In his promises and nominations, President Biden has made his priorities on this clear. In his first day in office, he signed an executive order, forcing K-12 public schools that accept federal funds to adopt sexual orientation and gender identity policies. As Emilie Kao at The Heritage Foundation points out, this paves the way for ending girls’ sports and violating the privacy of bathrooms and locker rooms. We can also expect curriculum that would expose elementary-age children to claims such as, “little girls might be little boys trapped in the wrong body.” So-called “gender-affirming” treatments, including social reinforcement, puberty blockers, and even mutilating surgeries, will be enforced as the only acceptable course of action for counselors, teachers, physicians, and parents.
At the root of this all-out assault on our children is the dangerously bad idea that adult desires matter more than the well-being of children. Each chapter of the sexual revolution, but especially the most recent ones, have placed “us before them,” repeating the same myth in various forms: “the kids will be fine.”
But they won't be. As author and children’s rights activist Katy Faust insists, “Our culture and our laws must incentivize and encourage adults to conform their behavior to the needs of their children.” We need, she says, “a new global children’s rights movement.”
Christians ask me all the time, but especially when it comes to the all-out cultural assault on children, what can we do? My first answer is that we must not sit this one out. For this, we can take inspiration from the past. In fact, Christian history is full of stories of Christians who confronted a pagan culture by seeking to protect children who were being abused and victimized. Two examples that come to mind are Amy Carmichael, who won souls and freed temple prostitutes, and William Wilberforce, who freed slaves and instituted child labor reforms.
This is our moment to live out our faith by looking after children.
