Competing for Gold in the “Uphill”

“Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34).

These words from the wise man came to my mind as I read this fine piece from the pen of F. LaGard Smith.  Thanks to my good friend Ralph Walker for calling it to my attention.

You may enjoy other posts by LaGard from his facebook page.

Competing for Gold in the “Uphill”

LaGard Smith

It’s no surprise that NBC—home of the Winter Olympics—has given the games extraordinary coverage even in its news programs. Unfortunately for Team USA, not all of the games have provided the “thrill of victory” (as coined by ABC’s Jim McKay), but the “agony of defeat.”

First, it was Lindsey Vonn, crashing out in the downhill after courageously competing with a rebuilt knee and a torn ACL. Then there was Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ flawless performance in ice dancing, yet being denied gold when a mesmerizing, but flawed, routine by the French pair was scored higher. And how about Ilia Malinin’s disastrous meltdown on the ice, ousting the spinning “quad god” from a place on the podium, giving new meaning to Peter’s response to the lame beggar: “Silver and gold have I none!” How the mighty have fallen!

Of course, there have also been exciting victories to savor, as with Alysa Liu, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Megan Keller. Yet, in the end, the Olympic games really are, well, just games. On any objective scale of importance in an increasingly perilous world, the Olympics deserve no more than a one out of ten, if that. How remarkable, then, that the media is missing the one truly big story coming out of Italy: Italy itself, and its right-wing leader, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Considering Italy’s history of merry-go-round changes in governments, it’s extraordinary enough that Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister, is still in office. Though problems persist with healthcare and the economy, under Meloni’s leadership Italy’s budget challenges are finally being addressed, with an upwardly trending Italy leaving France’s intractable welfare state in the dust. And, given Meloni’s bluntness (“If you feel offended by a crucifix, this is not the place you should live.”), it comes as no surprise that Muslim migration has slowed to a trickle.

Even more remarkable are Meloni’s conservative social policies, somewhat paradoxical for a single mother giving birth out of wedlock. Despite breaking the “glass ceiling,” Meloni is no feminist. Having famously said: “I am Giorgia, I am a woman, I am a mother, I am Italian, and I am a Christian,” she has recently moved to ban gender ideology in the classroom, and banned non-biological parents in same-sex couples from being registered as parents on birth certificates. More yet, in support of motherhood, she has lowered taxes on baby products and proposed a significant “motherhood income” for low-income women visiting pro-life advice centers.

You can be sure NBC won’t be telling that story, nor reporting the welcomed absence in Italy’s Opening Ceremonies of drag queens parodying The Last Supper, as was the case with France’s debauched Paris Olympics. While the world has been watching competitive downhills, Meloni has been more concerned about how fast her country has gone downhill with its leftist social policies. Hers wouldn’t be a perfect performance, even personally, but for her courageous, aggressive attempt at winning the “uphill,” Meloni should most definitely take home the gold.

Don’t miss the big picture. Merely consider the difference between “Christian” Italy at its worst and “secular humanist” France at its best. Or America, whose Founders acknowledged that true freedom comes from a Divine Creator, while France proclaims Liberté, Égalité, and Fraternité untethered to anything higher than man.

Among nations, faith matters. While no nation has a lock on perfection, spinning out of moral control is the surest possible way to miss the podium.