September/October 2009

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September is a defining month.  School begins along with many other activities and programs that occur during the school year.   Parliament has also resumed sitting in September, so this might be a good time to take a look at some basic do’s of letter writing and at the language used in our letters to MP’s.

For example, “child or fetus” is one of the most glaring examples.  Pro-abortionist propaganda has always manipulated this language to its advantage. The dehumanization of the unborn child is key to the abortion movement.  Even with the advances of ultrasound, we are still fighting an uphill battle convincing the public at large that the unborn child, is a child not just a “blob of tissue.”   Regrettably, in the past several months, I have even noticed some people in the pro-life movement using the term “fetus” when referring to the unborn child.

It is noted that “fetus” is a medical, scientific term for a specific stage of pre-birth development.  The words “baby”, “child”, “person”, “tiny human being” and “he or she” accurately speak to the humanity of the unborn and apply to every stage of development.  Noted US pro-life author and leader, Dr. Jack Willke, has warned us to never use the word “fetus”.  Instead, he says we should always speak of the “baby” or any of the other above terms when speaking of the unborn child.

Gender feminism has also caused a major change in the words we use.  The U.N. Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, firmly entrenched gender feminism and all its trappings.  It shifted the argument from a belief in the moral and legal equality of the two sexes - male and female - to a very different ideology.  “Gender” now means that men’s and women’s roles are “socially constructed and subject to change.”  In other words, it means the different roles of men and women are not the result of biology, but, rather, are the result of social construction - a product of human thought and culture only!

Since gender is considered a “social construction”, they argue that individuals should have the right to choose their gender and their sexual identity.  The term “gender”, by the way, is interpreted to include not only male and female, but also other genders - homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual.

Husbands and wives in recent years have become spouses or partners.  Sons and daughters become children (not untrue, but a sexless term).   Parents became guardians or care givers.  Words like feminine, masculine, womanhood, manhood, motherhood and fatherhood have all but disappeared from common usage.

There are many other examples with which we are all too familiar.  Chairman has become a chair; a postman is a postal carrier; a fisherman is a fisher; a fireman is a fire fighter; a policeman is a police officer.  Terms that indicate our natural male or female nature have been dropped from our language. 

Public opinion can be affected by the words we use, especially when discussing pro-life or pro-family matters.  We must learn to make our words work for us, not against us.

Here are the ABC’s of letter writing:  Address the person you are writing to properly.  Be brief and to the point and be respectful not rude.  Clear - be specific in your complaint, suggestion or praise.  Discuss only one issue in each letter and write in your own words.  Every so often write a letter.  Facts - be factual.  Give your name and address so the MP knows the letter is from his constituent.  Have a relationship with your provincial/federal politicians.  

It is so important to speak out by letters to politicians and newspapers and on talk radio and pubic meetings.  We have to do it, otherwise it is assumed that all the public goes along with the news of the left-wing “elites” (media, university professors, etc.) who are attempting to dominate the public debate.

Good luck in our important mission to let our politicians and the media know we are present, alert and we care what happens to this country!

Cecilia Forsyth

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