Description |
People do things based on deep conviction that they would not do otherwise. Convictions can be used by leaders and movement to cause people to serve their personal agendas, while their victims believe their actions are their own. Walking for Life examines ways belief is used to manipulate people to action they would not do otherwise. The story begins with Paul, a devout pro-life follower. Paul's devotion to the unborn has him protesting daily in front of a women's clinic. Suspicious and shy, Paul is intimidated by women, and would normally avoid social situations or confrontation. Yet daily he puts himself in conflict with passersby, the men and women who work at the clinic, and most difficult for him, the woman doctor who is an authority figure and direct adversary to Paul's beliefs. His conviction is the weakness that ministers, a web church, and the pro-life movement itself, exploit in Paul and his friends driving him to tragedy. Working in the clinic is Rain, who volunteers for the rape crisis hotline. Rain's beliefs are victim-based; not to rescue victims of violence and rape so much as to listen to them. Hers is a passive need to feel as though listening is enough, that it elevates her to savior without having to do any useful action. Rain's volunteering has enabled her to hide behind a veneer of caring which lets her hide her lack of emotional attachment. She appears to be a caring person, which allows her to not care at all. |