We Stood Alone

The Spiral of Silence

The day began at 8:30AM when we all met upstairs for prayer.

There were about 30 of us.

We prayed for favor—for hearts to be challenged and changed.

We prayed for the opportunity to elevate the conversation—for light to shine in darkness.

We prayed that this day would mark the beginning of the end of abortion—The Age of Abolition.

And then we got to work.

Within an hour, every delegate was handed the Abolition Resolution Package.

What we did not know in that first hopeful hour was that it was over before it had begun.

By 9:30, I was told that Abolition would not be heard.

Decisions had been made.

We stood alone.

I was undeterred.

The first session came and went.

Efforts were blocked.

Microphones were blocked.

We waited.

Surely a champion with a more powerful voice than any one of ours would arise.

Mark Robinson?

Neal Jackson?

Hal Weatherman?

Any number of “adamantly pro-life” legislators, party chairs, candidates, council members…

I saw them reading.

They knew what we were trying to accomplish.

Billy Miller knew what we were trying to accomplish.

We stood alone.

We were still hopeful when the first session ended though Medical Freedom had been extracted from the package (a signal it would be amended, gutted, inverted, defeated) and Abolition had never been given opportunity.

Lunch brought stomach churning conversations.

“We cannot end abortion, my mother had to use a coat hanger.”

“We cannot entertain abolition—this is an election year.”

“We will lose the supermajority.”

We stood alone.

Within minutes of the start of the afternoon session, it was obvious that Medical Freedom AND Abolition would be filibustered.

I remained undeterred.

We all did.

There were so many opportunities yet for any number of powerful voices in the NCGOP to arise and speak on behalf of Abolition.

Mark Robinson would speak.

One sentence from him and we would be heard.

We waited with anticipation.

We stood alone.

By 5:00, Medical Freedom and Abolition were dead.

It was a well coordinated effort to suppress Truth and eliminate debate over the two most salient issues of our era—Human Freedom and the Sanctity of Human life.

Disgust.

Nausea.

Bloody feet.

Fog of War.

Tears.

We stood alone.

I didn’t cry because we lost.

I didn’t cry because we were not heard.

I didn’t cry because of the well coordinated effort to silence us.

I didn’t even cry because of the visceral evil against which we contended.

I cried because we stood alone.

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Post Script:

To the Grassroots…

You are the collective “we”.

You showed up.

You sacrificed.

You prayed.

You donated.

You supported the t-shirt drive and the education campaign.

You more than covered the cost of printing campaign packages and raised a generous amount to donate to the Hoke County Crisis Pregnancy Center.

You stood.

We didn’t fail.

They did.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. -Ephesians 6:13