In October of 1992, Spectrum Magazine ran an article written by a young physician, Gary Gilbert, in which he attempted to justify his loss of faith on the basis of the existence of pseudogenes.

Pseudogenes are regions of DNA that have codes very similar to known genes, but often have stop codes in every reading frame, so that no protein could ever be produced from the code they contain. They were presumed by evolutionists to be copies of protein-coding genes that, through the process of evolution, have been mutated so extensively that they are no longer functional.

Gilbert learned that there was a pseudogene within the five functional genes of the beta globin gene family on chromosome 11 that was present in both humans and chimpanzees. Since the likelihood of a functional gene being similarly disabled in both humans and chimpanzees is very low, Gilbert concluded, in his Spectrum article, that both humans and chimpanzees were descended from a common ancestor that had that pseudogene.

Gilbert decided, on that basis, that the Biblical account of origins could not be correct and therefore concluded that we humans arose as a result result of evolutionary processes. Of course, this was a huge stretch, but it was enough for Gilbert; and his article was the basis for a number of Adventists losing their sense of direction in scripture, especially with regard to origins.

Are pseudogenes functionless?

For decades, I have explained to students in molecular biology that pseudogenes are not functionless and never were. In the case of the beta globin gene, I pointed out to them that the two pseudogenes in the beta globin gene family (there are five globin genes which occur on the chromosome in the same order as they are utilized in the developmental process) are so placed that one of them is located just before the genes that are activated in ontogeny (at the beginning of fetal development), and the other one is located just before the two beta globin genes that are utilized in the adult. That was, for me anyway, clear evidence for regulatory functionality. So, I instructed my students to this concept.

In philosophy class, I handed out or at times gave, as part of the final exam, Gilbert’s article as required reading for my students. I required them to analyze his logic and conclusions. Almost always the students concluded that Gilbert was not coming to the data to find answers, but he was seeking to use science to support his own pre-determined philosophical position.

It has taken some years for our understanding of pseudogenes to come out of the dark. First came indications that many pseudogenes were functional. Then certain experiments that knocked them out indicated that quite a number were in fact essential (1, 2). More recently, in 2012, the startling revelations of the ENCODE project (3) demonstrated that almost all DNA was functional. This discovery was soon followed by articles boldly proclaiming that “Pseudogenes are not pseudo any more” – such as an article by Wen et. al. (4) In this particular article the authors note:

“The study of functional pseudogenes is just at the beginning. There remain many questions to be addressed, such as the regulatory elements controlling the cell or tissue specific expression of pseudogenes. But, definitely, the so-called pseudogenes are really functional, not to be considered any more as just “junk” or “fossil” DNA. Surely, many functional pseudogenes and novel regulatory mechanisms remain to be discovered and explored in diverse organisms.” [emphasis added]

Finally, within the last year, the hemoglobin pseudogenes have themselves been the object of some study, specifically the HPPB1 gene that sits amidst the “functional” genes of the beta globin locus. As we had suspected on the basis of a considered study of placement, it is not only highly conserved (something Gilbert could have seen early on), but is essential for function. Even a single base change in the pseudogene region is responsible for pathology in humans (6).

What is the take home lesson from this? When we think we find evidence that a clear reading of the Bible story of origins is wrong, it would be well to consider the mantra of the skeptic: “An extraordinary claim requires extraordinary evidence.”

Before you decide God was wrong when He wrote with his finger in stone (7) that he made the earth in six days, perhaps we would be well served to consider all the evidence, and then, with humility, acknowledge our own ignorance and bow before the Creator in reverence and awe.

Who knows, had the author of this article reserved judgment, or better yet, had he pursued the functionality of the pseudogene, perhaps we could be talking about the Adventist Nobel Laureate who discovered the functionality of pseudogenes? – instead of lamenting for a soul who chose to abandon the Biblical account of origins to follow the philosophies of Darwinism.

References:
1. Shinji Hirotsune, Noriyuki Yoshida, Amy Chen, Lisa Garrett, Fumihiro Sugiyama, Satoru Takahashi, Ken-Ichi Yagami, Anthony Wynshaw-Boris & Atsushi Yoshiki. 2003. An expressed pseudogene regulates the messenger-RNA stability of its homologous coding gene. Nature 423, 91 – 96;
2. Evgeniy S. Balakirev and Francisco J. Ayala. 2003. Pseudogenes: Are They “Junk” or Functional DNA? Annual Review of Genetics, Vol. 37, pp. 123-151
3. The ENCODE Project Consortium. 2012. An Integrated Encyclopedia of DNA Elements in the Human Genome. Nature. 489: 57-74
4. Yan-Zi Wen, Ling-Ling Zheng, Liang-Hu Qu, Francisco J. Ayala and Zhao-Rong Lun. 2012. RNA Biology 9:1, 27–32.
5. Moleirinho A, Seixas S, Lopes AM, Bento C, Prata MJ, Amorim A. 2013. Evolutionary Constraints in the β-Globin Cluster: The Signature of Purifying Selection at the δ-Globin (HBD) Locus and its Role in Developmental Gene Regulation. Genome Biology and Evolution. 5: 559–571.
6. Giannopoulou E, Bartsakoulia M, Tafrali C, Kourakli A, Poulas K, Stavrou EF, Papachatzopoulou A, Georgitsi M, Patrinos GP. 2012. A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in the HBBP1 Gene in the Human β-Globin Locus is Associated with a Mild β-Thalassemia Disease Phenotype. Hemoglobin. 36 (5): 433-445.
7. Genesis 31:16-18

http://www.educatetruth.com/featured/gary-gilbert-spectrum-and-pseudogenes/

Consider the following:

1. The number of abortions per year around the world is 50 million!

2. 56 percent of abortions done in America are on behalf of black and Hispanic women!

3. If Americans were to watch how abortion is done, the practice would become as unthinkable as slavery!

Una mujer llega desesperada a la consulta con su ginecólogo.

- Doctor usted tiene que ayudarme, tengo un problema muy, muy en serio… mi hijo todavía no ha completado un año, estoy nuevamente embarazada y no quiero tener hijos en un espacio de tiempo tan corto sino con algunos años de diferencia.

- Y en que puedo ayudarla entonces?

- Cuento con su ayuda para interrumpir este embarazo.
Se produjo un gran silencio mientras el médico se quedaba pensando.

- Querida señora, creo que ya tengo una solución para que usted no tenga dos niños en tan poco tiempo.

La mujer sonrió aliviada pensando que el médico había aceptado su petición, pero éste continuó.

- He pensado que la mejor forma de resolver su problema sería matar el niño que usted tiene en brazos. De esta forma usted correría muchos menos riesgos y tendría tiempo para descansar hasta que nazca el otro.

- Pero eso sería un crimen!… no se puede matar un niño!

- Matar el que usted lleva en el vientre o el que tiene en brazos no hace diferencia. Es siempre un crimen.

La mujer se quedó sin palabras y el médico dejó pasar unos momentos en silencio antes de agregar:

- La veo en unas semanas para escuchar el corazón del hermanito en el primer ultrasonido.

President Obama’s Infanticide Vote When he Was an Illinois Senator

President Obama’s and the Media’s Silence About
the “Trial of the Century”

You may wonder how come President Obama and the public media are ignoring this story which has been described as “the trial of the century.” Obama’s excuse is that he cannot comment on an “active trial.”

Does this make sense? Notice that one month after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, he said, “it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this, and that everybody pulls together – federal, state and local – to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened.”

And when his Obamacare was being litigated at the Supreme Court, didn’t he publicly voice his opinion about the case? How come he now is so reticent about commenting on the murder of a woman and of seven born alive babies—which is equivalent to infanticide?

This morning, in his speech at a Planned Parenthood event, he glorified the work of this organization whose expertise is the killing of innocent unborn babies, but said nothing about the atrocities committed by the infamous Dr. Gosnell.

And why the public media silence on this issue that prompted 21 conservative leaders to sign a letter “demanding coverage of the gruesome trial”? Could this be “because they feared it would undermine their political stance on abortion.”

When the Born Alive Bill was being discussed at the State of Illinois Senate, Barack Obama voted against it on the excuse that it would infringe on women’s right to abortion. Here is what Rush Limbaugh said about this:

Obama’s infanticide vote was the ‘most shocking, underreported, significant story I can ever remember’

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/rush-obamas-infanticide-vote-most-shocking-underreported-significant-story/

Testimony of Rep. Steve Scalise

Here is what Rep. Steve Scalise said:  “If someone went into a hospital and shot seven babies and a mother with an AK-47, the media coverage surrounding the trial would rival a natural disaster, yet seven babies and a mother are dead at the hands of an abortion doctor using a scalpel, and the mainstream media’s silence on this story is deafening.

By failing to cover this story and turning their backs on the culture of abortion in this country, the media has failed in their duty to provide unbiased coverage of this horrific tragedy.” [See http://www.lifesitenews.com/ and similar stories dealing with abortionist Gosnell!]

A few days ago three victims died as the result of two bombings in Boston and there was an immediate outcry by the media and the story has been alive in the news nonstop since. Gosnell is being tried for the murder of eight human beings, but reporters have no interest in the outcome of this legal action. Can someone explain this to me?

Some may ask: How did this doctor manage to carry out this illegal activity for so many years without any supervision from health authorities? The answer is quite simple. He was under the protection of those in power who ignored their duty to inspect the premises of Gosnell abortion clinic for fifteen years.

 Under Oath Testimony by Gosnell’s Abortion
Clinic Workers

Here is an example of some of the under oath comments made by those who worked in his clinic and saw first hand the incredible disregard of human life and the proper care exhibited by this abortion practitioner:

Seven Abortions Finished After the Babies Birth

A former Kermit Gosnell employee testified that she saw more than 14 babies born alive; at least seven of them were killed by severing their spinal chord.

“One of her photographs, shown to jurors on a large screen, showed specimen jars containing the feet of aborted fetuses, which Dr. Gosnell said he kept for DNA purposes. Another showed ‘the largest baby she had ever seen’ aborted at the clinic. The gestational age has been estimated by some trial experts to be nearly 30 weeks. …

Gosnell stands accused of seven counts of first degree murder in the death of seven viable babies prosecutors say Gosnell aborted alive and then murdered by slitting their spinal cords; and one count of third degree murder in the death of a woman who died from an overdose of Demerol and other pain killers administered by Gosnell’s untrained employees.”

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/former-kermit-gosnell-employee-testifies-she-saw-more-than-14-babies-born-a

A Born Alive Baby Swimming for his Life Inside
the Toilet

While she worked for Gosnell, Cross testified that at least twice a day, six days a week, babies would “precipitate” or be birthed before Gosnell ever arrived. She said “Dr. Steve” – Steven Massof, an unlicensed medical school graduate with a ghoulish curiosity about abortions – would be there to snip the babies’ necks. She saw him do it around 50 times. When babies “precipitated” in Gosnell’s presence, he would do the dirty deed himself.

Cross sometimes worked from 8:00 am until 3:00 the next morning helping with procedures. She routinely saw babies born alive, moving, breathing, and moaning.

“Once in Gosnell’s absence, Cross saw a large baby delivered into the toilet. She saw his little arms and legs moving in a swimming motion as he struggled to get out of the toilet bowl. Cross held her hands 12-16 inches apart to demonstrate to the jury how big the baby was. Adrienne Moton, who was the first worker to testify for the prosecution, snipped the baby’s neck in front of the mother while she sat bleeding into the toilet. Moton then took the body away and put it into a container.

A Born Alive Baby Breathing on its Own for 20 Minutes Prior to Being Killed

In 2009, Cross testified that another co-worker, Linda Williams, called Cross over to see a baby that had just been born. Cross saw the baby’s chest heaving up and down in steady breathing motions. Linda reached down and lifted the baby’s hand up, but the newborn pulled it away on its own strength. Cross said she saw the baby breathing for about 20 minutes before Williams murdered the child by severing its spinal cord with scissors. Cross demonstrated again with her hands that the baby was about a foot long. …”

Pretty much everyone who worked for Gosnell administered medications without supervision, even though none were qualified to do so. …

Fed up with the conditions and the appalling way women were treated at Gosnell’s clinic, in 2008 Cross began to document the clinic’s horrific conditions with her personal camera. The full-color photos were shown to a darkened courtroom on the large viewing screen. …

In 2009, Cross again became pregnant. This time she decided to keep her baby. Again, Gosnell was not pleased. He confronted her and attempted to pressure her into an abortion. He wrote her letters to her continuing to question her decision. “How can you work here being pregnant?” he asked. He offered her a discount on her abortion. Gosnell’s attitude toward her pregnancy offended Cross. Wasn’t it supposed to be her choice?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ujjal is a young man, but a hole in his heart had left him chronically tired and subject to fainting spells. He couldn’t work or even ride his bicycle.

One day Ujjal’s friend Panalal told him that he was learning about Jesus, the powerful and loving God whom Christians worship. Panalal invited Ujjal to a meeting in his home. Ujjal went, hoping that the God of the Christians would heal him. He listened intently as Gopal, the Global Mission pioneer, explained that God forgives our sins if we believe and ask Him.

When Gopal finished his talk, he invited those with special prayer requests to stand. Ujjal stood. Gopal asked what his prayer request was, and Ujjal described his heart problem. Ujjal bowed his head while Gopal prayed. Immediately Ujjal felt an energy surge through him. He told Gopal that he believed he had been healed and that he wanted to become a Christian.

Gopal came to Ujjal’s home to study the Bible, and soon Ujjal, his parents, and his two younger brothers accepted Jesus as their Savior.

The family attended an Adventist church in town, but Ujjal wanted to share his faith with others living in a nearby village. With his heart trouble gone, Ujjal rode his bicycle to the village and began sharing the gospel. He met a man with chronic stomach trouble and told him, “I know who can heal you without medicine.” He told the man about Jesus and offered to pray for him. Ujjal took his pastor and Gopol to pray for the man as well, and soon this man and his family accepted Jesus as their Savior and asked to be baptized.

Ujjal asked the family to open their home to hold prayer meetings. The other villagers had been watching the family and saw the changes in their lives. One by one the man and his family invited their neighbors to let Ujjal visit them and pray for them. As the people learned about Jesus, they began taking Bible studies and preparing for baptism.

Ujjal became a lay evangelist, and so far has led more than 50 people in this village to Christ. He also began working in another village where more people are learning about the loving and all-powerful God and accepting Jesus as their Lord.

Our mission offerings help support the work of Global Mission workers such as Gopol and Ujjal in Southern Asia and around the world.

Gopol and Ujjal and hundreds more like them work as Global Mission pioneers and lay evangelists in the Calcutta region of India.

More: http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/13a/less10m.html#fri

Abuse: A Loma Linda University Study

A recently created video by the Loma Linda University ]LLU] shows that physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in the Adventist community matches that of society in general. The same is true about the Incidence of abortion. You can watch the dramatic testimony of several victims of child abuse and how they managed to overcome these dark experiences of their childhood by clicking on the link provided below.[1]

A Study Dealing With the Ultimate Form of Child Abuse?

As I was watching this video, I wondered if LLU researchers will ever decide to carry out a similar study about the ultimate kind of abuse: abortion. My reasoning is as follows: If child abuse is painful and tragic. What can be as hurtful and damaging as the dismemberment of the body of an unborn child? The victim of child abuse usually survives; the victim of abortion has no such hope. The act is irreversible and final!

Our Adventist Moral Blind Spot

Do I believe that such a study involving the ultimate form of child abuse is likely to take place in the near future at our LLU? I don’t think so! My reason is as follows: As a community of faith, we have slowly developed a blind moral spot regarding abortion. This started approximately half a century ago.

The Strong Pro-life Position of Our Adventist Pioneers

Most Adventists are aware that our pioneers were definitely pro-life as evident from the statements made by some of the leaders of the Adventist movement.[2] A classic example is a paragraph taken from an article authored by a pro-lifer that James White, the founder of our publishing work, included in his book in which the writer condemned the practice of abortion in the strongest terms:

“Few are aware of the fearful extent to which this nefarious business, this worse than devilish practice, is carried on in all classes of society! Many a woman determines that she will not become a mother, and subjects herself to the vilest treatment, committing the basest crime to carry out her purpose. And many a man, who has as many children as he can support, instead of restraining his passions, aids in the destruction of the babes he has begotten. The sin lies at the door of both parents in equal measure; for the father, although he may not always aid in the murder, is always accessory to it, in that he induces, and sometimes even forces upon the mother the condition which he knows will lead to the commission of the crime.”[3]

How Did Adventists Manage to Jump Over the Life Fence?

The hard question is: How did a pro-life church manage to jump over the life fence into the pro-choice/pro-abortion camp? A fence so high that even Rome did not dare to scale? And how did we dare to profit from the violation of the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue written by God’s own hand on two tables of stone and the violation of our own Guidelines on Abortion?

In order to answer this question, we need to remember the days when the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was so hot that the symbolic hands of the Atomic Clock were moved to three minutes before midnight. The fear of an atomic Armageddon was augmented by the uncontrolled demographic explosion in the country of China, and many world leaders warned that this population explosion was to be feared more than an atomic war.

This obsession with the uncontrolled population growth was complicated by the sudden legalization of abortion in the State of Hawaii where our Castle Memorial Hospital was located. The non-Adventist physicians at said medical facility demanded the right to offer abortion on demand, and our North American Division president, Neal Wilson, caved in to the pressure when he made the following public declaration:

“Though we walk the fence, Adventists lean toward abortion rather than against it. Because we realize we are confronted by big problems of hunger and overpopulation, we do not oppose family planning and appropriate endeavors to control population.”[4]

The Inevitable Result of this Change of Policy

Such a drastic change in church policy regarding the sacredness of human life resulted in the participation by many Adventist medical institutions in the profitable business of killing human beings at the most vulnerable season of their lives. Here is a list of medical institutions which participated in this new facet of medical service which involved killing in addition to healing:

“Castle Medical Center, Hadley Memorial Hospital, Hanford Community Hospital, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Porter Memorial Hospital, Port land Adventist Medical Center, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Sierra Vista Hospital, Walla Walla General Hospital, Washington Adventist Hospital, and White Memorial Medical Center.”[5]

At least five Adventist institutions admitted that their abortion services included elective abortion. This, of course, was done with full knowledge of the leadership of the church and with total impunity,[6] which made Adventist pro-lifers wonder about the apparent double standard applied to abortion: How can we declare that the Adventist Church does not condone abortions on demand,[7] but allow its own medical institutions to profit from the same? Isn’t this what Pilate did when he ruled that Jesus was innocent of any crime, yet he ordered his execution?

The Thrashing of the Hippocratic Oath

This change in policy regarding the sacredness of human life explains our LLU abandonment of the Hippocratic Oath [HO] which had been in high esteem for two millennia in the West. Many Adventists are not aware of this change. Compare the so called “Do no harm” contained in the HO with the morally neutral statement contained in the LLU “Physicians Oath.”

“I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion.”[8]

“I will maintain the utmost respect for human life. I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity. I will respect the rights and decision of my patients.”[9]

Notice that the abortion prohibition was replaced by the “will respect the rights and decision of my patients.” The obvious purpose of this drastic change was to allow for the provision of abortion services in our LLU medical facility. Seemingly no one has recorded a formal protest against such a fundamental alteration of our traditional respect for human life, except for one LLU professors: Ingrid Blomquist, MD, an associate professor in the school of medicine:

“Dr. Blomquist is Board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. She has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Being a Hippocratic Physician, she has taken, and continues to believe in the principles of the Hippocratic Oath. …”[10]

Conclusion 

Considering all of the above, my conclusion is that there is an urgent need to restudy our policy of abortion and a need to pay attention to the ultimate form of child abuse: abortion. Yes, there is money to be made out of the killing of innocent human beings who are eagerly waiting to see the light of day.

I am not calling for a window dressing—this has already been done with great success! I am calling for a radical treatment of this moral cancer which is threatening the vitality of our God-given mission to the world. I am calling for the thrashing of our “Guidelines on Abortion,” and the restoring of the Hippocratic Oath.

There is no need for any guidelines which negate the crystal clear prohibition contained in the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue. God’s unambiguous directive needs no redefinition! We need to restore all Ten of God’s Rules for human behavior to the place of honor they originally had when the Adventist movement was born!

*********

Nic Samojluk holds an MA from La Sierra College (now LSU) and a Ph.D. from Andrew Jackson University. He is the author of “From Pro-life to Pro-choice: The Dramatic Shift in Seventh-day Adventists’ Attitudes Towards Abortion,”[11] and of many articles connected with the abortion issue.[12]

*********

The above article was also published by Advindicate and a lively exchange of views is taking place there right now. The link is:

The ultimate form of child abuse

http://advindicate.com/?p=3008#comments

 

---

[1] http://adventlife.wordpress.com/2013/01/228/abuse-a-loma-linda-university-study/

[2] http://adventlife.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/what-did-our-adventist-pioneers-say-about-abortion-by-nic-samojluk/

[3] James White, editor. Solemn Appeal (Battle Creek, Michigan: Stem Press, 1870), 100.

[4] George Gainer, ““The Wisdom of Solomon”?” Spectrum 19/4 (May 1989): 38-46; “Abortion: History of Adventist Guidelines” Ministry (Aug. 1991): 11-17.

[5] http://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1991/August/abortion-history-of-adventist-guidelines

[6] Gerald R. Winslow, “Abortion Policies in Adventist Hospitals” Specttum 19/4 (May 1989): 47-50. Accessed

[7] http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/guidelines/main-guide1.html

[8] http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_oath.html

[9] http://www.susqneuro.com/publications/oaths/index.html#The

[10] http://www.llu.edu/pages/faculty/directory/faculty.html?uid=IBlomquist

[11] http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=&keyWords=Nic+Samojluk&sitesearch=lulu.com&q=&x=18&y=15

[12] http://adventlife.wordpress.com.

Queridos amigos: Ben Carson es un prestigioso neurocirujano cuya descripción está más abajo, pertenece a la Iglesia Adventista del Séptimo Día y tuvo el coraje de hablar muchas verdades nada menos que adelante de los más destacados políticos de EEUU. Su discurso tuvo un gran  impacto en los Estados Unidos y algunos estan sugiriendo que se postule para la presidencia en las proximas elecctiones.

El discurso del respetado neurocirujano tuvo gran repercusión en los medios y confrontó al presidente Obama a fomentar “educación y responsabilidad” para solucionar los problemas del país.

14 DE FEBRERO DE 2013, WASHINGTON D.C.

Más allá del habitual discurso del presidente Obama, que recordó la necesidad de la “humildad” y la “unidad” para salir adelante como país, otro discurso tuvo en esta edición de 2013 una gran repercusión en los Medios de Comunicación. Benjamin Carson, Director de la División de Neurocirugía pediátrica del Johns Hopkins Hospital (Maryland), habló de forma sencilla pero contundente y confrontó al presidente en varios puntos.

Carson fue introducido durante el tradicional Desayuno de Oración como alguien que “realmente ama a Jesús”, además de ser un personaje conocido por sus intervenciones en todo tipo de conferencias, no sólo médicas. Cuando tomó el micrófono, empezó leyendo 4 breves textos: Proverbios 11:9, 11:12, 11:25, 2 Crónicas 7:14.

El especialista del que se considera el mejor hospital de EEUU empezó explicando que cuando tiene oportunidad de hablar con personas de todos los sitios y de diferentes contextos (republicanos, demócratas, independientes), suele preguntar: ‘¿Qué os preocupa?’, “y he quedado sorprendido por la uniformidad de sus respuestas”, aun viniendo de personas con ideologías diferentes. Empezaba así un discurso que en todo momento tuvo un tono positivo, buscando la empatía del público que le escuchaba. Dejó claro, también, que “no quiero ofender a nadie” aunque reconoció que eso “es difícil cuando hablas ante una audiencia tan grande”.

La necesidad de ser “políticamente correcto”, incidió, es precisamente uno de los problemas que se da en EEUU. “Hemos llegado a un punto en el que la gente no habla de lo que quisiera hablar, por miedo a que alguien se ofenda”. Como ejemplo mencionó la reticencia de algunos ciudadanos a decir “Feliz Navidad” temiendo que alguna persona de otra religión o atea lo considere ofensivo. La hipersensibilidad de estos días, defendió, “evita que la gente pueda decir lo que realmente cree”.

Por ello, pidió relajar la presión que parece tener el objetivo de hacer que toda la población piense exactamente lo mismo. “Debemos olvidarnos de la unanimidad de palabra y de la unanimidad de pensamiento y debemos concentrarnos en ser respetuosos con la gente con la que no estamos de acuerdo”.

Carson atacó la “corrección política”, porque cohíbe a las personas y corta el debate. “Una trampa” que acaba evitando que las personas den su opinión sobre los asuntos que acabarán definiendo el futuro de un país.

LA IMPORTANCIA DE LOS LIBROS

Uno de esos temas claves, destacó Carson a continuación, es la importancia de la Educación. El conferenciante tomó unos minutos para explicar su infancia de extrema pobreza. Hijo de una madre proveniente de una familia de 24 hermanos, sin recursos, casada a los 13 años con un hombre (el padre de Carson) que ya estaba casado. Todo este caos en casa, explicó Carson, hundió su autoestima siendo niño, pero aun así aprendió de su madre que uno “no debe sentirse una víctima y no debe buscar excusas”, sino “utilizar el cerebro”.

Mientras otros niños veían la televisión, su madre exigía a sus hijos que leyeran dos libros por semana de la biblioteca pública y le entregaran resúmenes de su contenido, aun cuando ella no podía corregirlos por ser analfabeta. A partir de este hábito de lectura, Carson empezaría a “descubrir nuevos mundos”, a crecer y a ver la importancia de sus propias decisiones.

EDUCACIÓN: RECUPERAR SU PRESTIGIO

Enfocando todo esto en la necesidad de una buena educación, el médico pasó a comparar el nivel de Educación de los jóvenes durante los primeros años tras la Independencia de EEUU con el de la actual educación universitaria en EEUU. En el siglo XVIII, los gobernantes tenían este objetivo, recordó Carson: “El sistema de gobierno estaba diseñado para tener una ciudadanía bien educada y bien informada. Cuanto menos informados, los ciudadanos se convierten en más vulnerables”. “Por eso nuestra Educación es tan vitalmente importante”, añadió.

El neurocirujano también describió cómo el rendimiento deportivo de los estudiantes universitarios, por ejemplo, es mucho más premiado que el rendimiento en las aulas. “‘El gran hombre’ en el Campus siempre es el quarterback del equipo universitario… ¿qué hay de la superestrella intelectual?”, se quejó.

Para cambiar esta tendencia su fundación empezó hace unos años a dar trofeos y condecoraciones (además de las habituales becas económicas) a estudiantes que combinaran dos factores: “Unos resultados académicos superiores y una demostración de cualidades humanitarias”. Se le daba importancia no sólo a las notas sino también a que los estudiantes “mostraran interés por las personas a su alrededor”. Así, con premios visibles que se pueden colocar en las vitrinas de los pasillos de un instituto, se está intentando mostrar claramente a los jóvenes que el esfuerzo en clase es algo digno de ser admirado.

Otras iniciativas que Carson explicó son la creación de “habitaciones de lectura” en colegios de barrios humildes donde no hay bibliotecas, en los que se premia con puntos a los niños según los libros que leen y las horas que invierten en ello. “Empiezan a ir a estas aulas por los puntos, pero pronto su rendimiento en clase empieza a subir”. Y concluyó el bloque sobre Educación observando: “No nos podemos permitir de perder a ninguno de estos jóvenes, debemos evitar que estos niños vayan por el camino de autodestrucción y mediocridad”.

EL DESTINO DE UN PAÍS

Roma es el ejemplo que Carson usó para demostrar que la Educación puede marcar el destino de un país. “Nadie podía ni siquiera retar al imperio romano militarmente, ¿pero qué sucedió? Se destruyeron a sí mismos desde dentro: decaimiento moral e irresponsabilidad fiscal. Y si no crees que eso puede pasarle a EEUU, saca los libros, y empieza a leer”.

Antes, había hecho referencia a la interminable guerra política en Washington D.C. entre los dos grandes partidos. “Tenemos todos esos abogados en el bando republicanos y todos estos abogados en el bando demócrata, y todos han aprendido a ganar. Pero tenemos que dejar esto, tenemos que empezar a aprender a solucionar problemas”, pidió. “Podemos solucionarlos”, reiteró Carson, y recordó que de lo que se trata es de usar el cerebro.

INTERPRETACIÓN DE LA RESPONSABILIDAD

“Mi ejemplo a seguir es Jesús”, dijo en otro momento de su intervención, y describió a Dios “como el ser más justo que existe”. De la Biblia extrajo el concepto del diezmo, y defendió así la necesidad de que “todas” las personas aporten a la sociedad, “de forma proporcional”. También entró a defender su posición sobre el sistema sanitario del país, combinando elementos de la izquierda con otros propuestos por la derecha. Habló de “responsabilidad” en el gasto de las familias y de “justicia” en el repartimiento de los gastos.

Ya acabando su discurso, y refiriéndose al símbolo nacional de EEUU, Carson recordó que “una águila puede volar alto porque tiene dos alas: un ala izquierda y un ala derecha”. Terminaba con esta clara alusión a la necesidad de dejar de lado luchas partidistas para empezar a solucionar los problemas del país.

Puede ver el discurso completo de Benjamin Carson en el Desayuno de Oración de EEUU (en inglés), aquí.

El Desayuno del Día Nacional de la Oración lo organiza cada año la Fellowship Foundation, un grupo cristiano discreto pero con bastante influencia que ha conseguido que cada presidente desde Dwight D. Eisenhower haya participado en el Encuentro. Los presidentes y también otros invitados suelen hablar no sólo de su fe personal sino de cómo esta afecta al trabajo, al día a día y a los temas de actualidad del país.