WISE LIKE WILBERFORCE
by Sarah Sonne
May 21, 2009
In response to National Post article
While William Wilberforce did take a new approach on ending the slave trade, he did so within the context of being a Member of Parliament.
Wilberforce took the issue of slavery out of the missionary church, and brought it into the epicenter of political debate, exactly the opposite of the illustration the article "A Wise New Strategy For Pro-Lifers" seems to make. The point of a Wilberforce analogy is not how long he took to change things, but how hard he fought every step of the way despite opposition and ridicule from his peers in Parliament. History is kind to William Wilberforce because he wrote it, but at the time he was neither popular nor politically correct.
I am bored with hearing the "wise as snakes, innocent as doves" mantra as a proverb for being subdued when it is clearly preceded by "I send you out as sheep among wolves", a commission that clearly requires courage, leadership, and determination in order to survive. It’s edgy, it’s daring, it’s anything but boring. If Wilberforce were alive today I believe he would still be bringing social justice issues into politics, not out of them, and that the Manning Center has the place and influence to do just that. I am grateful for the leadership they are starting to show in this arena.
