We Are All Barbarians

Marcus and Michele Bachmann are embarking on the greatest adventure and the worst nightmare of their lives. When the Minnesota congresswoman announced that she was running for president of the United States, she threw down the gauntlet to the enemies of decency and tradition. The Bachmanns clearly knew they were in for one wild ride, as evidenced by the latest attack on them by the homosexual lobby and the weasels in the mainstream media.

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Marcus Bachmann, who runs a counseling practice back home in St. Paul, is not exactly on the politically correct side of the whole debate over homosexuality in today's America. Not that it is much of a debate anymore, with far too many Christians cowering in fear at what the deviant, secular left — especially those in the media — may think about them. But to the extent there are still courageous believers left in this country who are willing to tell the truth, apparently we can count Marcus Bachmann among them. And that has given his wife's enemies fresh fodder for their petty prejudices. The Bachmanns have nurtured their own successful careers, him as a family counselor, her as a tax attorney and legislator. Their devout Christian faith has infused their 33-year marriage with values by which they have managed to raise five children of their own, as well as 23 foster children, most of them abused teenage girls. Anyone who has ever taken on such responsibility knows what it means. Having served briefly as foster parents for two children a few years ago, my wife and I can only imagine the love and dedication this couple must possess in order to do what they have done over the years.

The Bachmanns' crime is holding traditional views on marriage and sexuality

But, of course, the same media that refused to examine the radical past of Barack and Michelle Obama is now digging halfway to China for anything remotely controversial on Marcus and Michele Bachmann. The Bachmanns' crime is holding traditional views on marriage and sexuality, and the media have found a recording of Marcus Bachmann, a sometime guest on local Christian radio programs, wherein he appears to refer to homosexuals as "barbarians." "Barbarians need to be educated," he is heard to say on the tape. "They need to be disciplined, and just because someone feels it or thinks it doesn't mean that we're supposed to go down that road. That's what's called a sinful nature. And we have a responsibility as parents and as authority figures not to encourage such thoughts and feelings." Mr. Bachmann says his remarks have been taken out of context, but nevertheless, the comments appear to be what those on the left want them to be, so these statements will no doubt pass into the annuls of what has come to be known as "conventional wisdom." Like J. Edgar Hoover was a cross-dresser or Clarence Thomas likes to talk dirty to his subordinates. Say it often enough and long enough and it becomes the "truth." Facts mean little or nothing to those who despise virtue. They hate the Bachmanns because the couple believes that monogamous heterosexuality is God's perfect design for mankind. They hate them because Marcus and Michele are convinced that traditional marriage is the best environment in which to raise children. And they hate them because, in his counseling practice, Marcus Bachmann offers help to individuals who desire to escape the bondage of the homosexual lifestyle. But the main reason the Bachmanns are hated by their enemies is an age-old one. They dare to believe in something called sin as a plague upon all men and women. And further, they believe that there is an answer for that sin. It is called repentance. Jesus Christ told his disciples two millennia ago that He was "the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Me." He also said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you." The truth the Bachmanns understand, and that the world cannot accept, is that apart from the power of Christ, we are all barbarians.