A Letter to The Notre Dame Grads

Dear Notre Dame Class of 2017,
I saw some footage from your commencement. Your speaker was Vice President Mike Pence, and many of your were clearly not happy about that. Several of you were so unhappy that, when he took the stage, you walked out.
You had every right to do that, I'll admit it. However, you should know how disrespectful that was. Whether you like it or not, Pence is our vice president. It is important to note that he was not there to discuss all of the political agendas that you all gave as reasons for walking out, he was there to give a commencement address, which typically involves simply encouraging the graduates in their pursuit of their dreams. The closest he got to political discussion was his discussion of the importance of free speech.
Your walk out was kind of contradictory in regards to free speech. You used your constitutional right to free speech and protest to walk out of the graduation, but you also demonstrated how you're all about free speech...but only when it agrees with your views. You walked out of your own graduation because the speaker was someone you do not agree with. You weren't even willing to listen to what he had to say. So much for free speech, huh?
One last thing, if you didn't want to hear the views of conservative Christians, you probably shouldn't have chosen to attend one of the largest Catholic universities in America...or any Catholic university.
Sincerely,
A Conservative American

Manchester

I just wanted to say that my heart goes out to the victims of the Manchester bombing that happened last night, as well as their families. You all are in my prayers.
My heart also goes out to Ariana Grande herself, since it was her concert that the attack happened at. A lot of people have given the celebrities that have posted on social media in support of their friend a lot of heat for doing so. The majority of these celebs have also expressed support and condolences to the victims and their families. However, people seem to be upset that they are supporting Ari as well. Why? Don't you guys think she feels awful about this? It was HER concert. Yes, she is safe while many others lost their lives or were injured, but she still deserves some love and prayers.

Babies and Graduation

Earlier today, a friend of mine who works for Students For Life shared an article (which you can read here). This article was about high school senior, Maddi Runkles, who happens to be pregnant. Runkles attends a private Christian school in Maryland, and, due to her pregnancy, her school is not allowing her to walk at graduation. They say she will still receive a diploma, but she cannot participate in the graduation ceremony. This isn't right.

I understand that the school wishes to uphold it's clean, Christian reputation. However, is excluding a girl from graduation for choosing life really very Christian? Christians are supposed to support life from conception to natural death. Now, I know many Christians who do not follow this, but even pro-choice groups have posted in support of Maddi. 

One of the reasons the school does not want Maddi participating in graduation is that premarital sex is a sin, and they don't want to celebrate that. However, regardless of age or circumstances, we are called to love and support pregnant women. Technically, we're called to love everyone, no matter what. Anyway, the school doesn't want to celebrate this "mistake" and make other girls in the school think that having sex and getting pregnant before marriage is okay. 

What kind of message is this really sending though? To me, it seems to be telling teen girls that if they get pregnant, they will be punished. All this does is discourage young women from choosing life.
The school wants to promote chastity and abstinence, which is all well and good, but studies show that abstinence only sex education doesn't work. Teens are going to have sex. We can educate them and try to discourage it, but the truth is, it's going to happen. When it does happen, and results in a pregnancy (which is the biological purpose of sex), we shouldn't be shaming the girl for having sex. We should encourage her to choose life for her child. If she doesn't wish to keep the child or doesn't think she's a fit mother, we should direct to adoption resources.
If you agree with me, I suggest you contact the school, which you can do here, and stand up for Maddi.

Letting Children Decide Gender?

Recently, a friend of mine shared a video (you can see said video by clicking here). This video suggested that expectant parents should not have gender reveal parties, or otherwise announce the gender of the baby, because they need to let the child decide what gender they are. The comments, and many comments on the original post said things I agree with. Pretty much everyone pointed out how ridiculous such a suggestion was.
The video says that "sonogram technicians can make their best guess, but it's ultimately up to your child." It also suggests you should wait until the child is 35, and let them decide their gender. No. I know a lot of people argue about the difference between gender and sex, but a lot of dictionaries list the two as synonymous, but do acknowledge that gender is more specific to the social aspect. Your chromosomes determine your gender, not what you "feel like."
If you're supposed to wait until they're 35 to determine their gender, should you wait til they're 35 to give them a name? Or not feed them until you know their preferences?