Thursday, May 28, 2009

Watching the March for Life with “Thine Eyes”

by Francis Slobodnik

The pro-life documentary is titled Thine Eyes and runs forty-eight minutes telling the story of the 2009 March For Life in Washington, DC. While the executive producer of this film, Mr. Jack Cashill, had never attended the March before, he could see the efforts to silence the success of the annual March by the media. Most newspapers, television and radio stations either ignore it entirely, like The New York Times, or at best, downplay the event greatly.

So Mr. Cashill and his friend, Mike Wunsch decided to made this film as a means to expose the truth about the constantly growing March that has been so totally ignored by the media over these last thirty-six years.

Thine Eyes can be divided into three parts. It begins with a few different groups preparing for the trip and their journey to Washington D.C. The second part of the film documents these groups arriving and their participation in the March. Lastly it shows their trip home and a brief report on what the media did not say about the March.

The first section recounts the experiences of three different groups who travel to the March. The first was Benedictine College from Atchison, Kansas, a Catholic college that has always had a very strong student pro-life organization on campus. The second group was from Missourians for Life that traveled from St. Louis, Missouri and the last was John Carroll Catholic High School from Birmingham, Alabama.

During the second part, the March is filmed by no less than six cameras from rooftops and from within the crowd. Many participants, both young and old, were interviewed. One woman in her 70's was having difficulty walking, but pledges to keep attending the March as long as she has the strength. Another was a young high-school student from Boston who was supposed to have been aborted, but her parents decided against it. Mr. Joe Scheidler, veteran pro-life warrior with battle scars to prove it, gave words of encouragement to all.

The students from Benedictine College were shown reverently praying the Rosary in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Additionally there is the marching band from the American TFP complete with bagpipes, fifes, brass and percussion. Flying high above the crowd are the TFP standards that dance in the breeze crowning the March with their noble spirit. Along with the American TFP, sister TFPs from France, Italy and Germany display their banners with pride.

The film is narrated by actress, Jennifer O’Neill, who incidentally, was coerced into having an abortion shortly after the infamous Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

I highly recommend this film as a powerful testimony to the brutal silence imposed by the media and the heroic success of the American pro-life movement. While the first part on the buses to the March moves slowly, this is entirely overshadowed by the grandeur of the March itself that is so accurately recorded. One is very impressed to see the multitude of youth who have strong enough convictions based on principles to attend.

Because the Revolutionary process has so dominated family life, education and culture, it could be difficult to understand how a young person growing up today could have such strong convictions. To me, this shows how the grace of Our Lady can penetrate the darkness and bring light.

Thine Eyes is also an excellent means of encouragement to help others see how large and effective the March really is. If you have never attended a March for Life, this film will give you some idea of the magnitude of the event. It can help those who live in communities, neighborhoods or college campuses where it is not popular to be pro-life, to assert their pro-life convictions.

Besides being impressed with a crowd of over 300,000, it is also good to remember that it is a large financial sacrifice for most who attend. Participants travel from across the United States as well as foreign countries. It takes strong principles to go to such effort and expense for a one-day event.

To order the DVD you can go to the website at www.thineeyes.org

A trailer can be viewed by clicking here.

I must add, the music heard in the background during the trailer is the marching band from the American TFP.

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