Many among those who perpetuate the commentariat cycle depend on moments of expression that counter the zeitgeist, from which to generate moments of outrage. One of their latest viral targets is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who reposted a recent CNN interview with pastor and cultural commentator Doug Wilson, accompanied by the quote: “All of Christ for All of Life.” As flies swarm to a summer barbecue, Hegseth’s critics descended to deliver yet another round of condemnation—something they have done routinely since his nomination for the Pentagon’s top role in November.
His first crime was sporting a Jerusalem Cross tattoo. The centerpiece of their latest outrage is a distortion of Wilson’s views on voting and his biblical stance on the roles of men and women—otherwise known as complementarianism. In the interview, Wilson shared his perspective that homes would be strengthened and election outcomes improved if we voted by household rather than as individuals. In such an arrangement, men would cast the household vote in homes they lead. In a home led by a woman, the woman would cast the household’s vote. Predictably, this is now being misrepresented as the newest iteration of The Handmaid’s Tale by those whose current default setting is panic. Their responses essentially boiled down to:
Were this an honest conversation, Hegseth’s critics would admit that their contempt is really directed toward Christian iconography and doctrine, and those who defend it. The left so often invokes the “wall of separation between church and state.” In this case, such a wall is in effect. Wilson is a pastor speaking on theology and culture. He rightly argues that Christians should be known in secular society for living out their faith, in line with Christ’s command in the Gospel of Matthew to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Whatever faith you have will shape how you view culture. No one is neutral. The issue is not that a cabinet official holds to a religious conviction, but that it’s not the preferred religion of the left.
Many of Wilson’s remarks over the years simply point to what is already in scripture, including the role of men and women in the home and church. Other topics, like his view on household voting, are his personal opinions, of which he makes no scriptural claim or campaign to change voting laws. Importantly, Wilson has never called for an end to women’s suffrage. But even if he had, his critics have no moral standing to object, given their own hyper-misogyny that denies women protection from sexual assault by foreign invaders, their own sports, their own locker rooms, and even their identities as actual women.
Those clutching pearls over this recent recitation of historic complementarian tradition have been conspicuously silent in recent years as cultural radicals argued that white people, non-white Republicans, people who questioned an experimental shot coercion campaign, pro-life American, Catholics who celebrate the Latin Mass, homeschoolers, and a whole host of others categorized as "deplorable" are undeserving of constitutional protections. The left dominates most of our cultural institutions, yet cannot deny its documented record of oppressing those who refuse to bend the knee and kiss its dark ring. Thus, we endure gaslighting campaigns that claim constitutionalists are a threat to freedom. The reality is that the “who gets agency” game has long been underway, and it’s driven by the left, not Bible-believing Christians.
Some online commenters argue Hegseth has a right to his opinions but must be “held accountable” for them. Theoretically, this call for thought punishment is needed to protect the Constitution. Apparently, we must destroy the First Amendment in order to save it, but only in the context of expression aligned to millennia of societal and church practice. In stark contrast, calls for accountability vanish when it comes to the official actions [which go beyond thinking] taken by senior defense leaders that caused genuine harm. Examples include the unlawful COVID mandate, poisonous leadership culture, the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, and a long list of other misdeeds of our defense department that brought about an epidemic of suicide among the military-affiliated, as well as the worst drop of public trust in the military since Vietnam. The same people who demand “accountability” for an American citizen sharing a news story on his personal feed are the same ones wanting to give full amnesty to unrepentant defense officials who vindictively wronged tens of thousands of Americans. This blatant philosophical contradiction exposes the shameless hypocrisy of the progressive outrage machine.
This moment offers a chance to recall the military’s fundamental purpose. As the late Samuel Huntington wrote in "The Soldier and the State," the U.S. military must be conservative because its proper role is to defend, preserve, protect, and conserve the nation. America’s culture and government were built on the Christian understanding of humanity and ethics. Our nation has not grown stronger since abandoning that tradition. On the contrary, national problems have grown in proportion to the rise of secular-humanist ideology in the public square and legislative halls. The supposed “neutral square” is a myth. What we are really witnessing is the replacement of our ancestors’ faith with the pagan creeds of the present age. Those jeering Hegseth and Wilson fully endorse expressions, policies, and actions that are in subjection to the collection of woke religious traditions.
As culture rages, will our Defense Department serve to protect ordered liberty, or follow the tradition in which the military was turned into an instrument of revolution in so many nations turned dictatorships during the 20th Century? Serious question. Just this week, retired Maj. Gen. Pat Donahoe posted a story implying that the military should execute a coup against Donald Trump. It seems Gen. Milley’s treasonous influence remains, with full approval of far too many people for whom principle is meaningless and ends mean everything.
Americans need a defense secretary with the moral grounding to defend what is right. Too many in uniform today have no idea what they serve to protect. Few have read the Constitution. Most would likely fail a basic civics test. Instead of defending the nation’s ideals, today’s military is increasingly an arm of a globalist security apparatus, detached from love of God, family, home, community, and nation. We need more leaders who acknowledge God as creator and ultimate authority, men who know that this nation’s founding recognized that truth. Instead, we have far too many in the halls of public service and government leadership who are ignorant of what they’re supposed to be serving to defend and perpetuate. A military that cannot decipher between right and wrong is a danger to the nation rather than a safeguard.
Pagans may howl at the idea of a virtuous military, but their freedoms depend on it. For those who know the truth, it must be all of Christ for all of life. We are fortunate to see a cabinet secretary own it publicly. Let that be a challenge for you to do likewise, starting now.
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