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Pro-Life Training Program Series

Pro-Lifers Must Communicate

By Janet Baker

Treasurer, Pro-Life Maryland, Inc.

The sixth of the “Ten Principles of the Offensive” is to communicate.  Clowes defines communication as “the continuous active exchange of critical information during the planning and execution stages of a mission.”

No mission will succeed without it, he says:  pro-life individuals and groups should exercise their communication channels even when no mission is being planned or executed, because “the efficient exchange of data and ideas is an art form that must be learned.”

Too often, pro-lifers give communication a very low priority.  I recall mentioning the need for sidewalk counselors at various sites to coordinate amongst the different sites.  One person asked me, “Why can’t we just let the Holy Spirit guide the individuals?”  Another person said that such meetings are “a waste of time.”  I mention these comments not to embarrass the individuals, but because these mindsets are probably not at all unusual amongst us.

Other hindrances to communication might be the harboring of grudges (sinful, by the way), and lack of experience in such communication.

Clowes suggests that individuals and groups start such routine communication, if that isn’t already happening, to inform members of future missions and the need for cooperation.  Another reason is that there are pro-lifers who will call others only if they have a favor to ask (usually pro-life).  No one likes to be treated as a “go-for” or “favor-vending machine”; we pro-lifers, of all people, should show interest and concern for one another.

The seventh principle is “to maintain the momentum of your initiatives through flexibility.”  Flexibility is essential to make adjustments when new information is obtained, when our opposition shifts tactics, or when unanticipated circumstances arise.

Flexibility is often difficult for a pro-lifer, especially when a mission becomes his or her “baby”; he/she will be inclined to ram a mission through, despite its flaws.  I know I’ve been guilty of this in the past.  I do not use the adjective “guilty” lightly, for such a mindset is, more often than not, rooted in the sin of pride.

Obviously this seventh principle can’t come into play without the sixth principle:  to quickly revise our tactics, we need to be well-practiced in communicating with each other.