Where Are the Good Fathers?

Families, communities, and nations are stronger when men are good fathers. Yet, life is not easy for such fathers. Just look at new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) and how corporate media journalists target him.

In her article published in The Daily Signal, Arielle Del Turco discussed the “week’s contrived controversy is that Johnson took his teenage daughter to a ‘purity ball’ in 2015. 

ABC News claims to have “unearthed” a German TV news segment featuring Johnson, his wife Kelly, and his daughter Hannah, who was 13 at the time. According to ABC, the video showed “Johnson and his daughter at the ball with numerous other father-daughter pairs and shows Johnson’s daughter vowing to him to live a life of purity, as well as her signing a pledge.”

As part of the pledge, Hannah made her “commitment to God, myself, my family, my friends, my future husband, and my future children … to a lifetime of purity, including sexual purity.” That is a beautiful commitment, though one might wonder why ABC finds it newsworthy. As they come of age, young girls should be thinking about the future effects of their decisions for themselves and others. Such guidance could spare many women the heartbreaks and despair caused by the hookup culture.

Purity balls were an outgrowth of the purity movement, which reached national prominence in the 1990s. They were formal events where girls got to dress up and spend an evening with their dad, enjoying a nice meal and practicing the dance steps they typically learned for the occasion.

The event was a way for fathers to be involved in their daughter’s lives and affirm their dignity and worth. This is a good thing, and it’s easy to see why the Johnson family would want to participate in it.

The purity movement is now called the “purity culture” but arose due to “a sharp rise in premarital sex and its consequences,” such as STDs and teen pregnancies. It was based on a desire to “promote a biblical ethic of sexual purity.” It encouraged young adults “to wait until marriage to have sex and establish practical boundaries to help them wait.” However, some people took the purity movement to excessive levels, and other recognized that there were “harms caused by overemphasizing rules and concepts that were not biblical.”

Media attacks against Johnson for being an attentive father and husband have been par for the course of his speakership. Last month, Rolling Stone ran an article mocking Johnson for having anti-porn software installed on his phone and his son’s phone. Within days of becoming speaker, Johnson was criticized for being in a covenant marriage with his wife, Kelly, which makes it slightly harder to get a divorce and urges marital counseling first. These are attempts at hit pieces – but all they prove is that Johnson loves and wants the best for his family….

Johnson is exactly the type of man we need in public life right now. Research has shown a connection between fatherlessness and poor grades, increased anxiety, violent behavior, drug use, criminality, and even suicide. While the American family is suffering, Johnson offers an inspiring example of positive male leadership.

Johnson leads his family with love, humility, and strength. He doesn’t just tell his son not to look at porn – he takes preventative measures and models how to live virtuously himself. He doesn’t just talk about the harms of divorce – he commits to his wife with the strongest marriage contract available. These actions show an inspiring depth of character.

The Left can continue its slanderous crusade against Johnson, but one thing is clear: Johnson is a good father and husband. If that is what the media wants him to be known for, so be it.

There are many good fathers in our communities and nation. However, there is a great need for more men to step up to the plate and fulfill their roles of being good husbands to their wives and good fathers to their children. When fathers accept responsibility for their position of husband and father, their families are stronger, and strong families strengthen their communities and nations.