Should We Hate, Revile, Persecute — and Threaten — Those with Whom We Disagree?
Last week, a reporter who said he wanted to interview me about President Obama's statement that "homosexuality is a human right" called me. He said that the president's recent comments about the situation in Uganda elevated homosexuality to the level of a "human right" or a "universal fundamental freedom." My remarks were simply that the president of the United States has the responsibility to represent the entire nation. When he states his personal beliefs and values and presents those as representative of the United States of America, the full force of his office is behind those statements. It is clear that the beliefs of the president about "human rights" are controversial in his own country and offensive to many both in the U.S. and abroad, and serve to promote the political homosexual agenda worldwide. Claiming that homosexuality is a "human right" is an affront, even a mockery, of¬¬ those Judeo-Christian values that have been the foundation of virtually all Western civilizations across time and cultures.
That critique is not an endorsement of Ugandan law. Concerned Women for America (CWA) supports the human rights of everyone, including homosexuals. The president should have criticized brutality (though he has not done that in some other notable international incidents) without embracing and promoting the political agenda of a relatively small special interest group.
Human rights are granted to us from God, not man or government; that is why religious liberty and freedom of speech are such important principles. Religious liberty and freedom of speech were so important to the Founders that those principles are foundational in the United States Constitution. Thomas Jefferson started the momentum toward that position in the Declaration of Independence. It is a foundational principle that religious liberty and freedom of speech are from God, not man. Human rights are the implication of our God-ordained freedom, not vice versa.
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Moreover, in our system of government, it is not the prerogative of the president to declare what the law is or which laws will be enforced. I am not the only cultural commentator to have observed that this president has overstepped his authority in this area. In addition, it is not the president's prerogative to say that his interpretation of human rights trumps religious liberty or freedom of speech. Further, it is not his prerogative to say that his interpretation of human rights trumps the centuries old cultural and religious traditions of other nations.
The basic principles of religious liberty and freedom of speech are the context in which I criticized Mr. Obama. In this respect, Mr. Obama has been "arrogant," and his actions have constituted "cultural imperialism." One of Concerned Women for America's (CWA) core issues is "national sovereignty," and we defend the sovereignty of our own country, as well as that of other nations. We are an American organization, and our involvement in other nations is solely on the issue of national sovereignty and the other core issues (like Family and Life) that we share with our international colleagues. We analyze the statements of public officials, including the president, as they touch on our core issues; we have suggested that the president should forcefully condemn nations that violate the civil rights of homosexuals and women, but that approach is significantly different from the president's endorsing and promoting the special interest campaigns of "homosexual rights" and "women's rights" activists - campaigns that are political in nature and ask for approval rather than acceptance, that ask for special rights, not human rights.
Of course, neither Concerned Women for America nor I support brutality toward anyone anywhere. CWA is an international leader in the anti-human trafficking movement. We also do not support the political imprisonment of anyone anywhere. We want to help, where we can, those leaders around the world who want to protect their cultures from activism, dictatorship, blackmail and abuse.
We at Concerned Women for America work hard to strengthen families and the culture in which we all live and where children are raised and nurtured. The public sexualization of the culture - in all its aspects - as well as the objectification and sexualization of children and girls is a concern for everyone who cares about the nation's children and women. We are also very aware of the sinful nature that we all share and of the fact that no-fault divorce, sexual promiscuity, and infidelity are problems that are just as serious and warrant just as much concern as homosexuality. We are solidly Biblical in our approach to the standards for our own behavior as well as that of others - without harboring a judgmental attitude - and we seek to do so with the love, mercy, and grace - and firm commitment to Truth.
