Thomas Umstattd Jr. » Abolition of Abortion

Public Agitator (Abolition of Abortion)

Thomas — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:39:11 +0000

The Hill Agitator is agitating on Capital Hill, influencing elected officials toward action. The Public Agitator works in the arena of ideas like the Public Figure , but in a different way.

People like the Public Figure . She is attractive, eloquent and convincing. She looks good on camera and people like to listen to her even when they disagree. The agitator on the other hand is that person people love to hate but can’t ignore.

Let me explain before you pass judgment.

The default state for most people is apathy. They need to feel uncomfortable before they will act. Agitators make people uncomfortable. They incite action. Effective movements know how to offend people into action. The Sons of Liberty did this when they dumped tea into Boston Harbor. They offended all of England and it worked.

Strangely, people like getting offended. Rap music is popular partly because it is so offensive. Why else would Howard Stern be so popular if he were not so offensive? Offensive people make the news because they are interesting. Offending people can be effective but it can also be disastrous. The pro-life movement must learn to harness this powerful tool without misusing it.

The key to effective agitation is to manage and focus the offense on the injustice, not the campaign to alleviate the injustice. This is an art we have yet to learn.

Our Founding Fathers used a one-two punch agitation tactic. Benjamin Franklin, a Public Figure and a later Floor Champion, condemned the Boston Tea Party and said that the tea should be repaid. This sort of talk redirected the agitation away from patriotism and towards the British. The Boston Tea Party forced the British hand and ultimately solidified the revolutionary cause among the colonies.

Another key with public agitation is to agitate the right people. The Boston Tea Party caused the British to blockade Boston Harbor, which magnified and exemplified British oppression. This agitated the other colonies who had to give up their food to keep Boston from starving.

In the movie Amazing Grace, William Wilberforce didn’t take his opponents to go smell the slave ships. He took his supporters. If we want the pro-life base to act we must make them uncomfortable. Instead of showing bloody fetus pictures to pro-choice people, we should show those pictures at church. The goal of the agitator is simple: keep the base from apathy.

We are talking about pastors who put an aborted fetus in a glass jar on the pulpit and then preach a sermon about what it really means to be pro-life.

Agitators must communicate with the Architect so that their actions fit within the overall strategy. Otherwise, their actions could cause more harm than good. And most of all he must listen to the Heavenly Architect. God is the ultimate strategist.

I don’t think it would be a good idea for the Public Agitator and the Public Figure to be officially associated. In fact, a certain amount of animosity may be helpful, though it wouldn’t be necessary. Our bodies work together even though if you were to put a brain cell in your stomach the stomach would destroy it. There is a difference between getting along and working together.

What do you think?

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email. If you would like to comment on any post in particular here they are:

Public Figure (Abolition of Abortion) Successful movements often have a Public Figure who represents the...
Hill Agitator (Abolition of Abortion) The agitator is the tireless force for change. This person,...
A Strategy for the Abolition of Abortion (Introduction) What would the pro-life movement look life if William Wilberforce...

Conclusion & Full Abolition of Abortion PDF

Thomas — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:08:18 +0000

Download the PDF

If all of these characters have one thing in common, it is devotion. We know little of true devotion today. Many of our founders suffered financial loss and even death in the pursuit of liberty. William Wilberforce gave up his life for the cause of Abolition. Those devoted to abolishing abortion must be willing to do the same.

Devotion means full commitment: money, time, energy, everything. God is not calling everyone to devote their lives to the pro-life movement. There are other noble causes. But, He is calling a special few. If you are still reading this pamphlet you may be among that number.

If you don’t feel called to devote your life to this cause, please do something. Become a minuteman. It is unthinkable to stand by and do nothing while a generation is murdered.

The most important thing you can do is to pray. Scripture makes it clear that this is a spiritual battle that we face. It will be won – or lost – in the heavenlies as the forces of darkness contend with the forces of light. The prayers of God’s people are vital.

Ask yourself if you are willing to devote your life to this cause. More importantly, ask the Lord if he is calling you to devote your life speaking for the defenseless. If He is, get your bow and let’s kill this dragon.

What do you think?

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email. If you would like to comment on any post in particular here they are:

Minutemen (Abolition of Abortion) Not everyone is called to advance the cause of the...
Public Figure (Abolition of Abortion) Successful movements often have a Public Figure who represents the...
Public Agitator (Abolition of Abortion) The Hill Agitator is agitating on Capital Hill, influencing elected...

Minutemen (Abolition of Abortion)

Thomas — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:50:52 +0000

Not everyone is called to advance the cause of the unborn full time. Nor does everyone need to. One of the things that most helped the war for independence was the host of part time volunteers called minutemen. These men were ready at a moments notice to show up where they were needed. They were willing to do anything even lay down their lives if need be.

If you are not called to serve full time here are some part time things you can do:

Pray for the Pro Life movement. Pray that it will make headway soon. Pray for its leadership.
Vote for and support Pro Life candidates at all levels of government. Often elected officials move up the political ladder. So even though they cannot enact change at present, they might at some point in the future. The more elected officials we have on our side, the greater the possibility of getting legislation favorable to the Pro Life cause passed, signed, enacted and upheld.
Donate to Pro Life causes.
Support pro-life businesses whose proceeds fund (at least in part) a Pro Life organization.
Request or donate Pro Life books and videos to local, libraries.
Befriend a woman who has had an abortion. Many women regret their decision to abort. Even if they don’t, abortion leaves deep scars on the mothers. It seems that we will get further in our cause, if we can compassionately win over as many as possible. A number of abortion-turned-life-advocates would definitely make people (including elected officials) sit up and take notice.
Contact elected officials about pro-life legislation and sign pro-life petitions. Imagine what would happen if we had a host of part time pro-life lobbyists. There are a number of pro-life organizations that can keep you informed about what is going on politically and who to contact when.
Write a thank you note to pro-life leaders. It will encourage them to keep up the good work and encourage them to vote that way again.
Encourage your church to observe Sanctity of Human Life Sunday which is the third Sunday in January.
Write regarding pro-life issues either as a letter to the editor, an email forward or a blog post.

No one can do everything. But everyone can do something. No contribution is too small.

What do you think?

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email. If you would like to comment on any post in particular here they are:

Conclusion & Full Abolition of Abortion PDF Download the PDF If all of these characters have one...
Public Figure (Abolition of Abortion) Successful movements often have a Public Figure who represents the...
Public Agitator (Abolition of Abortion) The Hill Agitator is agitating on Capital Hill, influencing elected...

The Architect & Baby Steps (Abolition of Abortion)

Thomas — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:45:21 +0000

The Architect is the one that works behind the scenes, strategizing and keeping everyone working together. Not being in the middle of the fray helps the Architect keep a healthy perspective. For the Abolition Movement one of the Architects was James Stephen .

In 1806, roughly 20 years after Wilberforce started his floor fight, the abolition movement had made little to no progress. Stephen came up with some great ideas about how to limit slavery without abolishing it.

As these ideas slowly turned into law, they weakened the pro-slavery position by draining money from their cause and morale from their hearts. The weakened slave traders had less political capital to give to pro-slavery Members of Parliament.

Is any of this sounding familiar? The pro-life movement is just beginning to learn these tactics. God gave bits and pieces of insight and strategic vision to different people in both movements acting as the chief architect.

The more the other figures work with the architect the more effective everyone will be. The Architect functions as brain of the movement, the Agitator the heart, and the Public Figure the face. We all need each other if we want to see real change.

Baby Steps

When it comes to strategy here are some intermediary steps we can take while we wait for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Funding ban – The Government should never give money to Planned Parenthood or any other abortion provider. Period. Planned Parenthood admits to receiving more than $336 million in government grants and contracts from the state and federal levels. This is unthinkable. Of all the places to cut government spending this is an easy place to start. We need to hit PP in the pocketbook by removing tax dollars from their war arsenal. Using federal funds to kill fetuses does not secure the blessings of liberty to our posterity. It impoverishes the nation, kills our children and breaks the hearts of mothers.
Abortion tax – Abortion hurts women emotionally and physically. The state has to pay many of the costs that stem from abortion and so it only makes sense for reproductive clinics to pay taxes to compensate the state for the costs incurred by their actions. An abortion tax would cause the cost of conducting an abortion to go up. The golden rule of politics is: taxes discourage, subsidies encourage.
School Ban – Abortion clinic workers should not teach special sexual education classes. Ever. In her book Blood Money former abortion provider Carol Everett talks about how she would guest lecture to sex ed classes and then have a box of free condoms for the students to take. She knew they would stuff the condoms into pockets and purses harming their effectiveness and then become sexually active. It got to the point where she knew about how many girls would get pregnant after each talk and how many would come to her for an abortion. This is one of the ways abortion providers market themselves. It needs to stop now.
Health Regulation – Many abortion clinics have horrible sanitation when it comes to the tools that they use. Heavy regulations regarding cleaning, training and facilities could add to the cost of abortion and give reason for governmental agencies to close down offending clinics. This will also make the abortion providers look even more barbaric as they defend their right to provide “dirty abortions.”
Advertising Regulation – Cigarettes were deemed dangerous for society and so we do not allow tobacco companies to advertise them to children. I think we should do the same to abortion providers. They should not be allowed to put up billboards where minors are allowed to see them.
Lawsuits – We should open up laws for women to sue abortion clinics for emotional and physical harm. Abortion providers should have to pay for the effects of Post Abortive Trauma. They manipulate women into making decision that they regret for the rest of their lives. These lawsuits would drain money from the pro-choice movement and raise public awareness about the side effects of abortion. If we can sue tobacco companies, we should be able to sue Planned Parenthood.

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email.

What do you think?

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email. If you would like to comment on any post in particular here they are:

Public Figure (Abolition of Abortion) Successful movements often have a Public Figure who represents the...
Conclusion & Full Abolition of Abortion PDF Download the PDF If all of these characters have one...
Floor Champion (Abolition of Abortion) The Floor Champion fights on the congressional floor for the...

Financial Backer & Denominational Coordinator (Abolition of Abortion)

Thomas — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:15:02 +0000

A lot of money for the revolution came from loans from wealthy Americans. Some of these loans were never repaid. Other Americans took on grave financial setbacks to support the war. Their houses were burned, their ships were confiscated and their businesses destroyed. They sacrificed for the cause of liberty.

The Left has some significant financial backers. Ted Turner gives millions if not billions to progressive causes and he leverages his multi billion-dollar media empire to advance a liberal worldview via movies, news, TV and the internet. But we are not unfunded. Our Leader owns the cattle on a thousand hills and He speaks to millions of people in His heavenly empire.

As a pro-life movement, we need people who are willing to acquire and leverage fast fortunes to advance the pro-life cause. Like the other positions, this takes true devotion.

We need elderly people to will their fortunes to protect the next generation. We need churches to contribute to pregnancy care centers. We need people to buy or build media empires that can offer free publicity to pro-life organizations. We need to use the financial resources that God has given us to advance His purposes. The pro-life movement always seems to be hurting for money and this should not be. God has blessed us with great wealth. We need to put it to good use.

Denominational Coordinator

Almost every denomination, with the exception of the Quakers, and the Church of England, backed the war for independence. Pastors preached on liberty and the whole nation fasted and prayed that God would bring victory.

The Denominational Coordinator works within a system of churches to get the members of those churches motivated around the pro-life cause. Lou Engle does that for some charismatic churches.

We pray that God will raise up Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran and Nondenominational versions of him. We need people from every denomination to spearhead prayer and action. If we want to win this battle we must win it in the heavenlies first. Denominational Liaisons need to work together. This would take an act of God and is be a good point for prayer.

What do you think?

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email. If you would like to comment on any post in particular here they are:

A Strategy for the Abolition of Abortion (Introduction) What would the pro-life movement look life if William Wilberforce...
Conclusion & Full Abolition of Abortion PDF Download the PDF If all of these characters have one...
Public Agitator (Abolition of Abortion) The Hill Agitator is agitating on Capital Hill, influencing elected...

Hill Agitator (Abolition of Abortion)

Thomas — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:31:30 +0000

The agitator is the tireless force for change. This person, more than anyone else, is willing to sacrifice her entire life to see change come about on Capital Hill. William Wilberforce, John Adams, and Patrick Henry are great examples of effective agitators. If we had three words to describe these men they would be passion, courage and dedication.

Unlike the Public Figure, the hill agitator is not necessarily well liked. John Adams, the tireless fighter for colonial independence, was said to be “obnoxious and disliked” even by his friends. He sacrificed his popularity to keep the topic of independence in front of the Continental Congress. He forced them to make a decision. And they did.

John Adams pushed the car of liberty, refusing to give up. He knew that others would eventually come help push. He was the energy behind the Declaration of Independence. Alone he couldn’t do it. But, once a Floor Champion sat in the driver’s seat and popped the clutch, the car jolted into action.

You can tell the difference between these roles by the language they use. The Public Figure and Floor Champion diplomatically use the phrase “pro-choice” when referring to the opposition whereas the agitator passionately uses the term “pro-abortion” or even “pro-death” if the situation warrants.

We have a lot of candidates willing to check the pro-life box on a voters guide but few who are willing to make it their top priority and make waves. We need to elect candidates who have devoted their lives to this issue. We need people to wisely rock the boat.

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email.

What do you think?

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email. If you would like to comment on any post in particular here they are:

Public Agitator (Abolition of Abortion) The Hill Agitator is agitating on Capital Hill, influencing elected...
A Strategy for the Abolition of Abortion (Introduction) What would the pro-life movement look life if William Wilberforce...
Public Figure (Abolition of Abortion) Successful movements often have a Public Figure who represents the...

Floor Champion (Abolition of Abortion)

Thomas — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:25:10 +0000

The Floor Champion fights on the congressional floor for the actual legislative change. While the Public Figure operates in the community influencing the opinions of the people, the Floor Champion fights in Congress. We need a Senate that will refuse to confirm pro-choice judges.

The revolutionary war had Floor Champions in every state. Richard Henry Lee served as a Floor Champion in the Virginia House of Commons. He and Patrick Henry played good cop/bad cop as Lee’s calm and eloquent oratories supplemented Henry’s passion and zeal. Henry activated the action via agitation. Lee directed that energy to positive change. Together they were unstoppable.

As for the British abolition movement, the Floor Champion was Lord Grenville . You are probably thinking, “What about William Wilberforce ? I saw an entire movie that depicted him operating as the Floor Champion.” Wilberforce was the Floor Champion in the House of Commons. Wilberforce agitated for change for 30 years but it was Lord Grenville’s eloquent speech before the House of Lords that resulted in a 41 to 20 vote eliminating the slave trade.

President Bush signing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban. There are no women in this photo.

Once Grenville’s abolition bill came before the House of Commons, it passed in a 283 to 16 landslide. Wilberforce provided the energy. Grenville breached the wall of opposition. What the Abolitionist movement needed was an articulate member of the Nobility to back up the movement. Once the aristocracy came onboard the opposition dwindled away.

So far, men have implemented most of the pro-life action and provided much of the energy behind the movement. Men are right and their arguments are good, but this is not enough. We need someone from the House of Lords to pop the bubble. We need to elect female Floor Champions .

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email.

What do you think?

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email. If you would like to comment on any post in particular here they are:

Hill Agitator (Abolition of Abortion) The agitator is the tireless force for change. This person,...
Conclusion & Full Abolition of Abortion PDF Download the PDF If all of these characters have one...
Public Agitator (Abolition of Abortion) The Hill Agitator is agitating on Capital Hill, influencing elected...

Public Figure (Abolition of Abortion)

Thomas — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:19:11 +0000

Successful movements often have a Public Figure who represents the movement as a whole. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King served as the public figure for Civil Rights.

Olaudah Equiano acted as the Public Figure for the British abolition movement. After attaining his freedom, Equiano devoted his life to traveling around England speaking about the realities of the slave trade. His autobiography, which depicted the horrors of slavery, sold thousands of copies. When the British thought about slavery, they thought of this eloquent man who stayed out of politics.

The Public Figure operates in the arena of ideas convincing the people to change their minds. The problem with the pro-life movement is that we have no Dr. Martin Luther King Jr . to represent our cause. Instead we have dozens of somewhat influential people who have only a mediocre following.

Ideally this public figure would be an attractive, eloquent and diplomatic woman. She is the type of person people listen to even when they disagree with her because she is so engaging. When she is on CNN, viewers stop changing the channels to listen to her speak.

I am convinced that a man cannot serve as an effective public figure. Could MLK have led his movement if he were white? Men have less authority to speak about abortion because the ramifications only affect them indirectly. Part of what has hurt the Pro-Life movement is that its primary leaders have been mostly men. I don’t want to discount their heroic accomplishments, but they need to allow a woman to surpass them if we want to reach new heights.

What do you think?

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email. If you would like to comment on any post in particular here they are:

Public Agitator (Abolition of Abortion) The Hill Agitator is agitating on Capital Hill, influencing elected...
Floor Champion (Abolition of Abortion) The Floor Champion fights on the congressional floor for the...
Conclusion & Full Abolition of Abortion PDF Download the PDF If all of these characters have one...

A Strategy for the Abolition of Abortion (Introduction)

Thomas — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:31:32 +0000

What would the pro-life movement look life if William Wilberforce were still alive? History tells of times when radical and sudden political reform rocked the world. If we study world changers we can learn to imitate them. This is their story. We hope it will be our story too. Several Patriot Academy alumni have worked with me on this strategy including Sarah Coburn, Hannah Hill, Jennifer Lackey and  Jacque Otto. Download the Full PDF of the Strategy .

This is a character based strategy that answers the question “who do we need where?” instead of the question “what do we need to do when?” If you are interested in the pro-life cause you will like this strategy.

Introduction

“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, then to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new.”

Nicolò Machiavelli The Prince

Everyone wants to be the Knight who slays the dragon. Only a few want to be the archers who back him up. You can not single out one man who brought us independence. You can not isolate one person who abolished slavery. We may cut out the archers from history but their contribution made the difference. They changed the world.

If we want to slay the dragon of abortion we need a host of archers. We need to work together. Working together does not mean doing the same thing. In the past God has used different people differently. By His hand these people worked together even though they sometimes disagreed.

This pamphlet will introduce you to the different types of people that God has used in the past to enact change. They are the Public Figure , Floor Champion , Hill Agitator , Public Agitator , Financial Backer , Denominational Coordinator , Architect and Minutemen .

What do you think?

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me an email. If you would like to comment on any post in particular here they are:

Public Agitator (Abolition of Abortion) The Hill Agitator is agitating on Capital Hill, influencing elected...
Public Figure (Abolition of Abortion) Successful movements often have a Public Figure who represents the...
Conclusion & Full Abolition of Abortion PDF Download the PDF If all of these characters have one...