Yesterday, the highest court in the land (second only to the basketball court that is on it’s roof) ruled that the government cannot force the people who own corporations to provide abortifacent drugs to their employees…
…and then social media exploded.
So here’s my thing.
This week we’re also celebrating the 4th of July. This is a day we annually celebrate our independence as a nation and the men and women who’ve fought so hard to defend them. This Friday, along with barbecues, family reunions and fireworks, my family will be celebrating our freedom to be religious people in the public sphere.
Few people get more excited about the 4th of July more than my husband, Captain America. Along with talking about how America is the best country that ever was, one of his other hobbies is genealogy. Family is exceedingly important to him and he spends hours accumulating prosaic facts about ancestors long deceased… for fun. It’s weird, but I kind of love that quirk about him. While he looks forward some day to teaching our young son about the ancestors who fought for American independence or the one who suffered for his faith in the captivity of the Barbary pirates, he also admires the numerous ancestors without “notable” deeds to their names. The dozens of ancestors for whom my husband only knows basic facts—birth, baptism, marriage, death, address, and income—still demonstrate their quiet heroism.
For decade after decade in the censuses they appear, working, raising crops and children, the quiet, responsible majority upon which any long-term civilization must rest. God alone knows how devout those long-dead ancestors were in their faith, but from these records, we know that they took responsibility for their actions. They raised their families and were loyal to their spouses because that’s what upstanding Americans did in those days. It was hard work. Living in a family is always hard work that requires love, responsibility and humility… but they did it because that’s what they knew to be the right way to spend their lives.
Fast forward to today, that responsibility is too often neglected. People expect the government to pay for an irresponsible lifestyle. There. I said it. Thinking you can have sex “without consequences” is irresponsible. What’s maybe even more appalling is that they think getting pregnant is a woman’s issue. The last time I checked, having sex and getting pregnant require two genders and two people. I’m pretty old fashioned though, so maybe I’m wrong. I’ll do some research and get back.
So, while I have no interest in forcing my faith on anyone, I do have a very strong interest in cultivating a culture in which responsibility is valued. I have a strong interest in living in a country where my baby boy can witness what responsibility and love really mean. I care very deeply that women are seen as people, and not as sexual objects who must take responsibility for either a mutual or a man’s irresponsible actions.
All Americans living today, and all foreigners who have benefited from American altruism, from Afghans to Zambians, owe quiet heroes who have been sexually responsible their gratitude. Families are the building block of any free society and the fundamental beginning to any family is chastity between a husband and wife. This Independence Day, let us all stop and, for a moment, give thanks to God for the steadfastness and the persistence of previous generations. Let us pray for the America in which our children and grandchildren will grow.