A Great Value

 Family values.

My first impression upon seeing those words is to ask, "Whose family?"

The close relationships found in the Corleone Family might be held up as one example. Or maybe the Duggar Family. There are plenty of images and appearances in media that would have us lift up ideals of how we connect to those closest to us, and many of them don't always hold up to close inspection. 

There was a guy who was in real estate, and became enamored of the glitzy life offered by the social and entertainment spotlight. As it turns out, he has been married just a little more often than he has been impeached. He has had multiple affairs and along the way racked up multiple accusations of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. A steady stream of lawyers and non-disclosure agreements have kept much of the ugliness from becoming widely known. Not until he took his quirky brood on the campaign trail and eventually to the White House. Suddenly the whole tawdry clan was on display for the whole world to endure. This train wreck of codependency and dysfunction continues to pop up all over as they continue to promote their way of life as the wholesome version of the American Dream. 

Maybe this is the perspective that has brought us MAGAts like Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose marriage was described by her husband as "irretrievably broken." Or Lauren Boebert's husband who did time in jail for lewd exposure at a bowling alley. In his defense, I suppose a bowling alley is as good a place as any for lewd exposure. 

As yet, no one has come forward to accuse Herschel Walker of lewd exposure. However, there has been a great deal of discussion about how the Republican candidate for Senate in Georgia has conducted himself in a less than Christian manner. I say "Christian" as in the given name of the son who has recently uncorked in response to allegations that the advertised "pro-life" daddy Herschel once paid a girlfriend of his to have an abortion. And now he is lying about it. This is on top of the number of children the elder Walker sired over the course of his journey to the U.S. Senate. 

Will all these revelations put a hitch in Herschel Walker's plans? Marjorie Taylor Greene got elected. Lauren Boebert got elected. We know about the real estate guy. It doesn't seem to matter, ultimately, what sort of freak show your "family" turns out to be. Nor does it seem to matter how thick the protective layer of hypocrisy gets. They keep on talking the talk. Just don't expect them to walk the walk.