Maybe it’s because of who I hang out with. Maybe it’s because of what I read, or the emails I get sent. Maybe it’s because I’m Catholic. But I feel like a revolution is in the works. Can’t everyone see the pro-life movement’s efforts? Can’t everyone see what contraception is doing to society? Can’t everyone see why we have so many sexual problems manifesting themselves practically everywhere? Apparently not.
With every birth control conversation I end up in, or briefing about sexual assault, or pro-life event, I seem to go off the deep end with talking about every little reason behind everything. Seeing a person who may be naïve about birth control, for instance, makes me want to jump right in and tell them all the awful things about it. I want to convert them, in a sense, to the truth instantly.
And I become so surprised and taken-aback almost when someone seems to have “missed” this revolution (by disagreeing with me perhaps). I start to talk as if they already know what I know, have read what I’ve read, heard what I’ve heard. I get so wrapped up in all my information and emotions and excitement that I think I completely miss the person. I think about the conversations I have with people often and how I messed something I said up or forgot to explain something, or didn’t explain well enough. I feel like I let a whole bunch of people (most of who I’ve never met) down.
Maybe I don’t completely fail to convey the main reasoning and ideas, but I think I could definitely do a better job. And who knows, maybe it’s the first time they are hearing this, and are stunned.
Is it worth coming across too eager about a controversial way of thinking, even if you might scare someone away? Does anyone even care? Or am I fooling myself thinking that things will begin to change soon? Maybe I'm the naïve one.
I think we as Catholics often live in a bubble and speak often of ideas which others know little about. Part of the way to prevent this is to learn a way to communicate Catholic beliefs to outsiders in language they comprehend.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, most people don't hold beliefs for rational reasons only, and so there's more to it than merely being comprehensible. It's not always a matter of saying the correct facts and knowing all the answers. Sometimes people want to see that we are genuinely seeking truth and sometimes don't know specific answers (but we can get back to them with an answer later).
Sometimes people are won over to something unintentionally, for instance: if they see in us that we act in a manner consistent with the pro-life message and that we are better people because of it.