Everyone has moral failings. I have plenty of them myself. What I'm about to say, then, has nothing to do with some unrealistic expectation that a man be perfect in order to earn my support for high office. Instead, it has everything to do with a completely realistic and necessary expectation that such a man believe and teach certain things, hold certain values, and espouse certain truths – regardless of the fact that he will never be perfect in his application of those principles.
For years, conservatives (and specifically conservative Christians) have rightly objected to the ongoing sexual chaos facilitated by the left that continues to undermine and extinguish the most important and crucial element to any civilized society: the nuclear family.
We blasted pornography as licentiousness.
We blasted no-fault divorce laws.
We blasted relaxed decency standards on television.
We blasted the glorification of voluntary single parenthood.
We blasted legalized sodomy.
We blasted the mockery that is "gay marriage."
Through it all, we have suffered ridicule and scorn from the sexual revolutionary left that accused us of being prudes, theocrats, bigots, discriminators, hypocrites, and every other pejorative they could muster to use as a substitute for logical thought.
Conservatives have routinely countered that ours is not a movement dedicated to mindless tradition, but rather a devotion to strengthening and upholding timeless family values that alone lead to a prosperous and productive society.
And now at this momentous crossroads for our civilization, we choose as our standard-bearer…Donald Trump?
I shouldn't say "we," because many of us do not. But for those who do, allow me to caution that you are providing irrefutable justification for those on the left who have always suggested we are phonies when it comes to being champions of family values.
Why? Here's Trump in his 1997 book, The Art of the Deal:
Often, I will tell friends whose wives are constantly nagging them about this or that that they're better off leaving and cutting their losses. I'm not a great believer in always trying to work things out, because it just doesn't happen that way. For a man to be successful he needs support at home, just like my father had from my mother, not someone who is always griping and b*******. When a man has to endure a woman who is not supportive and complains constantly about his not being home enough or not being attentive enough, he will not be very successful unless he is able to cut the cord.
You simply lack all credibility if you claim to be "pro-family" while actively and vocally supporting a man who writes things like that. It's clear that not only is Trump advocating the destruction of family, he is staggeringly clueless about its purpose and design as a godly institution. The concept of loving your wife as Christ loved the church, which involves patience, forgiveness, perseverance, and above all self-sacrifice, is about as far removed from what Trump is espousing as you can imagine.
Again, I'm not talking about a guy who knows the truth about marriage and family but has failed or is failing to perfectly apply that truth. I'm not talking a man who made or makes mistakes.
I'm talking about a man who doesn't think such failings are failings. I'm talking about a man who is promoting those mistakes as necessary for "success." Not even Hillary Clinton is that clueless.
I've often said that the destruction of the nuclear family through no-fault divorce was and is far more devastating to the long-term health of our society than the advent of a silly fad like "gay marriage." In many ways, "gay marriage" is more the consequence of societal collapse than it is a cause. So spare me the faux conservatives who will continue moaning about the threat of a gay wedding while simultaneously giving Trump their vote.
If the Republican Party has any desire to remain the vehicle through which traditional moral values are promoted and marketed politically, now is a time for choosing. No conservative, and certainly no Christian conservative, can tout his allegiance or fidelity to "family" if he supports and champions a man who revels in its destruction.
Peter Heck is a speaker, author and teacher. Follow him @peterheck, email peter@peterheck.com, or visit www.peterheck.com.
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