Tea at Trianon: Never Give Up

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Never Give Up

A young girl triumphs over darkness:

During the hard times, I made a promise to God that if He would help me I would spend the rest of my life spreading hope and opposing sexual exploitation and upholding human dignity. I did receive help and many people were placed in my path at perfect moments to boost me up and push me along.

Now I have three messages for the world.

The first is that sexual exploitation hurts. It hurts children who are sexually abused and I know from experience that it continues to hurt them for the duration of their lives until they can access healing. It hurts people who are addicted to pornography. It alters their brains just like a drug. There are many who are addicted who don’t want to be and are desperate for a way out. It hurts those who are trafficked, sold, bought and used. Their dignity and humanity are stripped from them.

It hurts the people who love the people it affects. I witnessed immense suffering in my parents and siblings because of my experience and I’ve watched it ripple out to our neighbors and friends. Sexual exploitation is an epidemic in our society. Disregard for dignity, respect and morality is corroding our society and some people are making a gigantic profit because of it.

The second is that nothing will change if we don’t talk about it. You cannot fix a problem you don’t understand. Because it is a problem that is bigger than a few individuals there has to be widespread understanding across society. I was very sick because of sexual exploitation. Healing did not come until I looked it squarely in the face, acknowledged it and how it affected me, and understood it. Because then I could see things I needed to change. It is the same with society as a whole. (Read more.)