My Hero

This week I found a new hero. His name is Ryan T. Anderson. I was so impressed with his composure and clarity in the interview we watched this week. I know that if I had to sit across the room from Suze Orman as she sneered at me, belittled me, and called me ‘sweetheart’ in a derogatory way, my confidence would have crumpled, but Ryan T. Anderson did not lose one inch of his footing. He continued to respectfully and compassionately explain his position and hold his banner.

I appreciated his article in the National Review so much that I’m going to use it in my blog posting this week. My sphere of influence may be limited, but Ryan T. Anderson’s logic persuades me to raise a banner myself. This statement he made points out a serious dichotomy of my own thinking. He says, “And yet there are naysayers who claim that rational arguments never convince anyone. There is something perverse in conservatives’ thinking that ideas have consequences but that good ideas can’t persuade. They can, if only we are willing to present them in a winsome manner. In the long run truth wins out.” (emphasis added) I respect his commitment to speaking out, and see applications of this idea not just in the arena of public policy, but also in the realm of missionary work.

I am grateful to have been taught that family is the true source of happiness in this life and in the life to come. Ryan T. Anderson very clearly and without apology shares this these principles that are really the bedrock of our belief in marriage.  “Whatever the law or culture may say, we must commit now to witness to the truths about marriage: that men and women are distinct and complementary, that it takes a man and a woman to bring a child into the world, and that children deserve a chance to grow up with a mom and a dad.” I think that these ideas are basic enough that even those who say they don’t believe them must feel the lie of it in their throat. At our core, we want our families. We want those we love to love and be there for one another and for us. We understand that being family means we belong. It’s a divine yearning, to desire to be part of your natural family, and we should not silence our support of it.