The 3%

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DrunkI once read a quotation about statistics which said that “a politician uses statistics in the same way a drunk uses a street lamp, for support rather than for illumination”… I thought that this was an appropriate quotation to begin the subject of today’s post. You see, it’s quite impossible to speak out against Planned Parenthood for long before hearing the following response:

“But abortion is only 3% of what Planned Parenthood does!”

This objection has been raised by many of my friends and you hear this statistic rattled off by politicians and Planned Parenthood advocates. 3% seems so small and insignificant! The argument is that if you defund Planned Parenthood then women would lose access to all the other services they provide as well. This assumes that abortion and healthcare can only come together as a package, treating pregnancy as though it’s just another disease.

How is it that Planned Parenthood is known for being the nation’s premiere abortion provider if it’s only 3% of what it does? Isn’t that incredible?! In fact, if it’s such a small percentage of their work, you can’t help but wonder why Planned Parenthood doesn’t just get out of the abortion industry altogether and save themselves the constant annoyance of having all those pesky pro-lifers outside of their clinics all the time!

There is a problem with the 3% statistic. While there is a certain veracity to the statistic, it’s incredibly misleading, so much so as to be positively meaningless!

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Brother Lawrence

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At the end of last week I went on another silent retreat. I spent lots of time reading “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence, a lay Carmelite brother. I’ve found it really beautiful. I would like to share with you a portion of Letter Seven:

Lawrence…[God] requires no great matters of us; a little remembrance of Him from time to time, a little adoration. Sometimes to pray for His grace. Sometimes to offer Him your sufferings. And sometimes to return Him thanks for the favors He has given you, and still gives you, in the midst of your troubles. Console yourself with Him the oftenest you can… The least little remembrance will always be pleasing to Him.

You need not cry very loud. He is nearer to us than we are aware. And we do not always have to be in church to be with God. We may make an oratory of our heart so we can, from time to time, retire to converse with Him in meekness, humility, and love…

…You are nearly sixty-four, and I am almost eighty. Let us live and die with God. Sufferings will be sweet and pleasant while we are with Him. Without Him, the greatest pleasures will be a cruel punishment to us….

Gradually become accustomed to worship Him in this way; to beg His grace, to offer Him your heart from time to time; in the midst of your business, even every moment if you can. Do not always scrupulously confine yourself to certain rules or particular forms of devotion. Instead, act in faith with love and humility.

Symbolism: St. John’s chalice and snake

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Over the next few months I’ll be writing some more about ancient Christian symbols (the fish, the anchor etc), but I thought I’d reboot my Symbolism Series by talking about something which caught my eye at Liturgy this morning.

In my parish, around the inner portion of the dome, we have paintings of the Twelve Apostles (with St. Matthias replacing Judas). This morning I ended up sitting next to the following painting of St. John:
John

It occurred to me that, while I know the book he is holding is symbolic of his Gospel, I had no idea of the symbolism behind the chalice and snake. When I got home I needed to satisfy my curiosity, so I did some research…

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Music Monday: More than you think I am

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As I said last week, we’ve got a couple of weeks of an artist I recently came across, Danny Gokey. This week it’s “More than you think I am”:

If you like this, I’d also strongly recommend you check out the acoustic version here.

You always think I’m somewhere on a mountain top
But never think behind bars
You’d be amazed the places that I’d go to be with you
Where you are

So forget what you’ve heard
What you think that you know
There’s a lot about me
That’s never been told

I’m more than you dreamed
More than you understand
Your days and your times
Were destined for our dance
I catch all your tears
Burn your name on my heart
Be still and trust my plan
I’m more than you think I am
More than you think I am

Rumor has it there’s a gavel in my hand
I’m only here to condemn
But let me tell you secrets you would’ve never known
I think of you as my best friend

So much has been said
Even done in my name
But I’m showing you now
Who I really am

Let me open your eyes to see the heart of me, differently
Come closer than you’ve ever been
Let me in like never before
Bring me every broken part
The wounds and scars of who you are
And hide in me and you will see

Crisis-Ready

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If you’ll indulge me, today I’d like to do a little bit of a PSA. This week I ticked off a long-standing item off my To Do List: Take a CPR course.

CPR

As a teenager I achieved the Bronze Medallion, a test which is taken by anyone who wants to be a lifeguard. It involves an extended series of challenges in a pool (swimming with your clothes on, picking up bricks from the bottom of the pool etc) but it also involves a practical and written exam concerning CPR. I did all this back in the early Stone Age, so for quite a few years I’ve been meaning to do a refresher course…

If I wanted to do a CPR course in England I would talk to the St. John Ambulance. However, in America I wasn’t sure to whom I should speak. I’ve since found out that the American Heart Association are the people to contact. However, as good fortune would have it, on Monday I drove through the Industrial District on my way to a coffee shop and passed a sign for CPR classes with the group called One Ounce of Prevention. So, as I was drinking my morning latté, I fired up Google, tracked down their contact details and gave them a call. By the time I hung up I was booked in for their class the following day.

The course itself was four hours long and covered CPR for adults and infants, the use of an AED, as well as basic First Aid (burns, breaks etc). Although the recommended ratio of breaths to chest compressions had changed (it does this practically every year) and there are fewer recommended checks prior to starting CPR, I was quite pleased that I remembered a good deal from the training from my teenage years.

For me though, the real benefit of the course was the simulated emergencies. It’s really quite terrifying how your mind can go completely blank when confronted by an unconscious body, even if it’s just a mannequin! “Wait, what did I need to check? What’s the next thing I have to do?” It’s really good to run through a few scenarios and get the routine more established in your head.

So, here’s my PSA… 88% of cardiac arrests occur outside of a hospital. What would you do if you were confronted by someone unconscious and not breathing? Our instructor told us that nationwide there’s an average 9% chance of survival, but that around Seattle more people know CPR so that number rises to 19%. In Detroit, however, fewer people know what to do and the number is basically 0%… Would you know what to do?

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