“The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” –George Orwell

“No one understood better than Stalin that the true object of propaganda is neither to convince nor even to persuade, but to produce a uniform pattern of public utterance in which the first trace of unorthodox thought immediately reveals itself as a jarring dissonance.” –British Historian Alan Bullock

It is truly frightening to see the level to which political correctness has infected the minds of the American people, instilling in us fear to speak out against obvious lies and insane policies lest we be labeled as a racist, sexist, bigot, homophobe, xenophobe, or some other form of menace to civil society. As a child I used to chant the retort “sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me”. However, in modern America, that is no longer true. Words, carefully crafted to obscure the truth, lead us to accept policies which are demonstrably harmful to us as individuals, families, communities, states, and as a nation.

Each day, we are treated to more and more news stories in which truth is not only ignored, but actively shunned, with those proclaiming truth castigated and hunted down with verbal pitchforks by the angry liberals of the social and media elite. Here are a few of the most recent news stories that make me wonder if our own self-imposed stupidity will be our demise:

Last month, federal judge Edward Korman ruled that girls, regardless of age, must be given unrestricted access to the “morning after” abortion pill. The FDA last week lowered the age for purchase, ruling the “Plan B” pill and its generic equivalents must be available to girls as young as fifteen, and can now be sold over the counter, just like cough drops and vitamins. Considering the fact that the age of consent in every state is between 16-18 years old, a 15-year old buying Plan B would be strong evidence of statutory rape. So why is this judge demanding, and the FDA implementing, a policy which has the inevitable consequence of hiding evidence of statutory rape? Where is the logic in treating 26-year olds as “children”, eligible to stay on mommy and daddy’s health insurance under the terms of the ObamaCare law, yet treating 15-year old girls like adults, mature enough to make a decision to take the abortion pill without parental guidance?

Likewise, few topics engender such anger and hostility, such polarization, as the topic of homosexuality and homosexual marriage. Recently Jason Collins, an NBA player at the end of a career that could only generously be called mediocre (3.6PPG career; 1.1PPG, 1.6RPG in this season), gained national notoriety when he became the first active player in one of the four major U.S. sports to announce his homosexuality. My first thought upon hearing the news was “Who cares? Why do I need to know this?” It seemed a last-ditch effort by a washed-up player to remain relevant for just a little longer.

Yet while the media breathlessly praised Collins for his “bravery”, the truth is that there was little that could be considered brave in such a revelation. Consider the consequences of such “bravery”. His decision was hailed as “epic” and “groundbreaking.” He was referred to as this generation’s Jackie Robinson. He received a call from the President of the United States lauding him for his courage, telling Collins that he was proud of him. NBA president David Stern applauded his “leadership”, and he was offered words of support from such sports and entertainment luminaries as Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Doc Rivers, Dwayne Wade, Oprah Winfrey, and others, as well as former president Bill Clinton, who called the announcement “An important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community.” If accepting the accolades and approbation of the media and entertainment elite, and being lauded as a hero, are what constitute “bravery” in today’s America, I think we have set the threshold for bravery pretty low. I’m pretty sure I could not only survive, but thrive, in such a “challenging” trial of faith.

Speaking of trials and faith, while Collins was being lauded as a hero, those that stood up for traditional morality were being persecuted for their beliefs. ESPN analyst Chris Broussard was demonized after expressing his view on the Collins revelation, in which he said “I’m a Christian. I don’t agree with homosexuality. I think it’s a sin, as I think all sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is…If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be…that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ.” Within hours of Broussard’s comments, which reflect the views of a huge portion of the American people, there was a cacophony of calls for him to be suspended or fired. He was called a homophobe and a bigot, and accused of turning “Christian faith into a weapon of anti-gay hatred.”

How it is “anti-gay hatred” if Broussard stated his belief that ALL sex outside of marriage is sinful? His comments encompass a wide variety of sexual behavior that has nothing to do with homosexuality, such as fornication, cohabitation, and adultery. In addition to the fact that such a position is widely held not only by Christianity but every other major world religion, there is ample evidence from a variety of sociological studies to show that limiting sexual relations to the bonds of monogamous, heterosexual marriage not only has demonstrable benefits for us as individuals, but provides the best environment in which to raise healthy, well-adjusted children, who then grow up to be healthy, well-adjusted adults and citizens of the community and nation. Yet today it is considered judgmental and intolerant to believe these things.

Such anti-traditionalist, anti-Christian views are unfortunately becoming the rule instead of the exception. At New York’s Red Hook Middle School recently, under the rubric of an anti-bullying campaign, students were told they had to kiss other students of the same gender, and girls were told to pretend that they were lesbians on a date. When parents became outraged, not only did the school defend the program, it told parents the school would schedule more such activities.

At the federal level, Obama selected Mikey Weinstein to develop “religious tolerance” policies for the Pentagon. What does Weinstein think of Christians? He said that “Today, we face incredibly well-funded gangs of fundamentalist Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation’s armed forces.” This is tolerance?

I suppose Christians should have seen this day coming, because the Bible talks about the day when evil would be called good, and good called evil (Isaiah 5:20). For me the surprise is only in the rapidity at which this has developed. We need to understand there are consequences for such developments. These behaviors are destructive to society and to us as individuals. Just because we blithely ignore the truth does not mean that the consequences won’t find us. Smoking was once thought to have health benefits, but believing that did not stop the physical damage done by smoking.

For those of us who embrace biblical Christianity and traditional morality, we must be active defenders of that faith, and of our freedom to express it publicly and privately. We can and should treat those that disagree with us with dignity and respect, even as we challenge their erroneous positions. We can, as they say, disagree without being disagreeable. But a failure to defend these principles means capitulation and defeat without a fight, and all of the damaging consequences that go with it. If we fail to fight, we should not be surprised, nor complain, when the destruction arrives on our doorstep.