By Jonathon Van Maren
Media figures, pundits, and commentators spend a decent portion of their time these days enthusiastically advocating for all sorts of new sexual lifestyles—their championing of gay marriage has quickly moved on to discussions surrounding the benefits of polyamory, the consensus they insist exists on transgenderism, and the rising trend of “open marriages.” So its hard to imagine what would shock these veteran bedroom journalists, who cut their teeth on reporting on Pride Parades, orgies, and unique marital arrangements. But it turns out that they have finally found something that has stunned them to their core: Mike Pence’s commitment to his wife.
Specifically, they are shocked—shocked—that Mike Pence will not eat out alone with women who are not his wife, and offended on behalf of those cruelly denied Pence’s company–because he also does not attend mixed gatherings where alcohol is present without his wife. Twitter immediately erupted with progressive journalists who suddenly forgot their dogmatic tolerance and began accusing Pence of being worse than someone who advocated for Sharia law, proving that they literally know nothing about Sharia law, which was hardly put in place to ensure a husband’s faithfulness. It also proves they know nothing about the political scene. Anyone remotely familiar with the atmosphere in political circles is aware that adultery is not infrequent—and that alcohol is often a major contributor. In a little DC restaurant a couple of years ago, for example, one long-time patron insisted on regaling me with tales of Newt Gingrich stumbling drunk from dinner with whichever mistress he was currently courting at the moment.
But reality is immaterial. The one thing we are permitted to condemn, it turns out, is somebody trying to take precautions to ensure the longevity of his marriage and faithfulness to his wife. Even a few Canadian newspapers decided to cover the story, most notably Ashley Csanady in the National Post, who announced that Pence’s policies were “rape culture at work.” Csanady was apoplectic, calling Pence’s arrangement sexist and extrapolating that the reason Pence is taking such precautions is that he holds to the notion that “men are unable to contain themselves around women” and that women were “over-sexed” and “would prey on men.” This scenario, of course, was concocted purely in her fevered feminist imagination. The reality is much simpler: Affairs sometimes happen. To avoid the temptation of an affair, eliminate circumstances in which one could occur.
Rather than noting that many women would love their husbands to have the fidelity that Pence clearly possesses, Csanady decides to set up a few religious straw men created almost exclusively out of a dreadful misunderstanding of both history and Christianity. “Centuries later,” she moaned, “we still live in a culture that produces vice-presidents who ardently believe women are a wellspring of possible sin.” And it gets even worse, she tells us: “At its core, Pence’s self-imposed ban is rape culture.” Yes, you read that right. Even trying to ensure that you don’t sleep with anyone but your wife can now be an indicator of “rape culture.” It is precisely because of people like Csanady that nobody believes in rape culture to begin with.
Working with a lack of evidence, a lack of understanding, and a lack of context, Csanady still apparently knows just how Pence’s mind works, and is there to walk us through his inner thought processes: “The explicit reasons for Pence’s restriction are religion and family, but the implicit reason is that he must avoid alone-time with women lest his stringent religious moral code fall apart in the presence of a little lipstick and décolletage. That is rape culture.” How does she know this? Well, his pro-life position obviously indicates that he sees women as lesser human beings, says Csanady, who sees the pre-born children of women as lesser human beings but does not see the irony in her own statement.
Well then. That’s a whole lot of guessing resulting in a whole lot of stupid. Again, Pence is pretty up front about what his motive for his policies are: He loves his wife, and desires to remain faithful to her. As such, he has organized his life in such a way that even the opportunities for unfaithfulness are largely removed. His wife seems thrilled with their mutually-agreed upon arrangements, but that is obviously because she has not taken the time to have progressive journalists and witch-hunting feminists explain to her that she is actually the victim of a man who is obviously perpetrating rape culture.
It’s crazy that people would actually get outraged by a husband’s decision to avoid potentially compromising situations. The same people who are constantly celebrating the destruction of sexual inhibitions everywhere are offended by someone who seeks to ensure that his marriage does not become a victim of today’s anything-goes sexual climate. National Review columnist David French, who faced scrutiny due to his brief flirtation with the idea of an independent presidential run last year, underwent the same mockery and accusations when journalists discovered that he and his wife had come up with strict rules on how each interacted with the other sex while he was deployed to Iraq. Remaining faithful to your spouse, it turns out, is the New Sexism.
This nonsensical outrage shows the cultural divide between Christians and the rest of the culture even more starkly than before. It also shows that in spite of the celebration progressives engage in each time another sexual barrier comes down, there are always going to be some things that they find uncomfortable: Stable, loving, faithful marriages where the spouses make sacrifices in order to ensure that their marriage does not become a casualty of the sexual culture the progressives created.
I followed the protocol when I had a traveling job. A lot of men do. If you are alone and in the company of beautiful educated women alone there is a temptation and a danger. It is there regardless if you recognize it or not.
“PROGRESSIVES are outraged that Mike Pence protects his marriage from the sexual culture they created”
and THEY always like to BLAME the wrong people or make it sound as if the sensible godly people are responsible for the “PROGRESSIVE Agenda . . . ” because I can assure you that Mike Pence and godly men like him did NOT create the demonic culture and society we are in by voting for all the perversion that the Democrats AND Liberals have voted into policy.
Good reading iam proud of our
Vice President and his wife in their quest
To honor the Lord Jesus and each other.
Don’t mock or criticize until you have that many years with one person.
Both my husband & I have great respect for a man who respects his wife. They protect each other, very aware of the damaging results of unfaithfulness….that is so admirable! They are each very blessed, strong enough to bless others. This is godly living.
I think Vice President Pence shows great wisdom in his decision to avoid being alone with women besides his wife at meals or where alcohol is involved. All humans are subject to temptation so to take steps to avoid it, in order to strengthen and preserve your marriage and family is not sexist or demeaning to women. Rather it shows he is a man who knows how to love his wife! And my respect for him has increased because of it! Fleeing temptation is a great way to avoid ruinous relationships!
Sorry to say….and to watch this happen…..but rather than being conservative or liberal, you are actually choosing good or evil.
I have been married for 43 years. We have had our ups and downs. Who doesn’t? If you quit your marriage you will quit on everything in your life. Unlike the liberals we find believing in God, each other and having a moral compass is what gets you through life. Without any one of those you will be someone that has a miserable life. You will always want what someone else has instead of trying to earn it for yourself.
Well said; we need to celebrate “stable, loving, faithful marriages where the spouses make sacrifices in order to ensure that their marriage does not become a casualty of the sexual culture…” The family is the core unit of our society. Most of the challenges we face today are because we no longer have strong families. That anyone could misconstrue Pence’s commitment to his wife and family simply shows how misguided our culture has become.
This is a real man!!! God bless those unafraid to live as decent, God-fearing people as it relates to marriage. The demons are out and furious at the change in our administration. They work through the loud-mouthed angry feminists, angry homosexuals and angry liberals. Remember we are told in scripture in the end times that “good will be called evil and evil will be called good.” We have been at this point for a good while. Some of these rabble-rousers are paid to stir up trouble, others have been conditioned or brainwashed by the media. I hope their eyes will soon be opened.
It was a pleasure to read this. You write very well. I hope you are able to reach a wide audience because some of your observations are brilliant and funny.
I say this though I am not a fan of most Trump-Pence policies and am part of the progressive group you generally oppose. But the problems you identify need to be repeatedly exposed and ridiculed, or progressive reasoning is going to end up leaving earth entirely and traveling to la la land.
Thank you!
Who refers to these ‘journalists’ as ‘ progressives’ ? These assorted ranters are not ‘ progressive’ in any aspect of ‘ happening or developing gradually or in stages’.
They are merely penning opinion pieces, and in this case expounding ‘ Regressive’ ideas. i.e. ‘ retuning to a former or less developed state, characterised by regression.’ Most women who love their husband / partner would crave the devotion that Pence gives his wife. An experience that the people weilding poison pens may never have experienced.
The fact that Pence does not leave himself open to the temptation of OR the potential for a situation to be misunderstood (esp. on purpose) should be commended. They find fault with his commitment to his wife because they don’t want to see loving Godly marriages shining light into the darkness they’re trying to perpetuate. This doesn’t surprise me one bit. We are living in a culture that murders its’ own children, celebrates sexual immorality, encourages witchcraft and spell casting to it’s youngest children with “magical” cartoons, and encourages its rising youth to blame color, politics, weight, wealth or just about anything but themselves for the empty hole they feel in their chest. You know, that God-shaped hole that they are trying to fill with sex, possessions and popularity? So,, why are we surprised they attack the foundation of the family. We aren’t conforming. That makes us the enemy.