"As mothers and grandmothers uniting together behind our shared commitment to children, family, freedom and country, and standing against the forces which threaten these God given blessings, we are a powerful force which can Change Cultures and Resurrect Hope.
Since our Founding, America has gone through many trials and challenges.
It has been the moms, the homemakers, that have been the glue that held families together, that raised up the children to lead the next generation, that held up the arms of their husbands and our nation’s leaders.
It’s been the moms that have been the prayer warriors with worn-out knees that have petitioned God to guide us, sustain us and bless America. We are standing on the shoulders of the mothers who have gone before us and left us with this great legacy.
As a stepmother and grandmother of 3 young children, I stand before you with both a Burden and a Beacon.
First, the Burden. Pope Francis, whom I and other leaders will have the honor of a Papal Audience with in two weeks at the first “World Congress on Child Dignity in the Digital Age”, once said, “A society can be judged by the way it treats it children.”
And ladies, in our own nation….the sexual exploitation of children is at an all time high!!
- This year, 1 in 10 children under the age of 18 will be sexually abused in the U.S.
- Each year, 100,000 American children are the victims of trafficking.
- The U.S. is 2nd in the world in hosting child porn websites.
- America is the #1 producer, distributor and exporter of hard –core Internet pornography because our federal obscenity laws have not been aggressively enforced. Of the 4 million porn sites blocked in the U.K., 2.5 million are from the U.S.
- An avg. of 70% of teen boys and girls have seen online pornography depicting anal sex and 25% have seen bestiality.
- One third of our youth are victims of cyberbullying.
- Teen Vogue Magazine refuses to remove its “Safe” Anal Sex Guide for teens, in spite of Enough Is Enough®’s 20 thousand-plus petitions!
- Of the top health concerns for America’s children, Internet Dangers ranks 4th
- Amidst the pressures of our culture, the suicide rate among teen girls has doubled in the past 10 years and has risen 30 % among teen boys.
Our nation is at a crossroads. We can give up and give in, OR, We Can Fight Back Together, and Say, Enough Is Enough®! Now is the time we must unite against these scourges that are corroding childhood, destroying families and coarsening our culture.
But in our Battle Cry we must not despair, because we have a Beacon of Hope.
I believe in the American Dream rooted in our Constitution. A culture of human dignity and mutual respect has made this nation strong even in the most turbulent of times in our history.
Let Us all stand together and focus on what unites us and not on what divides us. Let Us build the bridges of reconciliation, Let Us check our differences at the door, and Let Us Take the High Road.
As mothers and grandmothers, when we unite together, our children will once again enjoy a safe and protected Age of Innocence. All of the federal laws to prevent the sexual exploitation children will be aggressively enforced, not just some of them. Civility and manners will return to our streets. All people will be treated with dignity and respect. The Golden Rule will be the New Normal again. Virtue and modesty will replace vulgarity and pornification. Kindness will replace meanness and bullying. Goodness will be Fashionable Again. "Yes ma'am" and "no sir" will be the common rhetoric of our youth.
Our children will once again be able to pray and say the Pledge of Allegiance in grade school, just like I did. And….The mission of Enough Is Enough® to make the Internet safe, for the first time in history will be achieved and sustained.
Mothers of America, With the heart of a Lioness and the Tenderness of a child...Let’s Rise Up!!!.
Will you stand up now and let’s pledge together in support of this cultural movement started here today….
That we will Lead by example…..in the words of St.Francis….
"Where there is hatred, let Us sow love;
Where there is injury, let Us be the first to forgive;
Where there is doubt, let Us hold up the banner of faith;
Where there is despair, let Us offer hope;
Where there is darkness, let Us shine a bright light;
Where there is sadness, let Us choose joy."
For the Sake of our children, our families and our nation, God Bless You and
God Bless America"
(A PDF version of the speech can be found here).
|
