Life: Imagine the Potential

15 Responses to Life: Imagine the Potential

1. 

   Don Johnson January 20, 2009 at 4:07 pm #

   Great ad!
2. 

   jeff miller January 20, 2009 at 4:13 pm #

   I’d put a ring on it.
3. 

   jeff miller January 20, 2009 at 4:15 pm #

   which apparently means “I like it”.
4. 

   rafe January 20, 2009 at 4:22 pm #

   that’s powr’ful!
5. 

   Hewson January 20, 2009 at 5:36 pm #

   Not sure how persuasive this argument will prove to be. I can imagine a stinging counter-video in which the fetus in question turns out to be Hitler, a crack-addict, drunk, etc. I like the video, but you get my point.
6. 

   Brandon Cox January 20, 2009 at 5:38 pm #

   I like it myself. I think it will have people’s attention right now, and rather than going legislative, they’re touching the heart.
7. 

   ryan January 20, 2009 at 5:56 pm #

   Hewson,

   I get your point but I do not think it refutes the ad the way you think it does.

   The ad simply highlights the HOPE of life and the amazing possibility that is in every womb. Being that hope is a central theme for the Obama campaign I think the ad nails it in saying that if we are to be a nation of hope, we must not restrict it at its most formative and vulnerable stage. All new life carries with it tremendous unknown for good or evil, but that does not inhibit the fact that life must be given a chance to demonstrate its worth.
8. 

   Russ Ware January 20, 2009 at 6:03 pm #

   Brilliant!

   This type of thing is the right battle, AND the right battlefield.
9. 

   Joshua January 21, 2009 at 3:40 pm #

   I am surprised that CatholicVote.com put that out. Good video though.
10. 

    Hewson January 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm #

    Ryan,

    I agree with you that this is a clever add and has strong emotional appeal; and I mean that it a positive sense. However, by resting the argument on potential for good, the obvious rebuttle is potential for evil. I would rather see pro-lifers -and I am most certainly pro life- argue on the basis of intrinsic value, image of God, and personhood rather than one’s potential to overcome obsticles and achieve “great things.”
11. 

    Darius T January 21, 2009 at 4:25 pm #

    Hewson, I don’t think “intrinsic value, image of God, and personhood” appeals to people who think we’re just a variation of ape. So appeal to where they do put value: their new messiah.
12. 

    Hewson January 21, 2009 at 4:38 pm #

    Darius,

    I see the strategy, and can appreciate the tactic. However, I think the long-term price is too high. Selling people on human potential for great things (being president, etc) is false advertisement because most people will never achieve greateness, so defined. Moreover, what about the sick? The aged? They are unable to meet that social expectation for greatness, so why is their life valuable? I think event people who accept evolution can accept the personhood arguments being made by guys like Peter Kreeft and by the authors of the book Embryo: A Case for Life.
13. 

    Darius T January 21, 2009 at 4:47 pm #

    Good point, Hewson. As a long-term strategy, no, it’s not a particularly good one as implies the elderly don’t have much to offer. However, don’t give humanity too much credit… most people aren’t thoughtful enough to understand personhood arguments made by writers or philosophers. So going for the 30 second shock or awe value has some merit.
14. 

    Hewson January 21, 2009 at 4:50 pm #

    You are right…
15. 

    Hewson January 21, 2009 at 5:03 pm #

    It would be interesting to see a similiar video in reverse and thus make the point that a great person was once a fetus and to kill that fetus would have been to kill the great person. So that you gets at the issue of potential and personhood. I really do like the video, though. Russ is right about the right battlefield, for sure.