Sending Mom to Fight the Monsters

From the official Noem X account. It is worth noting that it is impossible to move the egalitarian mindset into military situations without losing the battle-brotherhood and alpha leadership dynamics that make fighting forces truly great.

So Kristi Noem recently went down to the streets of New York to arrest some bad dudes.

I am very grateful for so many things that Trump is doing (and for many accomplishments of Mrs. Noem as well). But I’m not about to pretend that it’s OK to put a wife and mom in body armor (Deut. 22:5). I know she isn’t kicking doors, and it’s all just a photo op. But it is a deeply disordered one, and so long as men in this nation are fine with putting their wives and mothers and daughters in body armor and sending them out to be boss babes in a world of monsters, we have work to do.

(Also, from a political standpoint, this is not exactly the best way to communicate an intimidating message to would-be invaders. “Come into our country and you’ll have to deal with pretty 5’ 8” mom lady.” I mean no disrespect to Mrs. Noem. I mean to simply state the obvious fact that Dwayne Johnson in body armor would be a much stronger deterrent.)

This also demonstrates a practical problem with an egalitarian view of politics (Is. 3:12). A nation ruled by Godly men doesn’t have this problem. You can put Pete Hegseth in this photo op and it would work just fine- both optically and morally.

You don’t have to agree; you might say Noem is just a modern Deborah.

Maybe so, but Deborah had no problem acknowledging that warfare was supposed to be man’s business. (Judges 4:9)

On Being A Hypocrite (Because I'm Not In The Military)

I’ve had multiple people object to my recent comments about putting women in dangerous places on the grounds that I myself am spending a bunch of time talking about the problem without being willing to become part of the solution – putting on a bulletproof vest and heading out to kick in some doors and arrest some bad dudes.

The short answer is that that sounds awesome and I would totally be down, but that isn’t where God has led me right now. However, a thorough answer is warranted if we’re going to continue to process these issues Biblically.

1. This line of reasoning is what would be called an “ad hominem“ fallacy. This is trading a discussion of truth for an argument about personal qualifications. But this isn’t how truth works; I could be a green beret or a 40-year-old coward rage-posting from my parents’ basement, and either way it would not affect the truth – or lack thereof – in what was said.

The question is whether what was said conforms to reality – and specifically, to the most clear standard of reality, which is the Word of God.

2. I suspect that if I were a Navy SEAL that would not change most people’s opinion about what I said, and that if I had expressed a more popular view, no one would have cared about my qualifications.

I know it is annoying to folks that I continue to talk about this stuff- yet most of the things that I say on this topic would have been normal assumptions for the vast majority of the history of Christendom.

It is because of the pervasive influence of feminism and egalitarianism that I am now wildly extreme for holding what are, historically, normal opinions.

It is my hope that by continuing to say these things it will help people to realize just how far into our bones the feminist rot has crawled- and just how unmoored from Scripture our views of gender have really become. If I make you think- if I help push the Overton window in a Biblical direction- I’m happy.

3. The foundational assumption in this objection is that unless someone is personally involved in righting a particular wrong, they cannot speak to that particular wrong. But this is patently false. A single person can speak against the evils of divorce. A childless person can speak against the evils of abortion. A civilian can condemn an unjust war without picking up arms to go fight against the bad guys. Again, the issue is truth.

4. I do not spend my days in a bulletproof vest, kicking doors and apprehending bad guys. I do work long hours doing manual labor in the Arizona sun to provide for my wife and kids; I do carry a firearm, exercise, and practice martial arts in order to be prepared to defend my family, and others as well if the need arose. I’m not saying any of this because I expect anyone to be impressed with my qualifications; I am saying this because I’m not at all embarrassed about them.

I 100% agree that men need to step up and fill these front-line roles. And I can say before God that I am willing to do so. I train and prepare to be able to protect my family, and I am definitely open to running for office at some point if that is where God leads. But God doesn’t call every man to be a cop or a politician. That doesn’t mean that those aren’t masculine roles. A man doesn’t have to be a pastor to argue against ordaining women, either.

I believe that the average Joe has a duty as a protector, he needs to be prepared to fulfill that duty, and he does not need to be bashful about believing in women and children first just because he isn’t a first responder or a marine.

That’s actually one of the goals of even having the conversation- a resurrection of a courageous and loving masculinity that assumes responsibility for the protection of others rather than waiting for somebody to show up with a badge.

5. One other thing… It is indeed foolish for men to daydream about their special forces level skills and never put in any work to be ready. But men daydream about such things because they are built by God to be protectors. That is actually a testament to the truth of what I’m saying in the first place. So if your exhortation to men is that they shouldn’t spend time dreaming and not doing, then I am all on board. But if your exhortation to men is that if they are not active duty military they should be quiet about their protective instinct towards women and children I’m going to have to disagree.

In Conclusion,

The prince isn’t supposed to let the princess to go slay the dragon. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.