishop Nienstedt calls Obama ‘anti-Catholic,’ vows to pull support from Notre Dame - Minnesota Independent

Bishops respond to Notre Dame

The bishops and laity have a right and a duty to speak clearly on matters of morals. The fact that the Church is populated only with sinners doesn't change that duty.

If You believe the obvious -that elective abortion is the deliberate killing of innocent human life- then it's not enough simply to refrain from having an abortion. Any decent person who believes this self-evident truth will see clearly that a just society can not passively permit people to kill their children as if they were doing no more than pulling weeds from their lawn.

Elective abortion violates the most basic human right -the right to life- and those who defend the practice are guilty of defending an evil more egregious than human slavery.

Defenders of slavery in the U.S. in the 1800's often used the same logic and arguments used by defenders of abortion today. In both cases they're on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the truth.

Bishop Nienstedt, thanks for having the guts to speak the truth!

An abolitionist speaks to 21st century America

William Lloyd Garrison - Wikipedia
The Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison
Abolitionism - Wikipedia

"I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; - but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest - I will not equivocate - I will not excuse - I will not retreat a single inch - AND I WILL BE HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead."
-The Liberator, 1831, William Lloyd Garrison

"I am a believer in that portion of the Declaration of American Independence in which it is set forth, as among self-evident truths, 'that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' Hence, I am an abolitionist. Hence, I cannot but regard oppression in every form - and most of all, that which turns a man into a thing - with indignation and abhorrence. Not to cherish these feelings would be recreancy to principle. They who desire me to be dumb on the subject of slavery, unless I will open my mouth in its defense, ask me to give the lie to my professions, to degrade my manhood, and to stain my soul. I will not be a liar, a poltroon, or a hypocrite, to accommodate any party, to gratify any sect, to escape any odium or peril, to save any interest, to preserve any institution, or to promote any object. Convince me that one man may rightfully make another man his slave, and I will no longer subscribe to the Declaration of Independence. Convince me that liberty is not the inalienable birthright of every human being, of whatever complexion or clime, and I will give that instrument to the consuming fire. I do not know how to espouse freedom and slavery together."
-No Compromise with Slavery, 1854, William Lloyd Garrison

All black people -including Barak Obama- should understand

Black people were systematically enslaved and oppressed in the United States for hundreds of years. Their humanity was denied, their human rights trampled.

You'd think that with such a history, black people would be quick to denounce and combat other forms of oppression that, like slavery, deny both the humanity and basic rights of the vulnerable.

Why do so many white people tolerate legalized elective abortion? Despite slavery's history perhaps whites are still slow to recognize oppression, at least when the oppression is praised by some as a sacred right and enshrined by unjust law... just as slavery was enshrined and defended as a right.

But why do so many black people tolerate and even defend legalized elective abortion? Why don't they recognize it for what it is, and denounce it and all its defenders, both black and white?

That to me is a great mystery.


“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“A nation that kills its children is a nation without hope.” -Pope John Paul II

Rosa Parks -who will take up Your mission?

At a time when black people in this country still suffered systematic discrimination, Rosa Parks' courageous refusal to yield her bus seat to a white man triggered a revolution whose seeds were planted centuries earlier. Awakening to the thunder of Rosa's simple act, other blacks, long denied equal treatment by law and culture, arose with new hope and strength to demand justice from a capricious and negligent judge. Rosa couldn't have foreseen how effective was the blow she struck against the structures of injustice arrayed against her people.

Rosa's witness was about not only the God-endowed dignity of black persons, but the great and equal dignity of all persons, regardless of color or status. But after her prophetic witness and the subsequent victories of the civil rights movement, how is it that so many Americans -black and white- reject its truth?

Among the dignitaries who incensed the tomb of Rosa with panegyrics and poses were many –even blacks!- who publicly defend the lie that deliberately aborting one’s child is not murder but an inalienable right worthy of jealous protection. Doubtless this is how many slaveowners felt about their right to own slaves.

Many blacks have suffered much in the battle to throw off oppression. How is it that in light of our national history, black people -or any Americans- can ignore the oppression of the unborn? How can the descendents of slaves fail to rise up in righteous anger against laws that tolerate a power of life or death over the defenseless? If it is intolerable for one man to own another as property, is it not also intolerable for a man or woman to kill a child?

We need another Rosa right now, another Moses speaking truth to power, prepared to confront and denounce every pharoah who defends the killing of our posterity. We need a Rosa who can ignite in all of us a burning passion to secure justice not only for ourselves but also for our children.

It would be somehow fitting and beautiful if this new Rosa were female and black. But any color would do.

(This article appeared in Catholic Explorer, 18 November 2005.)

Rosa, your mission isn't finished yet

Rosa Parks honored by thousands at funeral in Detroit

At a time when black people in this country still suffered systematic discrimination -especially in the south- Rosa Parks' courageous and audacious refusal to yield her bus seat to a white man triggered a revolution whose seeds were planted centuries earlier. Awakening to the thunder of Rosa's simple act, other blacks, long abused and denied equal treatment by law and culture, rose up as a man near death who summoned hidden strength to demand justice from a capricious and negligent judge. Certainly Rosa couldn't have foreseen how prophetic and noble her actions would prove to be, and how glorious and grievous a blow she struck against the structures of sin and injustice arrayed against her people.

Yet the truth of Rosa's witness was not only about the God-given dignity of black people, but about the God-given dignity of every human individual, regardless of color or state of life.

But despite the prophetic witness of Rosa Parks and the gains of the civil rights movement in the United States, why is it that so many Americans today -black or otherwise- still are so blind to the truth of Rosa's message?

Among the prominent people who incensed the earthly remains of Rosa with luminous panegyrics and somber photo ops were more than a few figures -even blacks!- who have valiantly fought to defend the noble principle that women have an inalienable "right to choose" to have their unborn children torn to pieces and ripped from their womb. How revolting.

Many people risked and suffered much to secure a more just recognition of the dignity and rights of black people. How is it that in light of our national history, black people -or any Americans- can turn a blind eye to the silent slaughter of the unborn, the most defenseless individuals in society? How can the great-grandchildren of slaves fail to shudder in revulsion and rise up in righteous anger at the unjust law permitting any person to exercise an absolute power of life or death over another? If it is intolerable for a man to "own" a stranger as property, is it not equally intolerable for a woman to kill her own child? Does anyone think that the civil rights war is over and we now can relax?

I don't know whether Rosa Parks opposed elective abortion. Sometimes prophets do not immediately grasp every implication of the truth God speaks through them. But we need another Rosa right now, another Moses prepared to speak truth to power, prepared to confront and overturn any and every pharoah who defends the destruction of so many black and white children. We need a Rosa who can reawaken in her people -and all Americans- a thirst for justice whose benefits are not for themselves alone but also their children.

It would be a fitting and beautiful thing if this new Rosa were female and black. But any color would do.