Sarah Palin's Actions are NOT Pro-Family -- Her Choices Do Not Put FAMILY FIRST!

What kind of American pro-family values is Sarah Palin actually promoting? Saint Sarah, christened a paragon of virtue by the Republican propaganda machine, is certainly anti-gay and anti-choice. But are those two incendiary issues enough to be a real pro-family Christian? Is not pro-family putting FAMILY FIRST. No amount of Republican spin can change the fact that this mother chose not to be with her baby or her family in her own home for an extended period of time. She chose celebrity over family.

What is Sarah Palin, mother of five, doing with her family? She has a recently born baby with downs syndrome, but she chose to parade around the country for John McCain. Before you call me sexist, let me say that "traditional" values, which Sarah Palin "seems" to support, have felt a mother's careful care was important to the children in her family. Palin's husband makes enough money that she could have chosen to stay home with the new child, since she chose to bring him into the world.

Dena Fox, a Wasilla, Alaska Christian writing in the Alaska Dispatch on September 3, 2008 raised some questions that must be considered by thoughtful Christians and others in America:

Fox writes: "Considering that the Palin family includes four minors and that the income from either Palin parent would support the family, is this the position of evangelical Christians – for both parents to choose demanding jobs that require frequent and extended absences from home? Up until now, (James) Dobson would have criticized that lifestyle. Now, he calls it a ‘personal matter.’

I would argue that a true pro-family stance insists on far more than not aborting one’s offspring. Responsible parenting acknowledges the need for individuals to take responsibility for their actions starting with the procreative act which brings with it the potential of long-term consequences. These consequences do not come cheap. Caring for a child is emotionally draining, expensive, and time-consuming. Yet, it remains the Christian duty of both parents to ensure that between mother and father, provision and parental presence are available until the child achieves the maturity to make wise choices for him or herself as an adult.

I think evangelicals need to be clear here No, it is not ideal for parents to put career before kids. No, it is not ideal for struggling teens to be forced into the national media by their parents’ decisions. No, it is not ideal for daily hours of therapy young Trig will need to be carried out by people whose congratulatory smile is not Mom’s (or Dad’s) and whose cheers will not likely be, “Who loves Trig? Mama does!”

"Over the past eleven years, I have learned that a child with Down syndrome requires somewhat more time, instruction, and advocacy than my other children. These demands have been intense, but the rewards just as great. I agree with Governor Palin’s assessment that her son is a gift and God’s will for her life. But if it is God’s will that Sarah and Todd Palin raise a child with Down syndrome, it seems just as clear to me that God would will Sarah and Todd to be physically available to hold him, care for him, and – over the next twenty-plus years – raise him.

"It would be nice to think that we could fix America’s broken values by supporting this attractive woman who seems to embody the pro-life value. But I stop short of identifying Palin with pro-family values. No law can change the morality and behavior of immature people who lack solid role models and supervision. More than a law or a position, America needs models of responsible parents raising responsible adults to be responsible parents. Palin may be a fine politician, but hers is not the example of Christian family values my family strives to live by, nor is her model of family values I want my family to emulate.

This is not about politics. By all means, vote Republican if that ticket represents your views. But please, don’t confuse smokescreens and media spin with Christian values. Christ was selfless and sacrificed himself for others. Palin may worship Christ, but in accepting this nomination, may be sacrificing family in order to serve herself."

I agree with Dena Fox on everything except voting Republican -- it is the most anti-family thing you can do. Save Sarah Palin's children -- and the rest of our children -- send her back to Wasilla.