Today it struck me that Buy Nothing Day, though it's often promoted on the basis of a philosophy that's not necessarily anti-abortion, can be, if you participate in the right spirit, a very pro-life event.
The premise? Don't buy anything the day (or weekend) after Thanksgiving. Instead, devote the shopping hours to practicing more sustainable ways of living. Think about what you really need as opposed to what you only want. Save money and resources.
For some participants, Buy Nothing Day is connected to environmental philosophies that also promote or encourage population control as one important way of preserving Earth's resources. But there's no necessary connection between thrift or environmentalism and a population-control mindset. At the same time, people do need a good clean environment to thrive, and what's more pro-life than making sure the planet can still sustain those babies when they're born?
So if you participate, use Buy Nothing Day as a way to remind yourself that the resources you preserve by not pursuing your superficial desires could help to meet a brand new human being's material needs. Figure out how much money you probably saved by not shopping, and donate it to your local pregnancy resource center. Or spend the time volunteering instead of mall-crawling.
Buy Nothing Day is also a great day to launch The Practical Pro-Lifer in earnest. Because what we're all about here is building common ground, taking concrete action, and making the unconventional move to transform the confused culture we live in, making it just a little closer to the ideal culture of life we hope for.
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