Why Did Trump Hold a Rally at the Madison Square Garden?

Former President Donald Trump kicked off the final full week of campaigning for the 2024 presidential season at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, an arena that holds 20,000 people and was packed. There was an A-list of speakers that included Tucker Carlson, Dr. Phil McGraw, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Hulk Hogan, Dana White, Elon Musk, and numerous prominent Republicans. In a rare appearance at campaign events, former First Lady Melania Trump introduced her husband as the next Commander-in-Chief and welcomed him to the stage. Virginia Allen at The Daily Signal listed three take-aways from the event. 

‘Honor to Win New York’

New York is not a swing state. Trump trails Democratic candidate Kamala Harris by about 15 percentage points in New York, where Joe Biden won over 60% of the vote in 2020. Nevertheless, Trump made an appeal to his fellow New Yorkers Sunday night. “It would be such an honor to win New York. Hasn’t been done in decades. Hasn’t been done in so long,” Trump said.

New York has not voted for the Republican presidential candidate since the 1980s….

Big Campaign Promises

Trump spent a great portion of his one hour and 20-minute speech talking about two of the biggest issues in the 2024 presidential election – the economy and immigration.

“If I win, we will quickly build the greatest economy in the history of the world,” the former president pledged.

Trump went on to share some details of his economic agenda, including his plan to cut taxes and implement tariffs….

Trump repeatedly returned to the issue of border and immigration throughout his speech, telling the crowd that the border issue is “bigger than inflation, it’s bigger than the economy.”

Customs and Border Protection has encountered over 10 million illegal aliens on America’s borders under the Biden administration. In September, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that more than 662,000 criminal illegal aliens were released into the interior of the U.S. Among those, 435,719 had already been convicted of a crime, with 226,847 more facing pending criminal charges.

“But the day I take the oath of office, the migrant invasion of our country ends and the restoration of our country begins,” Trump said, later pledging “on day one” to “launch the largest deportation program in American history and to get the criminals out.

‘Just Not Running Against Harris’

Trump repeatedly criticized Harris Sunday night, and claimed he is “just not running against Kamala,” adding that the Democratic candidate is “purely a vessel.”

“We’re running against something far bigger than Joe [Biden] or Kamala [Harris], and far more powerful than them, which is a massive, vicious, crooked, radical left machine that runs today’s Democrat Party,” he said.

My long-time readers know my opinion about this “machine.” It is a secret combination or group of secret combinations foretold in the Book of Mormon to exist in all nations in the last days. Kamala Harris is a puppet, just as Joe Biden was a puppet to do the will of the machine. Secret combinations destroy freedom and governments because they seek power over individuals and nations. Vote Trump and support him as he destroys the power of the secret combinations controlling our government!

Why Should Americans Vote Republican?

The 2024 presidential election is a critical election. If Kamala Harris is elected as the 47^th President of the United States, America and the world will be worse off than it is now. Even lifelong Democrats, feminists, progressives, Jews, Muslims, Blacks, Hispanics, and others who usually support Democrats are choosing to support Republicans. One such person is Rona Kaufman, “a lifelong Democrat, a feminist, a progressive, and a Jew” – and also a Democrat activist. Here are her reasons in her own words. 

After witnessing the horrors of October 7 and after realizing that too many Democratic Party elected officials and constituents lack the moral clarity to respond effectively to the war Israel is fighting and to the threat of Islamism., I have decided to vote Republican. On November 5, 2024, I will vote for congressional candidate James Hayes (R), state Treasurer Stacey Garrity (R), U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormack (R) – and, reluctantly, Donald Trump (R).

Most people believe that this is an important election --- that its results might even determine the future of our democracy. I agree with them. And that is why, in 2024, I am voting for the party that is more likely to contain Iran and remind it and its terror proxies that America will defeat their threats to democracy and freedom; more likely to support Israel in its defensive, existential war; and more likely to protect civil rights by punishing unlawful acts of violence and anti-Semitic harassment on college campuses.

I am not voting for the party that abandoned the girls of Afghanistan and unnecessarily sacrificed the precious lives of our soldiers there. I am not voting for the party that condemns anti-Semitism on the right while excusing, and even spreading, leftist anti-Semitism and blood libels. I am not voting for the party that is equivocal in its support for Israel as she fights to defend her borders, half the world’s Jews, some of the freest Arab citizens in the world, and Western values, including democracy. I am not voting for the party that chooses appeasement as its foreign policy. I am not voting for the party that took no definitive action as anti-Semitic violence raged on college campuses across the United States.

The threat coming from Iran and its proxies (including those who support them in the West) is a threat to women, LGBTQ+ people, Jews, and other minorities. It is a threat to liberal democracies across the world. We must elect those who will not tolerate an Islamist invasion of a liberal democratic ally and who will make it clear that Islamism will never defeat Western civilization. If the United States permits Islamists to spread their supremacist, misogynist, Jew-hating, freedom-hating ideology, they will do so. While Israelis and others in the Muslim and Arab world are most vulnerable, it is only a matter of time until we are all at risk.

Islamist ideology is a poison. It is not liberal. It is not progressive. It is not inclusive.

Kaufman continued her explanation with examples of the way that Islamists treat women and deny education from girls (Afghanistan), brutally murder gay men, (Palestinians, Islamic State), rape, murder, mutilate, and burn Jews (October 7), and kidnap non-Muslim girls into sexual slavery (Boko Haram, Islamic State), and more. She emphasized that this is the type of people – “freedom fighters” being supported by riots on college campuses. She then gives a warning to America.

The United States must recognize the imminent threat posed by Islamist ideology. It must defeat Islamists when they dare to cross a democratic country’s border. If they are not stopped, they will continue to spread their vile ways in an Islamic caliphate across the Middle East, Europe, and, eventually, the Americas. They will institute the same regressive laws in other lands that they have instituted in their own.

Today, Israel is actively fighting this threat on seven fronts. If we do not ensure that Israel wins these wars and if we do not help her to defeat the threat posed by Iran soon, we risk not only the lives of persecuted people and other minorities in faraway lands but, in time, our own.

It has been heartbreaking for me to realize that the party I believed would always defend the rights of women and minorities is not interested in defending them against the Islamists….

Kaufman’s reasons for voting Republicans are mainly in defense of Jews and other minorities from Islamists. My reasons for voting Republican have to do with America and Americans. The Biden-Harris administration has been bad for America and its people, and a Harris-Walz administration would be just as bad or worse. Vote Republican.

Vote Red all the way down the ballot. We must destroy the power that the secret combinations hold against our government. Trump calls them “Deep State,” but the Book of Mormon warns that secret combinations will be in all nations in the last days. Trump is the only candidate who is willing to go up against the Deep State and destroy the corruption in the government.

Does Ballot Chasing Work?

My VIPs for this week are the “thousands of attendees at a Trump rally Thursday in Las Vegas” who were “ready to collect mail-in ballots on-site.” According to Katelynn Richardson, collecting ballots is new for the Republicans. 

The strategy is a major shift for Nevada Republicans, who opposed the legalization of ballot harvesting in 2020. Now, conservative activists and GOP operatives are leaning into the new rules, asking voters to bring ballots to rallies and doing whatever it takes to make it easy for Republicans to get their votes in early.

“We don’t like early voting, but its how the game is,” Turning Point Action Las Vegas field representative Schayden Gorai told the Daily Caller News Foundation, explaining these are “the rules that the Democrats have set.”

Early voting numbers have been strong for Republicans, who lead Democrats by nearly 24,000 votes between in-person and mail ballots as of Friday morning. If Democrats can’t change the current margins, which have them up in mail ballots but trailing Republicans by 25% for in-person early voting, longtime Nevada political reporter and editor of The Nevada Independent Jon Ralston wrote Thursday night the party is in “big, big trouble.”

Former President Donald Trump – and others who spoke at the Turning Point-sponsored rally Thursday, including Vivek Ramaswamy, Charlie Kirk, and Tulsi Gabbard – urged supporters in the crowd to get out early and bring others along. Prior to the rally, a text blast was sent out letting attendees know about the ballot drop-off option. Fliers and other messaging likewise encouraged supporters to bring their ballots.

Republicans launched the new approach when Trump spoke in Reno earlier this month. Now that more people know about the option, campaign staff say the method is gaining some traction…..

While many voters maintain reservations about mail ballots, the messaging is landing with some….

The collection at the rally is only part of a broader strategy Turning Point calls “ballot chasing.” …

While there has been a more aggressive effort to secure ballots, those working with the Trump campaign believe the GOP’s election integrity efforts have also given voters the confidence to turn out in greater number….

 

Should States Require Ballots to Be Returned by Election Day?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns absentee ballot laws. Blaze News reported that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a major ruling this week that will affect the presidential election. 

Some states have expanded election regulations in order to allow the counting of ballots received after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by the election date. The ruling ends that practice and forces states to only count absentee ballots received by Election Day….

The lawsuit was filed by the Republican Party of Mississippi, and the order is only binding in the three states in the 5^th Circuit: Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

“Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote by Election Day. And federal law does not permit the State of Mississippi to extend the period of voting by one day, five days, or 100 days. The State’s contrary law is preempted,” the ruling read.

Democrats feared that the decision would bolster efforts in other jurisdictions to shut down expansive voter laws. However, the decision will not block absentee ballots for the current election since it’s so close to Election Day. The ruling sends the case down for other proceedings.

Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley praised the decision on social media.

“This is a seismic win for fair, accurate, secure, and transparent elections,” he wrote.

32 states already demand that ballots be returned by Election Day while another 10 states require them to be postmarked by Election Day and received no longer than 7 days after.

CNN noted loudly that the three judges on the 5^th Circuit were appointed by former President Donald Trump, a Republican.

What Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to 3 Nephi 27 – 4 Nephi in a lesson titled “There Could Not Be a Happier People.” The lesson was introduced with the following information. 

The teachings of Jesus Christ are much more than a beautiful philosophy to ponder. They are meant to inspire us to become like Him. The book of 4 Nephi shows just how completely the Savior’s gospel can change people. Following Jesus’s brief ministry, centuries of contention between the Nephites and Lamanites came to an end. Two nations known for dissension and pride became “one, the children of Christ” (4 Nephi 1:17), and they began to have “all things common among them” (4 Nephi 1:3). The “love of God … did dwell in the hearts of the people,” and “there could not be a happier people among all the people who had bene created by the hand of God” (4 Nephi 1:15-16). This is how the Savior’s teachings changed the Nephites and the Lamanites. How are they changing you?

The lesson block contained several principles worthy of discussion, such as (1) The Church of Jesus Christ is called in His name (3 Nephi 27:1-12), (2) What is it that ye desire? (3 Nephi 28:1-11), (3) Record what you’re learning (3 Nephi 27:23-26), (4) The Book of Mormon is a sign that God’s latter-day work is being fulfilled (3 Nephi 29-30), and (5) Following the teachings of Jesus Christ leads to unity and happiness (4 Nephi 1:1-18).

The principle that I feel prompted to discuss is “The Church of Jesus Christ is built on His gospel (3 Nephi 27:10-22). In 3 Nephi 27:1-12, Jesus Christ taught that His Church would be called in His name and would be built upon His gospel. Then He proceeded to describe His gospel. We will first consider the scripture verses.

10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.

11 But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return.

12 For their works do follow them, for it is because of their works that they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I have told you.

13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.

14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father.

18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.

19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

According to the words of Jesus Christ, His gospel is defined as faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost (see verses 19-20) and enduring to the end (see verse 16). He also said that His gospel consisted of Him coming into the world to do the will of His Father and to be “lifted up upon the cross” (verses 13-14).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926-2004) taught that the gospel is simple and its simplicity is the reason that some people have difficulty accepting it.

There is in the Book of Mormon a statement in which the Lord says, “Behold this is the gospel, which I have given unto you,” and then he describes his gospel. (See 3 Nephi 27:13-18.) It is a simple story of a world to which a Savior has been sent whom men may accept or reject, but who is, nevertheless, the Messiah.

That simple story is the very thing, of course, the world cannot accept, and it is so simple that some may even be offended inwardly at times by the so-called simplicity of the gospel….

… There are those who may share some of our beliefs and values, but for whom the restoration of the gospel is a stumbling block they cannot get over the top of. But to most of mankind, what we proclaim is “foolishness” (For the Power Is in Them [1970], 47-48, as quoted in Book of Mormon Student Manual – Religion 121-122 [2009]).

What Is the God-Given Purpose for Marriage?

 Marriage is for the benefit of the children, and married parents can strengthen their family, community, state, and nation. According to “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.” The document also states that “the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of his children.” Later in the doctrine, it states the following: 

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to his eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ….

The above referenced proclamation was published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and signed by fifteen men who are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators. That is one side of the discussion. On the opposite side of the discussion are the people and organizations who seek to deconstruct marriage and family.

Patrick T. Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, discussed the problem in an article published at The Daily Signal. He noted that “Center-left media outlets” look for interesting ways to find some “new ‘trend’ in the upper-middle-class mating scene.” In the past, such terms as “Ethical nonmonogamy,” “polyamory memoirs,” and “Couple to Throuple” gained respectful reviews. 

After all, once society has deconstructed marriage down to the point of meaninglessness, why should we have any compunction about celebrating such creative alternatives to bourgeois fidelity? If Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice want to go all in on creating a modern-day polycule, what difference does that make to us?

The push to unwind traditional social scripts around marriage, fidelity, commitment, and procreation hasn’t just been a question of individual fulfillment, but also has had widespread social consequences.

That’s the argument made by Washington Examiner commentary editor and former Senate staffer Conn Carroll in his new book, “Sex and the Citizen: How the Assault on Marriage Is Destroying Democracy.”

Carroll takes the reader on a globe-trotting tour across the ages, dipping into evolutionary psychology, anthropology, and history to make the case that “monogamous marriage binds men and women into a long-term project of cooperative care for each other and their children,” and that we tinker with that wisdom at our peril.

The casual reader’s mileage may vary on how much academic speculation about the mating habits of primates or our Pleistocene-era ancestors can tell us about the form and structure of what family life should look like today. But Carroll’s dissection of how modern liberals and leftists try to justify their preference for maximum autonomy by appealing to prehistoric biology and postmodern critical theory is worth taking seriously.

And the anthropological excursions are in service of a broader point: namely, that marriage is instituted for the well-being of children, not the two (or more) consenting adults that would enter into it. As former Heritage Foundation scholar (and my current boss) Ryan T. Anderson pointed out in 2013:

“State recognition of marriage protects children by encouraging men and women to commit to each other and take responsibility for their children. While respecting everyone’s liberty, government rightly recognizes, protects, and promotes marriage as the ideal institution for childbearing and childrearing … [yet] in recent decades, marriage has been weakened by a revisionist view that is more about adults’ desires than children’s needs.”

The cultural and legal skirmish that ended in Obergefell v. Hodges was just one form of attempting to redefine marriage around adult companionship, rather than being the institution properly ordered toward the bearing and rearing of children.

Marriage is no longer about how best to order society to support the children male-female romantic partnerships inevitably produce, and is instead about increasingly surpassing the bounds of tradition and biology in the name of autonomy….

Some left-wing activists don’t just want to abolish the gender binary when it comes to self-expression. They’d like to see the entire idea of the binary relationship at the heart of parenthood blown up and replaced with one of “chosen family.”

We see this in the push to replace or erase a child’s biological parents on birth certificates, robbing them of not just information about their biological ancestry, but potential information about their genetic predisposition to certain diseases….

The cultural trends that Carroll traces didn’t happen overnight. Restoring marriage may well take decades, if not longer, but can be accelerated through sound economic policies.

After all, the familiar wreckage he highlights from marriage decline – more children raised in unstable homes, depressed rates of economic mobility, higher levels of loneliness and social isolation, rising opioid deaths, falling birth rates – are too important to shrug our shoulders at.

Seeing marriage as something more than simply one life choice among others – that is, more than just serial cohabitation that starts with a blowout party on a Caribbean island somewhere – would go a long way to restoring a popular understanding of family as the cornerstone of a healthy society.

“Sex and the Citizen” is a welcome contribution to these discussions, and Carroll’s point – that marriage has an inevitable social dimension, not just an individual one – is one that more conservatives should understand and apply to debates about how to best to save America in the years ahead.

God ordained marriage for the benefit of children. In the words of the proclamation, God will hold us accountable if we “violate covenants of chastity,” “abuse spouse or offspring,” or “fail to fulfill family responsibilities.” The proclamation also warns that “the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”

 

Why Are Hispanics Fleeing from the Democrat Party?

 The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the movement of Hispanic voters out of the Democrat Party. The movement was described as “one of the most significant trends in this year’s presidential campaign” by Alfonso Aguilar, the director of Hispanic Engagement at American Principles Project and former chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship in the administration of President George W. Bush. 

This is one of the most significant trends in this year’s presidential campaign. The growing discontent is a result of economic frustration as well as a broader cultural clash over values, as many Hispanics reject the Biden-Harris administration’s radical positions on gender ideology and parental rights.

According to the most recent NBC/Telemundo poll, Harris leads former President Donald Trump with Hispanic voters by 14 percentage points. However, that is the smallest margin for a Democrat in over a decade.

Every other presidential Democratic candidate since 2012 had an advantage of at least 36 points and, eventually, went on to win the Hispanic vote by similarly significant margins.

The NBC poll is far from an outlier. The latest Quinnipiac University survey shows that Harris’ lead among Hispanics nationally is down to single digits. In the key battleground states of Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, Harris is only slightly ahead. In the border state of Arizona, Trump is actually winning the Hispanic vote. This increased support of Hispanics for Trump and Republicans is driven by several factors.

According to the Pew Research Center, the economy is the top issue for Hispanic voters. Often with larger families and lower median incomes, Hispanics have been disproportionately hurt by crippling inflation and the massive influx of illegal immigrants into their communities.

Under Trump, Hispanic unemployment hit a record low of 4% and, contrary to common assumptions, more than half of Hispanic voters support stricter border security measures.

Yet Hispanics are also disgusted by the Biden-Harris administration’s extreme cultural agenda. Two-thirds identify as Catholic or Protestant. And it turns out they aren’t thrilled about the latest “woke” school offerings: teachers chatting about sex with their kids in class and allowing adult men access to girls’ locker rooms….

Hispanics have historically voted Democrat, but they do believe in common sense and that parents know what is best for their children.

If the Republican Party wants to solidify and expand its gains with Hispanic voters, it must continue to champion commonsense policies that prioritize family values, parental rights, and economic opportunity.

 

What Is the God-Given Purpose for Marriage?

Marriage is for the benefit of the children, and married parents can strengthen their family, community, state, and nation. According to “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.” The document also states that “the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of his children.” Later in the doctrine, it states the following: 

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to his eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ….

The above referenced proclamation was published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and signed by fifteen men who are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators. That is one side of the discussion. On the opposite side of the discussion are the people and organizations who seek to deconstruct marriage and family.

Patrick T. Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, discussed the problem in an article published at The Daily Signal. He noted that “Center-left media outlets” look for interesting ways to find some “new ‘trend’ in the upper-middle-class mating scene.” In the past, such terms as “Ethical nonmonogamy,” “polyamory memoirs,” and “Couple to Throuple” gained respectful reviews. 

After all, once society has deconstructed marriage down to the point of meaninglessness, why should we have any compunction about celebrating such creative alternatives to bourgeois fidelity? If Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice want to go all in on creating a modern-day polycule, what difference does that make to us?

The push to unwind traditional social scripts around marriage, fidelity, commitment, and procreation hasn’t just been a question of individual fulfillment, but also has had widespread social consequences.

That’s the argument made by Washington Examiner commentary editor and former Senate staffer Conn Carroll in his new book, “Sex and the Citizen: How the Assault on Marriage Is Destroying Democracy.”

Carroll takes the reader on a globe-trotting tour across the ages, dipping into evolutionary psychology, anthropology, and history to make the case that “monogamous marriage binds men and women into a long-term project of cooperative care for each other and their children,” and that we tinker with that wisdom at our peril.

The casual reader’s mileage may vary on how much academic speculation about the mating habits of primates or our Pleistocene-era ancestors can tell us about the form and structure of what family life should look like today. But Carroll’s dissection of how modern liberals and leftists try to justify their preference for maximum autonomy by appealing to prehistoric biology and postmodern critical theory is worth taking seriously.

And the anthropological excursions are in service of a broader point: namely, that marriage is instituted for the well-being of children, not the two (or more) consenting adults that would enter into it. As former Heritage Foundation scholar (and my current boss) Ryan T. Anderson pointed out in 2013:

“State recognition of marriage protects children by encouraging men and women to commit to each other and take responsibility for their children. While respecting everyone’s liberty, government rightly recognizes, protects, and promotes marriage as the ideal institution for childbearing and childrearing … [yet] in recent decades, marriage has been weakened by a revisionist view that is more about adults’ desires than children’s needs.”

The cultural and legal skirmish that ended in Obergefell v. Hodges was just one form of attempting to redefine marriage around adult companionship, rather than being the institution properly ordered toward the bearing and rearing of children.

Marriage is no longer about how best to order society to support the children male-female romantic partnerships inevitably produce, and is instead about increasingly surpassing the bounds of tradition and biology in the name of autonomy….

Some left-wing activists don’t just want to abolish the gender binary when it comes to self-expression. They’d like to see the entire idea of the binary relationship at the heart of parenthood blown up and replaced with one of “chosen family.”

We see this in the push to replace or erase a child’s biological parents on birth certificates, robbing them of not just information about their biological ancestry, but potential information about their genetic predisposition to certain diseases….

The cultural trends that Carroll traces didn’t happen overnight. Restoring marriage may well take decades, if not longer, but can be accelerated through sound economic policies.

After all, the familiar wreckage he highlights from marriage decline – more children raised in unstable homes, depressed rates of economic mobility, higher levels of loneliness and social isolation, rising opioid deaths, falling birth rates – are too important to shrug our shoulders at.

Seeing marriage as something more than simply one life choice among others – that is, more than just serial cohabitation that starts with a blowout party on a Caribbean island somewhere – would go a long way to restoring a popular understanding of family as the cornerstone of a healthy society.

“Sex and the Citizen” is a welcome contribution to these discussions, and Carroll’s point – that marriage has an inevitable social dimension, not just an individual one – is one that more conservatives should understand and apply to debates about how to best to save America in the years ahead.

God ordained marriage for the benefit of children. In the words of the proclamation, God will hold us accountable if we “violate covenants of chastity,” “abuse spouse or offspring,” or “fail to fulfill family responsibilities.” The proclamation also warns that “the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”