The Word of the Day Was Solidarity.

Today's post comes from Warren D'Souza of University of Illinois. Warren is a freshman and is the treasurer for his pro-life group, Illini Collegians for Life (ICFL).ICFL is growing to have a greater influence on campus and we are looking forward to great things from Warren! Here is his story from this year's March for Life trip.Enter Warren...We!Are!The Pro-Life Generation!The thunderous chant began in front of the Supreme Court building and echoed all the way down First Street. Thousands of young people from across the country marched together peacefully just days after the 40th anniversary of legalized abortion in our country.We bore only smiles and optimistic cheers proclaiming the glory of life; not a single mournful or enraged face could be seen in the crowd despite this being the week that marked the death of 55 million unborn children in our generation.From the beginning of the rally we were told that all of us were survivors: These 55 million could have grown up to be our friends, spouses, siblings, coworkers… many of them should even have been marching alongside us. But though we mourned our lost brothers and sisters, we could not keep from celebrating the beauty of life that we were given, and our desire to defend that gift for every human being.When I told my dorm friends I was heading to Washington, D.C. for the weekend with fellow pro-life students of the University of Illinois, the response I seemed to get most often was, “What’s the point of marching? It won’t make abortion illegal.” It’s a fair question. I pondered it myself on the 14-hour bus ride to D.C. with all my pro-life friends.But then I arrived at the March for Life, and the answer immediately became clear to me.The word of the day was solidarity.We were not marching merely to garner attention from the Supreme Court justices or the pro-choice politicians. We were marching for ourselves, for our mothers, for our sisters who are targeted by the abortion machines of today, for those who were taken by abortion too soon to be marching at our sides, for all those who say they are pro-life but don’t yet have the courage to march with us.It’s true; simply walking down the streets of D.C. will not be enough to end abortion. But the March for Life is an absolutely necessary element in building solidarity among the pro-life movement – solidarity between the generations, between the genders, between the social classes, between the living and dead.It’s hard not to be proud and vocal about your pro-life stance when you are surrounded by over 400,000 passionate, screaming young adults around your age who are all fighting for the injustice to end.Returning from the March, I am more confident than ever that we will see the end to abortion in our lifetime. I refuse to believe that such a nationally united movement will ever collapse, and no matter how long of a fight we must endure, we will persevere together. After an entire 40-year generation has suffered through abortion before us, it is time for the pro-life generation to arise.---Thank you Warren for your insight and your commitment to life!To everyone reading, how can you foster solidarity among the pro-lifers around you?Post your suggestions below!