John Stonestreet – Page 19

MLK Jr.’s Dream Today

Jan 16, 2023John StonestreetMartin Luther King Jr. DayMartin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Dr. King’s speech was only to be four minutes, but gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted for King to “share the dream,” and he did. For 17 minutes, he shared the dream.

Dr. King shared a dream of America living its founding creed: of descendants of slaves and descendants of slaveholders sitting together as brothers, of states long defined by injustice transformed into places of freedom, and, in what may be the best measure of progress in race relations, a future in which his children would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Dr. King’s dream is closer to reality than ever, but it’s also threatened. Dismissal of racism, on one hand, challenges the dream’s validity. On the other hand, theories that elevate the color of skin above anything else cripple the dream’s reality.

In grounding his dream in Scripture, King shows us the way forward. With biblical references, imagery, and mandates, King guides us on a path to pursue in this cultural moment. There’s really no other way forward.

What Happened in Loudon County

Jan 4, 2023John StonestreetTransgenderTransgender

In December, the public school superintendent in Loudon County, Virginia, was fired and indicted for lying to parents about the rape of a young girl in a restroom by a male classmate. Covering the story, The Washington Post admitted the male student was wearing a skirt when he gained access to the girls’ restroom but then added that there was “no evidence” he was transgender.

But for years now we’ve been told that anything and everything counts as evidence … the clothes someone chooses to wear, the pronouns they request, the restroom they choose, the gender they claim, or the plastic surgery they’ve had.

In the coverage of the Colorado Springs shooter, too, the press has been largely unwilling to concede that anyone who identifies as a protected sexual minority can do wrong. Both are examples of a Critical Theory mood that infects culture and the irrationality of reducing identity to inner feelings that justify all outer expressions.

It’s always better and safer to base policy on objective biological reality.

What Parents (Don’t) Want from Disney

Dec 27, 2022John StonestreetLGBTLGBT

Disney has had a rough year. First came Turning Red, a film that lost the company $168 million dollars. In March, there was the dustup with Ron DeSantis over Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Then there was Lightyear, a summer box office failure, whose star boldly predicted that parents concerned with the film’s LGBTQ agenda would soon “die off like the dinosaurs.”  With market shares slumping, Disney recently fired CEO Bob Chapek and replaced him with his predecessor, Bob Iger. Writing for WORLD Opinions, Samuel D. James summed it up nicely: 

Whether or not its stock improves, the company has to reckon with the fact that stuffing children’s entertainment with sexual revolution shibboleths is bad for the bottom line. … As the world’s foremost creator of children and family entertainment, Disney’s LGBT signaling feels invasive in a way that typical Hollywood liberalism does not. 

Maybe it’s time for Disney to listen to the words of a particularly wise old baboon. “The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”