No one ever said the Duggars were perfect except the Duggars. Well, not perfect, just better than you. So, while it might be ghoulish fun to read that their show has been removed from TLC's schedule, I remind myself that forgiveness is an obligation, at least in my faith. I can't speak to anyone else's crazy crap.
Naturally, the Duggars have unpleasant secrets -- whom the gods would destroy, they first make yeech.
So we're all -- Christians, I mean -- stuck with the Duggars. But the person who's really stuck with them is former Fox News personality Mike Huckabee. They're all over his presidential campaign. Which is why he stood up for them this morning, in a Facebook post that already had 1.7 million likes.
The funny thing about Huckabee's post, though, is if you go through it, and change the family name from "Duggar" to "Bush," it pretty much sums up how the entire Republican Party feels about Jeb Bush, George W. and the hundreds of thousands of people George W. killed in Iraq.
Maybe Mike can use it when he endorses Jeb at the convention.
Look:
Janet and I want to affirm our support for the Duggar/Bush family. Josh's/George's actions when he was an underage teen/ President of the United States are as he described them himself, 'inexcusable'/'hypothetical,' but that doesn't mean 'unforgivable.' He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities. No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh/George or his family by sensationalizing the story.Good people make mistakes and do regrettable and even disgusting things.
The reason that the law protects disclosure of many actions on the part of a minor/President of the United States is that the society has traditionally understood something that today's blood-thirsty media does not understand -- that being a minor/President means that one's judgement is not mature.
No one needs to defend Josh's/George's actions as a teenager/Commander-in-chief, but the fact that he confessed his sins to those he harmed, sought help, and has gone forward to live a responsible and circumspect life as an adult/recluse is testament to his family's authenticity and humility.
Those who have enjoyed revealing this long ago sins in order to discredit the Duggar/Bush family have actually revealed their own insensitive bloodthirst, for there was no consideration of the fact that the victims wanted this to be left in the past and ultimately a judge/Dick Cheney had the information on file destroyed--not to protect Josh/George, but the innocent victims.
Janet and I love Jim Bob/George Poppy and Michelle/Barbara and their entire family. They are no more perfect a family than any family, but their Christian witness is not marred in our eyes because following Christ is not a declaration of our perfection, but of HIS perfection.
It is precisely because we are all sinners that we need His grace and His forgiveness. We have been blessed to receive God's love and we would do no less than to extend our love and support for our friends. In fact, it is such times as this, when real friends show up and stand up.
Today, Janet and I want to show up and stand up for our friends. Let others run from them. We will run to them with our support.
Bush/Huckabee '16! You read it here first.