The Federalist Writers Continue to Disregard That Some of Their Readers Are Conservative, Single, and Childless – Re: “Childless Chris Evans’ Inspiring Condemnation Of Anti-LGBT Bigots: ‘Those People Die Off Like Dinosaurs’”
June 22, 2022
Post updated below, November 2022
I just wrote, (about two days ago!), (Link): another rebuttal of sorts to another editorial at the Federalist that was, once again, in a round about way, shaming anyone single or childless for being single and childless.
And here we are again.
The owners of The Federalist, and their writers, really need to be aware that some of their readership consists of single, childless, conservative adults.
Not every un-married, childless adult out there hates the nuclear family, marriage, or parenthood, or is liberal or Democrat.
Some of us single and childless adults are conservatives who don’t agree with the progressive LGBT agenda.
Several days ago, when actor Chris Evans was informed that some nations were banning his new Disney / Pixar movie, Lightyear, because it contains a lesbian kissing scene, Evans made some kind of response in the media about how people who object to lesbianism or homosexuality will one day die off, and their views will go extinct, and he thinks that is a good thing.
While I myself do not support the entirety of the LGBT-agenda, in- so- far as they advocate things like wanting to force Christian bakers to bake wedding cakes for homosexual weddings, or legally (Link): permitting biological men who identify as women into women’s domestic violence shelters, bathrooms, and prisons, I also do not support any conservative retort that amounts to denigrating singleness or the state of being childless.
It is not necessary, fair, or kind, to push back against progressive LGBT propaganda, or to defend marriage and parenthood, at the expense of singleness and childlessness, but I will discuss this further below.
Here’s the latest singles-shaming, childless-shaming piece from The Federalist, only this time, it’s by another author, not the same one I was critiquing the other day over her essay (I will analyze it below the link and excerpts):
Excerpts:
June 22, 2022
by Hans Fiene
Evans’s lack of children gives much greater weight to his insistence that all LGBTQIA2 opponents will go the way of the dodo.
… Next, when you remind them that they’re on the wrong side of history, they’ll repeat the debunked claim that history is more likely to be written by those who exist than those who don’t.
[When Evans was asked what his views were about anyone who was objecting to his new Lightyear movie due to its representation of homosexuality, Evans responded by conveying that]
Their complaints will perish with them. Their bigotry will be swept into the dustbin of history. You simply need to wait for them to enter extinction.
To understand why his words are so comforting, it’s important to remember that Evans is an unmarried 41-year-old man with no children. Had his words been spoken by a man who sired offspring, they would be of no comfort to you.
… Evans’s lack of children, therefore, gives much greater weight to his insistence that all LGBTQIA2 opponents will go the way of the dodo. How can you not be comforted by the glorious confidence of this man who has reached middle age and yet has zero children to enroll in Miss Naughty’s Preschool for Drag Princesses? If kidless Captain America is certain that transgender eight-year-olds will still be a thing when the children of anti-LGBTQIA2+ Christians, Mormons, and Muslims inherit the earth, why should we fear?
Indeed they are! And you should be so confident of their idiocy that you do not fear forgoing procreation and leaving the children of your ideological enemies to continue your march towards queer justice. They’ll gladly oblige!
“Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good,” the film star added.
Absolutely! The human story is one long march towards libertine justice! Societies only grow stronger the more they encourage sterility and physically destructive sexual behaviors. That never brings about cultural collapse. So don’t feel an ounce of dread when you look at those Christian parents filling their 12-passenger van with their Christian children.
— end excerpts —
According to the end credits under that essay on The Federalist the author is…
Hans Fiene is a contributor to The Federalist. He is a Lutheran pastor in Missouri and the creator of Lutheran Satire, a series of comical videos intended to teach the Lutheran faith. Follow him on Twitter, @HansFiene
— end —
The Anti-Singles, Anti-Childless Pastor
Yikes. No. No, no, no, no.
To the Lutheran pastor who wrote this piece:
Your own Lord and Savior (Link): never married or had children, and yet His teachings and deeds were not forgotten.
Jesus of Nazareth’s world views were passed down by his spiritual children, initially by word of mouth, and then, in writing.
And, as I remarked in my (Link): last post on this topic from just a couple of days ago:
The Bible actually teaches that spiritual family is of more import than biological family. Jesus of Nazareth taught in the Gospels that if you follow him, you are to place him above your spouse, any children you have, your siblings, your parents, and other biological family.
(See (Link): Matthew 12: 46-50 and (Link): Matthew 10: 37,38 for more about how Jesus discouraged his followers from prioritizing biological family or spouse above devotion to God or above spiritual family, as today’s American conservatives tend to do.)
The Bible simply does not teach anyone to “focus on their (biological) family,” nor does the Bible teach that marriage, natalism, parenthood, or the nuclear family will fix a culture or that marriage or parenthood will make a person more godly, ethical, or responsible.
The Bible says that the problem with humanity is sin, that each person is a sinner, and the Bible prescribes belief in Jesus as Savior to be the cure – not marriage or having a baby.
In (Link): 1 Corinthians 7, the Apostle Paul wrote it is better to remain single than to marry:
Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do …
(28) …But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided.
An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.
35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
— end biblical excerpts —
edit: Can you imagine sitting through a sermon at this pastor’s church, if he actively pastors, and you’re an infertile married woman, and you see this essay where he shreds another adult for not having children? I’d wager that most women in such a situation would be hurt or offended by such commentary.
Then you have adults who’d like to marry, but they were never able to find a suitable partner (churches are notorious among single, marriage-desiring women for lacking single men between the ages of around 20 – 69).
I could not imagine being a single, childless adult knowing that my church’s pastor regards and talks about childless, single adults as though they are trash or sub-human in some capacity.
It’s actually (Link): not necessary to “out breed” one’s opponents (the (Link): Bible does not endorse or advocate for “bedroom evangelization”), or to have children in order for one’s beliefs to be passed down.
Also, may I add:
If you think the main, or only, reason to have a baby with another adult is to “out breed” your ideological opponents, or to keep a tax base up, you’re (Link): reproducing for the wrong reasons.
I don’t think the God of the Bible intended for children to be regarded as political tools, with children being compared in one Old Testament passage to (Link): arrows in a quiver, none- the- less.
Dead But Not Forgotten
To a degree, Evans is correct – which does not mean I am in agreement with movie companies inserting “LGBT” themes into children’s movies, but I recognize some truth in what Evans is saying.
Actress Marilyn Monroe died in 1962, and while Monroe married three times, she never had children (she was physically incapable of doing so) – but she is still remembered – many books have been written about her since she died, her movies are still available to watch.
A new movie about Monroe is being released this year. A dress she first wore in 1962 that was (Link): re-worn by Kim Kardashian to a public function was in the news this past month.
Monroe has been dead for over 60 years, Monroe never had any children, and yet, she’s still making the news – people in 2022 know who she is.
Elvis Presley, the singer, died in 1977, and yet, there’s a new movie about Elvis being released in summer of 2022. Elvis’ music is still played on Spotify and You Tube. People haven’t forgotten Elvis.
Elvis does have one daughter, but we don’t often hear from Lisa Marie – and people remember Elvis for Elvis and his movies and music, not because his daughter is out there talking about him and reminding the public of him (because I’ve not seen her do this).
People still remember George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Adolph Hitler, and Socrates.
Did any of those historical figures have children? I honestly do not know. If they did, I know them through their accomplishments and reading about them in school, or seeing material about them in movies or online, and not from any children they may have had.
When I was a college student, I had to read works of literature by Hemingway, John Steinbeck, and William Faulkner. I have no idea if any of those authors were married or not or if they had children. But I still know who they are, and I am familiar with some of their works or beliefs.
A man can die, but his ideas can live on. It’s not necessary to have children to propagate one’s world views.
Even Christian Views and Some Values Change Over Time
American Christians used to use the Bible and (mis)interpret the Bible in such a way as to defend the white ownership of black persons and to say that God was fine with white people owning black people as slaves. You can read more about that (Link): here and (Link): here.
These days, one would be hard pressed to find many white, male Christians who would defend slavery (aside from fringe kooks such as pastors (Link): Doug Wilson and (Link): John MacArthur).
With the passage of time, American Christians came to see that no, the Bible was not defending the practice of slavery, just because eons ago, the Bible mentions that God permitted some cultures to engage in the habit.
God may have allowed slavery, and God may not have specifically condemned slavery in the text, but that doesn’t mean that God was in favor of it, either.
Views about slavery, racism, and (Link): the role of women, have in fact changed over time, and some Christians have come to re-evaluate what the Bible says or means about those topics, and more, in light of those secular cultural shifts.
I am not a supporter of progressive LGBT views or practices.
I certainly don’t think that (Link): public schools should be teaching first graders about progressive gender ideology, masturbation, asking kindergartners their opinions on anal sex (yes, this (Link): has actually happened), nor should parents be subjecting their children to (Link): drag queen shows in or out of school environments.
I’m not terribly knowledgeable about actor Chris Evans, outside of knowing he’s a movie actor (I saw him as Captain America in several Marvel movies, as well as “Knives Out,” and some generic Sci Fi thriller movie on cable several years ago), and I’m not sure if he’s hetero- or homo- sexual.
I am unsure if he’s ever married or not.
But none of that really matters.
Honestly, as a 50-something never married, childless woman, (and while I disagree with Evan’s socio-political views), I think it’s in very poor taste, a cheap shot, and rather beside the point for any person, especially a conservative (and one who works as a pastor), to argue against Evans by bringing up his age, marital status, or parental status.
Yes, I realize the point – Evans is saying one day LGBT oppositional views or persons will fade away, so the author, Fiene, believes, well, if Evans has no children, he and his views will fade away, so touche’
– but that still doesn’t make the ageist, singles-bashing, childlessness-bashing acceptable.
Views Do Sometimes Change From Generation to Generation
Evans is either, what, an older Millennial or a young Gen Xer, yes?
Evans himself was not criticizing people for marrying and having children, so far as I recall his remarks. He was just saying that the current generation, which doesn’t favor LGBT views, will one day pass away – which is true.
It is true, usually, the up and coming generations of Americans either fall more or less conservative than older generations.
Gen Z is (Link): more conservative about engaging in sexual behavior than are Gen X or Baby Boomers, according to studies (as mentioned (Link): here) – and yet, a (Link): greater number of Gen Z claims LGBT identity, more so than Gen X and Boomers.
Attitudes do tend to shift culturally over time. A little over 45 to 50 years ago, women in the United States (Link): could not take out a credit card in their own name – they had to have a husband to do so. Now a days, I think most of us would realize how sexist and backwards such cultural attitudes and practices were. Some cultural changes are not always bad.
In Conclusion
The Bible itself says in 1 Corinthians 7 it is better to stay single (and also celibate and therefore childless) than it is to marry.
So I have no idea, where a man who works as a minister, gets off criticizing another adult over being childless or single, and again, I don’t see Evans’ lack of children or singles status as being entirely pertinent to his view that as time marches on, societal values and attitudes on some topics change – that is true, regardless if Evans ever has children or not.
I would expect a pastor who is familiar with the Bible to show more respect towards the status of single, celibate adults in society.
Jesus was single and childless. The Bible speaks favorably of singleness, so how does any pastor think it’s acceptable to use someone’s single status, or lack of children, against him or her, even in the midst of arguing against progressive view points?
If one wishes to argue against Chris Evans’ LGBT related views, please find a way to do so that doesn’t involve snarking on the fact that he’s middle aged, single, with no children
– I too am middle aged, single, with no children, but I am a conservative who doesn’t wholly support Evans’ LGBT perspective.
You’re insulting single, childless, conservatives like me in the process of trying to play a game of “gotcha!” with Chris Evans.
Putting down singles for being single or childless, all to promote or defend marriage (or score points against LGBT causes) is a routine occurrence with you guys at The Federalist – please knock it off, Federalist writers!
Related:
June 21, 2022
by Robert Craychik
Jack Posobiec, senior editor at Human Events, told Breitbart News on Tuesday that entertainment companies like Disney are willing to lose money on projects like Lightyear in order to advance leftist politics in American culture and beyond.
Posobiec noted how the Federal Reserve’s increasing use of left-wing criteria in its lending selections — billed ESG, an acronym for “environmental, social, and governance” — benefit politically aligned companies and institutions.
(Link): Chris Evans is focusing all his energy on finding his next partner
July 19, 2022
…The “Avengers: Infinity War” star also spoke about how difficult it is to find love in today’s world, especially in Hollywood.
“I mean, look – I love what I do. It’s great; I pour all of myself into it. But in terms of – even this industry is full of pockets of doubt, hesitation and recalibration in terms of really trying to find someone that you really can pour all of yourself into,” Evans said.
Evans has been linked to a few women he’s worked with in the past, most notably comedic actress Jenny Slate.
Update: Nov 11, 2022
Getting married is not as easy as so many hyper-pro-marriage conservatives think it is, if one has any standards at all.
If you have low to no standards – like you’re fine marrying a mentally disturbed, severely obese pathological narcissist who spends half the day in bed sleeping and the other half nit-picking and criticizing you, sure, you can probably find someone to marry.
But if you’re looking for a normal relationship with a healthy person, it is very difficult.
Nov 10, 2022
On Thursday People reported the 41-year-old action star has been dating 25-year-old brunette beauty Alba Baptista from Portugal for over a year and the relationship is ‘serious.’
In the past he has dated actresses Jenny Slate, Minka Kelly and Jessica Biel. And this year he was rumoured to be close to Selena Gomez.
Though Chris has yet to confirm his romance with the actress, he did tell People recently that he feels very ‘content’ in her personal life.
And he also shared that he would like to settle down one day.
‘That’s absolutely something I want: wife, kids, building a family,’ said the Captain America actor.
This post was edited after publication to fix broken links, add more links, and to add more comments
Related Posts on This Blog:
(Link): If the Family Is Central, Christ Is Not
(Link): Jesus Christ Removed the Stigma, Shame From Being Single and Childless – by David Instone Brewer
(Link): Why We Thought Marriage Made Us Healthier, and Why We Were Wrong by Bella DePaulo
(Link): I’m in My 40s, Child-Free and Happy. Why Won’t Anyone Believe Me? By Glynnis MacNicol
(Link): How the Dating Scene Became Stacked Against Women – via CT, by Gina Dalfonzo
(Link): Do Married Couples Slight Their Family Members as Well as Their Friends? / “Greedy Marriages”
(Link): Four in 10 Adults Between the Ages of 25 and 54 are Single, Up From 29% in 1990
(Link): Jesus Christ Removed the Stigma, Shame From Being Single and Childless – by David Instone Brewer
(Link): Study: Couples Without Children Have Happier Marriages / Study: Having Kids Ruins Your Life
(Link): Family as “The” Backbone of Society? – It’s Not In The Bible
(Link): Tell the Baby-Obsessed To Back Off (Letter)
(Link): Is The Church Failing Childless Women? by Diane Paddison
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(Link): Do You Rate Your Family Too High? (Christians Who Idolize the Family) (article)
(Link): Motherhood Is Not A Woman’s Most Important Job by J. Wright
(Link): I Married Young. I Was Widowed Young. I Never Want A Long-Term Partner Again by R. Woolf
(Link): I’m 45, Single And Childless. No, There’s Nothing ‘Wrong’ With Me. by M Notkin
(Link): Do You Feel Shame About Being Single? By John Amodeo, PhD
(Link): Craigslist confessional: I’m in my 40s, never married, and a virgin—but I’m happy by Abigail
(Link): The Media Should Stop Ignoring When Sexual Misconduct Perpetrators Are Married
(Link): What Christians Really Think About the Church’s Relationship Advice by Anna Broadway
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