By Cesar Franco
For those who have never been to Fort Worth, it still retains some character from times past. At the stockyards, one can catch a small glimpse of what things looked like when thousands of cattle were loaded onto trains to go to other parts of the country. The old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral has paintings of the Franciscan martyrs of Texas and Venerable Maria of Agreda, the famous “Lady in blue” who preached to the Texas Indians.
An enthusiastic group of young men took in this glorious past as they arrived in Fort Worth. They were part of the Tradition, Family, Property Summer caravan, and they were in the city to oppose procured abortion.
They found lots of people at the downtown Sundance Square. It was an ideal place for a TFP lunchtime campaign.
One man was shocked upon seeing the TFP cross his path. “I was just watching your videos, and my kids love them!”
“It’s a woman’s choice!” shouted an old woman to TFP caravan member Ross Vandeventer. Immediately another couple thanked him, and the wife said out loud, “I am glad to see you are out here.” Then facing the old woman, she said, “Not everybody appreciates it, but we do.”
One woman driving by the campaign attempted to defend abortion. Caravan member David Dunlap told her adoption was the better option. “Do you know that only 1 in 10 children born is adopted?” he responded, “My dad was adopted, and he is great!” Realizing that abortion would have deprived him of his father, the woman closed her window and said nothing more.
One lady defined herself as pro-life, but only for herself, not for others. “I don’t understand why you are telling women what they can and can’t do. You should be focusing on hunger and poverty and cancer.” TFP member Gabriel Jordan responded that fighting abortion helps prevent breast cancer since some studies say that young women who voluntarily abort their babies are 2.4 times more likely to contract breast cancer. When a homeless man in a wheelchair passed by, the woman pointed to him and said, “This is a prime example of what I am talking about. You should be fighting stop this.” Ross Vandeventer quickly asked the man, “Excuse me, sir, are you pro-life?” He responded: “I ain’t killing my kids! I have nine of them!” Then turning to the woman, Ross said, “See! He’s pro-life.” Her response was “I don’t care what he feels personally. All this [referring to the man] could be resolved through abortion.” She believed the myth that abortion solves poverty.
One man said he was pro-life but that he was afraid the abortion issue was dividing the nation too much: “People need to find common ground to unite the country.” The TFP caravan member responded that finding common ground on the issue of abortion is impossible because killing unborn children is such a grave evil, that there can be no compromise. Whole generations of Americans have been killed through abortion. The man, a Catholic, said to keep up the good work. “Onward Christian soldiers!” he said as he departed.
One woman hugged Jerome Linscomb, saying, “I love what you all are doing!”
After seeing the sign asking people to honk to support life, a young lady tried to reach over and honk the horn. The driver blocked her hand, and a struggle then ensued over the horn, as the car drove off.
Later, the caravan campaigned near the Hulen Mall during rush hour. The members were greeted with waves, thumbs up, and honks. The scene of young men with the bagpipes, flags, and enthusiasm for their cause inspired hope for America’s future. There are still God-fearing Americans who feel strongly about these important issues. The caravan members finished the day’s campaign with three Hail Marys beseeching Our Blessed Mother to strengthen the resolve of Americans to abolish the killing of the innocent in the nation.