By Cesar Franco
Texas is seen as a place where people are attached to God, family, guns, and land. This remains true. However, the Sexual Revolution and the rule of money over morals have taken their toll. Another Texas is emerging that espouses abortion, homosexuality, and socialism. The twenty-four young men traveling on a prolife caravan with Tradition, Family, Property saw this other Texas firsthand in Austin and San Antonio.
An Alarming Brutality
Throughout the campaigns for life, the overwhelming majority of reactions were favorable. There was a very vocal minority that usually appeared on the scene. Pro-abortion activists displayed their usual profanity, immoral gestures or shouted clichés like, “where are the women?” On this tour, a new slogan was heard in many places. It was disturbing for its alarming brutality: “Kill the babies!”
At a red light in San Antonio, TFP activists encountered a man who shouted, “Kill the babies. Cut their heads off! If they are going to be poor, just kill them.” When asked if poor homeless people should be killed, he responded: “Yes, kill them too.” He only became silent when asked if he or his family members might be murdered. When the light turned green, he drove away shouting, “Who is going to pay for them? Are you?”
Youth Was Not Made for Pleasure, but Heroism
One highlight of the caravan was campaigning at the University of Texas in Austin. With its liberal reputation, the young men were eager to test their debating skills. Not surprisingly, the pro-abortion students were none too happy to see the TFP campaign. It was not too long before the debates began!
One young man tried to argue against the campaign by deviating the debate asking questions, “Why are you in a suit?” or “What is your suit made of?” He had blue hair. So the TFP member asked him why his hair was blue. Surprisingly, the young man was dumbfounded and eventually replied, “That’s a good question. I don’t know.” Thinking himself clever, he asked, “Why is your hair black?” “Because that is the way it naturally grows,” was the response. When the TFP member then explained why he was prolife, the blue-haired student said he did not want to know and left disgusted.
One student asked how it can be known that God exists. “Because every effect has a cause. Look at the traffic signal for example. It didn’t just happen. Someone made it. And so it is with the created universe.”
He replied that a man made the traffic light. How does one know that God made the universe? “Everything around us is the effect of a cause. Therefore, if you take all effects and their causes back far enough, there has to be an uncaused cause. Can you give me an example of an effect that never had a cause?” He had no answer.
Fighting for the Soul of Texas
When the TFP prolife caravan arrived at the Alamo, they saw a group of atheists holding signs that said, “Keep Church and State Separate” and “Good without God.” Their T-shirts said, “I am an atheist, and I vote.” On this day, the Alamo again became a battlefield with the two sides fighting for the soul of Texas.
Fortunately, support from God’s Texas began to manifest itself. An old veteran saluted the TFP contingent as they campaigned. A 15-passenger van drove by with a fist out the window holding a rosary. With a big smile, the man shouted, “TFP! We watch all your videos!” Another lady said, “Look, I’ve had six children! I am completely opposed to abortion.” TFP member John Tomba offered a flyer to a middle-aged woman who said “I definitely need one of these. Give me three more, and I will pass them out.”
Caravan member Ross Vandeventer told one man that the campaign was to defend the unborn. “That’s great!” he responded. “My girlfriend wanted to get an abortion. I told her, ‘no way!’ We didn’t have the abortion, and now my child is six months old.”
Before leaving San Antonio, the young men paid a visit to a San Antonio Mission. Centuries ago, ardent Franciscan missionaries brought the Light of Christ to a Texas immersed in the darkness of paganism. Sadly, this darkness has returned with legalized abortion. The TFP caravan members renewed their resolve to continue the work those early missionaries began. They prayed for the day when Texas—and America—will be abortion-free.