Observations of an Irishman: Lessons from Alder Hey Hospital and the fight for Alfie Evans

Today, media and social media are filled with shiny irrelevant objects that catch our attention and spur lively “debates.” We talk about Stormy Daniels, listen to an FBI director hawk a book about “honor,” celebrate the Royal wedding and discuss who is and is not invited.

Can we have a discussion about something more meaningful?

There is a major story in the UK that is only now starting to get mainstream attention and it affects everyone in America and around the world. It is the account of young Alfie Evans who is fighting for his life. I want to tell you why this matters and what everyone in America can learn from it.

Who Is Alfie?

You may remember the tragic saga of Charlie Gard who we lost last year. Alfie Evans is in a very similar situation, and if we do nothing, we will also lose him.

Alfie is the baby boy of Tom Evans (21) and Kate James (20). Over his first few months on this planet, young Alfie missed several key developmental milestones. After catching a chest infection, he was admitted to Alder Hey Hospital in December 2016 and sadly has never left. To this day, doctors have not diagnosed him with any illness (apart from saying he has severe brain damage), and now want to want to remove his life support machines because it is supposedly "unfair" on Alfie.

Photo credit: Thomas Evans

The Pope has gotten involved several times, pleading for Alfie's life and there is an open offer from the Vatican-linked Bambino Hospital in Rome to care for and to try to diagnose him. But the hospital refuses to release Alfie. Earlier this week, Italy officially gave Alfie Italian citizenship, but this changed nothing. His parents have gone to every court possible, starting with local courts and all the way to the European Courts to fight for Alfie's right to life, but at every juncture, they have sided with the doctors and Alder Hey.

There are countless issues and principles to be discussed, including:

  • Is life precious?
  • Is life worth fighting for?
  • Parental rights?
  • Socialized medicine
  • How doctors and judges are NOT GODS
  • Why doesn't the media care?

I have been following these events very closely for several weeks, and on Monday, I traveled to Liverpool for the day to find the truth. Here is what I learned.

Shocking Absence

I arrived at Alder Hey around 10 am, and found a group of people playing music off a portable speaker, which was connected to an iPhone (or iPod), and singing along in the park beside the hospital. Among the popular songs played throughout the day was "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias and "Simply the Best" by Tina Turner. The group used famous chants and songs and adapted the words to include Alfie.

Behind the group were several banners and posters of support for Alfie, including a tall picture of Jesus with the words, “I stand with you.”

Where are the Protestant pastors? Where are any religious leaders? Why are they silent?

I am a quiet and reserved person at the best of times, so I stayed quiet, respectful and simply observed. This did not last long. A gentleman came up to me and asked if I was a priest (I wear a cross a lot), and I told him I was not a priest but that I do my best to share the word as a Christian. This started several conversations with a common question no one knew the answer to --- where are the Catholic priests? The Pope spoke out for Alfie --- where are they? Where are the Protestant pastors? Where are any religious leaders? Why are they silent?

Every time I heard this comment, one phrase kept repeating in my mind: “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.”

Photo credit: Thomas Evans

When you research the account of Alfie, I hope you realize the magnitude of work we must do to fix our broken society. If you are reading this and are a Christian, I really hope you understand why we must lead by example and get OUR HOUSE in order. We can rightly point blame at others, including doctors, judges, laws or socialism, but where are the leaders of the Church stepping up to make a difference and be the leaders? Remember we are told in scriptures to worry about the log in our eye before worrying about the speck in another’s eye.

Media Bias

The media is something to behold when you see them up close. It was clear from looking at them, they had an agenda and that agenda had little to do with standing up to this injustice. Sadly, pro-life issues don’t equal ratings, and this is a reflection of our society. A small scattering of media --- nothing compared to the press camped outside another hospital waiting on the birth of a prince --- were there to do the bare minimum and wait for something “news-worthy” to report.

Sadly, they got what they wanted on Monday.

The people protesting are very passionate and care deeply about Alfie and his family. I believe they are there are many reasons --- in part because they want justice, in part because they know politicians have forgotten about them and don’t care about them so they are rallying around as a community, but also because they know this could happen to any of them or their children and they know they would not want to be alone.

We were told by the family Alfie's life support machines were going to be turned off at 1:30 pm. People were filled with emotions ranging from hurt, despair, frustration and anger that this was actually going to happen. With a minute to go, they felt they were out of options and I heard someone near me say, "we have to do something" --- ever hear that argument before? "Let's run and storm the hospital."

As soon as this started, a quiet media went into over-drive, took their pictures and videos and started typing their stories, highlighting how these people charged the hospital. After reading many reports online, it is clear those there did not see, did not care or just ignored the facts.

Roughly half of the people protesting did not storm the hospital, but shouted loudly using colorful language to “come back,” “there are sick children in there.” I was alone, so I did not get recording right at the start, but I started a Facebook Live so we have the proof, which you can view here:

I am not defending the decision to storm the hospital (it is not something I would do). Look at this video and ask yourself an honest question --- do the majority look like they are storming the beaches of Normandy, or more like following the crowd because a group decided it was a good idea to go to the hospital doors?

Hard Life Questions

This whole experience has been life-changing for me. I have despised politics for a long time. I am blessed with a weekly show on TheBlaze where my focus is based on eternal principles and trying to find self-evident truths. People in America and around the world spend so much time focused on politics, which for many includes supporting the answers their side is currently promoting, automatically assuming the other is wrong and then condemning them as stupid and evil.

Photo credit: Thomas Evans

If we continue on this path, we will dehumanize the individual to a point where we only see the humanity and show empathy to those who agree with us. This will lead to balkanization, sides will weaken, extremes will gain attention and eventually, a strong man will take charge. If you don’t believe this, take a journey through history.

On Monday I spent 12 plus hours with protestors outside Alder Hey standing for Alfie’s right to life. We did not discuss any politics, but if we did, I would have been shocked if even one person I met shared any of my principles when it comes to the size of government and basic economic issues. I am sure many who attended might have even openly described themselves as socialist, and I am sure some would have said they don’t like Donald Trump and America. If your priorities are helping a young baby for the fight for life, does any of this matter?

Yesterday, we stood together as one (despite our disagreements) to stand for a common uniting principle.

Yesterday, we stood together as one (despite our disagreements) to stand for a common uniting principle: Alfie Evans and his parents' right to decide what is best for their children, their right to a second opinion and to seek additional treatment. These are all eternal principles. Imagine what we could achieve if we stopped looking for the Right-wing or Left-wing principles and focused entirely on basic human principles or the principles of nature’s law.

Or, we can continue to have teams, see everyone who has a different opinion as the enemy and seek to destroy them --- and then we ALL lose.

It Could Never Happen in America

This story should be a wakeup call for everyone, because it can and will happen anywhere, including America. If you know anything about me, I hope you know how much I love America. That being said, sometimes some people have an arrogance that thinks America is different, and that things like that could never happen. Please do not believe this line.

The situation in America is very similar to the UK, and BOTH parties are to blame. The government has been expanding into your health care for decades now with George W. Bush expanding Medicare, Obama introducing Obamacare and now, the GOP running on repeal and doing nothing. You combine this with a $21 TRILLION (as in $21,000,000,000,000) national debt, Congress's refusal to enforce basic budging principles like a balanced budget amendment, and judges ruling more and more with the side of government. This is the path both parties have put you on and if you don’t act soon, these stories could and will start happening in America.

Helping Alfie

If you are touched by this and want to help, please see below ways you can help:

  • If you are a person of faith, please pray for young Alfie, for his family and that doctors and judges see the error of their ways. We have witnessed a MIRACLE already. Doctors said when Alfie’s life support was switched off he would only survive a few minutes --- here we are nearly 48 hours later and Alfie is still fighting.
  • Please do your own homework and share it with as many people as possible. We need as many eyes and ears on this as possible to touch hearts. (Here is an 8-minute fact-based audio clip on the subject.)
  • Lastly, if you are in a position to financially help the family, please consider making a donation right now.

Keep the prayers coming, let's hope this miracle is the spark to make a change and turn the world to the side of life.

Jonathon Dunne is an Irishman with a lifelong dream of becoming an American citizen. After waiting for over 13 years, Dunne received a job offer from Glenn Beck so he could achieve his dream, but unfortunately, he did not meet the requirements to apply for a visa. Unless laws change or Dunne decides to break the law (he won't), his American dream is dead. Despite this setback, he still loves America and seeks to be a positive influence on society by promoting the idea of America and God-given freedoms. While on a recent vacation, Dunne delivered sixteen presentations (for free) in eight different states across the U.S. During this time, he kept notes and we asked him to share some of his experiences. As you read the column below, imagine the words are being spoken in a thick, Irish accent. If you're having trouble imagining how that sounds, you can hear it for yourself by tuning into Dunne's free weekly podcast, "Freedom's Disciple," on TheBlaze Radio, available on SoundCloud, iTunes, iHeart Radio, Google Pla

What do clay pots have to do with to preserving American history?

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Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Why should we preserve our nation’s history? If you listen to my radio program and podcast, or read my columns and books, you know I’ve dedicated a large part of my life and finances to sourcing and preserving priceless artifacts that tell America’s story. I’ve tried to make these artifacts as available as possible through the American Journey Experience Museum, just across from the studios where I do my daily radio broadcast. Thousands of you have come through the museum and have been able to see and experience these artifacts that are a part of your legacy as an American.

The destruction of American texts has already begun.

But why should people like you and me be concerned about preserving these things from our nation's history? Isn’t that what the “big guys” like the National Archives are for?

I first felt a prompting to preserve our nation's history back in 2008, and it all started with clay pots and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In 1946, a Bedouin shepherd in what is now the West Bank threw a rock into a cave nestled into the side of a cliff near the Dead Sea. Instead of hearing an echo, he heard the curious sound of a clay pot shattering. He discovered more than 15,000 Masoretic texts from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D.

These texts weren’t just a priceless historical discovery. They were virtually perfect copies of the same Jewish texts that continue to be translated today. Consider the significance of that discovery. Since the third century B.C. when these texts were first written, the Jewish people have endured a continued onslaught of diasporas, persecutions, pressures to conform to their occupying power, the destruction of their temple, and so much more. They had to fight for their identity as a people for centuries, and finally, a year after the end of the Holocaust and a year before the founding of the nation of Israel, these texts were discovered, confirming the preservation and endurance of their heritage since ancient times — all due to someone putting these clay pots in a desert cave more than 2,000 years ago.

I first felt a prompting to preserve our nation's history back in 2008, and it all started with clay pots and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

So, what do these clay pots have to do with the calling to preserve American history? I didn’t understand that prompting myself until the horrible thought dawned on me that the people we are fighting against may very well take our sacred American scriptures, our Declaration of Independence, and our Bill of Rights. What if they are successful, and 1,000 years from now, we have no texts preserved to confirm our national identity? What kind of new history would be written over the truth?

The destruction of American texts has already begun. The National Archives has labeled some of our critical documents, like our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, as “triggering” or “containing harmful language.” In a public statement, the National Archives said that the labels help prepare readers to view potentially distressing content:

The Catalog and web pages contain some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. NARA’s records span the history of the United States, and it is our charge to preserve and make available these historical records. As a result, some of the materials presented here may reflect outdated, biased, offensive, and possibly violent views and opinions. In addition, some of the materials may relate to violent or graphic events and are preserved for their historical significance.

According to this statement, our founding documents are either “outdated, biased, offensive,” “possibly violent,” or a combination of these scathing descriptions. I’m sorry, the Declaration of Independence is not “triggering.” Our Constitution is not “outdated and biased,” and our Bill of Rights certainly is not “offensive and possibly violent.” They are glorious documents. They should be celebrated, not qualified by such derogatory, absurd language. Shame on them.

These are only the beginning stages of rewriting our history. What if they start banning these “triggering” documents from public view because they might offend somebody? Haven’t we torn down “triggering” statues before? What if we are no longer able to see, read, and study the actual words of our nation's founding documents because they are “harmful” or “possibly violent”? A thousand years from now, will there be any remnant to piece together the true spirit behind the nation that our founders envisioned?

The Declaration of Independence is not “triggering.”

That is why in 2008, I was prompted to preserve what I could. Now, the American Journey Experience Museum includes more than 160,000 artifacts, from founding-era documents to the original Roe v. Wade court papers. We need to preserve the totality of our nation’s heritage, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We need to preserve our history in our own clay pots.

I ask you to join with me on this mission. Start buying books that are important to preserve. Buy some acid-free paper and start printing some of the founding documents, the reports that go against the mainstream narrative, the studies that prove what is true as we are continually being fed lies. Start preserving our daily history as well as our history because it is being rewritten and digitized.

Somebody must have a copy of what is happening now and what has happened in the past. I hope things don’t get really bad. But if they do, we need to preserve our heritage. Perhaps, someone 1,000 years from now will discover our clay pots and, Lord willing, be able to have a glimpse of America as it truly was.

Top 10 WORST items in the new $1.2 TRILLION spending bill

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Biden just signed the newest spending bill into law, and Glenn is furious.

Under Speaker Johnson's leadership, the whopping $1.2 TRILLION package will use your taxpayer dollars to fund the government through September. Of course, the bill is loaded with earmarks and pork that diverts money to fund all sorts of absurd side projects.

Here is the list of the ten WORST uses of taxpayer money in the recently passed spending bill:

Funding venues to host drag shows, including ones that target children

David McNew / Contributor | Getty Images

Money for transgender underwear for kids

Funding for proms for 12 to 18 year old kids

Bethany Clarke / Stringer | Getty Images

Border security funding... for Jordan and Egypt

Another $300 million for Ukraine

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

$3.5 million for Detroit's annual Thanksgiving Day parade

Icon Sportswire / Contributor | Getty Images

$2.5 million for a new kayaking facility in Franklin, New Hampshire

Acey Harper / Contributor | Getty Images

$2.7 million for a bike park in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, a town with a population of less than 2,300 people

$5 million for a new trail at Coastal Carolina University

$4 million the "Alaska King Crab Enhancement Project" (whatever that means)

FRED TANNEAU / Stringer | Getty Images

There is no doubt about it—we are entering dark times.

The November presidential election is only a few months away, and following the chaos of the 2020 election, the American people are bracing for what is likely to be another tumultuous election year. The left's anti-Trump rhetoric is reaching an all-time high with the most recent "Bloodbath" debacle proving how far the media will go to smear the former president. That's not to mention the Democrats' nearly four-year-long authoritarian attempt to jail President Trump or stop his re-election by any means necessary, even if it flies in the face of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Biden is doing worse than ever. He reportedly threw a tantrum recently after being informed that his polls have reached an all-time low. After Special Counsel Robert Hur's report expressed concerns over Biden's obviously failing mental agility, it's getting harder for the Democrats to defend him. Yet he is still the Democratic nominee for November, promising another 4 years of catastrophic policies, from the border to heavy-handed taxation, should he be reelected.

The rest of the world isn't doing much better. The war in Ukraine has no clear end in sight, drawing NATO and Russia closer and closer to conflict. The war in Gaza is showing no sign of slowing down, and as Glenn revealed recently, its continuation may be a sign that the end times are near.

One thing is clear: we are living in uncertain times. If you and your family haven't prepared for the worst, now is the time. You can start by downloading "Glenn's Ultimate Guide to Getting Prepared." Be sure to print off a copy or two. If the recent cell outage proved anything, it's that technology is unreliable in survival situations. You can check your list of supplies against our "Ultimate Prepper Checklist for Beginners," which you can find below:

Food

  • Canned food/non-perishable foods
  • Food preparation tools
  • Go to the next level: garden/livestock/food production

Water

  • Non-perishable water store
  • Water purification
  • Independent water source

Shelter

  • Fireplace with a wood supply
  • Tent
  • Generator with fuel supply
  • Go to the next level: fallout shelter

Money

  • Emergency cash savings
  • Precious metals

Medicine

  • Extra blankets
  • Basic first aid
  • Extra prescriptions
  • Extra glasses
  • Toiletries store
  • Trauma kit
  • Antibiotics
  • Basic surgery supplies
  • Potassium Iodate tablets

Transportation

  • Bicycle
  • Car
  • Extra fuel

Information

  • Birth certificates
  • Insurance cards
  • Marriage license
  • Immunization records
  • Mortgage paperwork
  • Car title and registration
  • House keys, car keys
  • Passports
  • Family emergency plan
  • Prepping/survival/repair manuals
  • Go to the next level: copy of the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and other important books/sources

Skills

  • Cooking
  • Gardening
  • Sewing
  • First Aid
  • Basic maintenance skills
  • Go to the next level: farming/ranching
  • Self-defense training

Communication

  • Family contact information and addresses
  • HAM radio

Miscellaneous

  • Flashlights and batteries
  • Lamps and fuel
  • Hardware (tools, nails, lumber, etc)
  • Extra clothes
  • Extreme weather clothes and gear
  • Gas masks and filters
  • Spare parts for any machinery/equipment

Is Trump's prosecution NORMAL?  This COMPLETE list of ALL Western leaders who served jail time proves otherwise.

PhotoQuest / Contributor, The Washington Post / Contributor, Win McNamee / Staff | Getty Images

Mainstream media is on a crusade to normalize Donald Trump's indictments as if it's on par with the electoral course. Glenn asked his team to research every instance of a Western leader who was jailed during their political career over the past 200 years—except extreme political turmoil like the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, Irish Revolution, etc.—and what we discovered was quite the opposite.

Imprisoning a leader or major political opponent is not normal, neither in the U.S. nor in the Western world. Within the last 200 years, there are only a handful of examples of leaders in the West serving jail time, and these men were not imprisoned under normal conditions. All of these men were jailed under extreme circumstances during times of great peril such as the Civil War, World War II, and the Cold War.

What does this mean for America? Are Trump's indictments evidence that we are re-entering times of great peril? Below is a list of Western leaders who were imprisoned within the last 200 years. Take a look and decide for yourself:

Late 1800s

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

Jefferson Davis: The nearest occurrence to a U.S. President to serve jail time was in the case of Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America. Jefferson was captured in Georgia by Northern Soldiers in 1865 and locked up in Fort Monroe, Virginia for two years. He was offered a presidential pardon but refused out of his loyalty to the confederacy.

Early 1900s

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Eugene V. Debs: Debbs, a Midwestern socialist leader, became the first person to run for president in prison. He was locked up at a federal penitentiary in Atlanta having been convicted under the federal Sedition Act for giving an antiwar speech a few months before Armistice Day, the end of World War I. Many of his supporters believed his imprisonment to be unjust. Debs received 897,704 votes and was a distant third-part candidate behind Warren G. Harding, the Republican winner, and James M. Cox, the second-place Democrat. Harding ordered Debs’s release from prison toward the end of 1921.

Nazi sympathizers and collaborators: After the end of World War II in 1945, several European leaders who had "led" their countries during the Nazi occupation faced trial and imprisonment for treason. This list included Chief of the French State Philippe Pétain, French Prime Minister Pierre Laval, and Minister-President of Norway Vidkun Quisling. The latter two were also executed after their imprisonment. President of Finland Risto Ryti and Prime Minister of Finland Johan Wilhelm Rangell were also tried and jailed for collaborating with the Nazis against the Allied Powers.

Late 1900s

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

The end of the Cold War: The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was one of the pivotal moments that brought the Cold War to a close and marked the end of Communist East Germany. With the fall of the wall and the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the former leaders were brought to trial to answer for the crimes committed by the GDR. General Secretary Erich Honecker and General Secretary Egon Krenz were both put on trial for abuse of power and the deaths of those who were shot trying to flee into West Germany. Honecker was charged with jail time but was released from custody due to severe illness and lived out the rest of his life as an exile in Chile. Krenz served 4 years in jail before his release in 2001. He is one of the last surviving leaders of the Eastern Bloc.

Lyndon LaRouche: Larouche was a Trotsky evangelist, public antisemite, and founder of a nationwide Marxist political movement, became the second person in U.S. history to run for President in a prison cell. Granted, he ran in every election from 1976 to 2004 as a long-shot third-party candidate. When he tried to gain the Democratic presidential nomination, he received 5 percent of the total nationwide vote. Even though in 2000 he received enough primary votes to qualify for delegates in a few states, the Democratic National Committee refused to seat his delegates and barred LaRouche from attending the Democratic National Convention.