John Kasich's bad idea

Conservatives are supposed to be against big government and opposed to the left’s belief that problems can and should be solved by Washington.

Which is why Ohio governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich’s proposal to create a new government agency to promote “Judeo-Christian values” is a really bad idea.

Put aside for a moment that the federal government does few things well, or within budget, and consider also how preposterous and unworkable such an idea would be.

In a speech at the National Press Club in Washington last week, Kasich, who grew up Catholic and remains a man of faith, said he thinks the United States needs such an agency to help the country be “more forceful in the battle of ideas.” He added, “U.S. public diplomacy and international broadcasting have lost their focus on the case for Western values and ideals, and effectively countering your opponents’ propaganda and disinformation.”

Here is a short list of the many problems with such a proposal.

Problem No. 1: For a country to promote something, it must first practice it. Are the “traditional values” Kasich supports even embraced by a majority of Americans in an age when we seem to tolerate everything (except traditional values)? It’s tough to talk about freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association when people are being shouted down on college campuses, and some Americans are being forced to participate in homosexual weddings on the threat of fines or imprisonment.

Problem No. 2: In promoting Judeo-Christian values, are we talking about Orthodox Jews or Reformed Jews? Are we talking about traditional Catholic views or liberal mainline Protestant views—or something in between? And would groups who feel left out protest? Would there be lawsuits, not only from excluded religious groups, but also from the ACLU, which wants to keep religion as far away from government as possible?

Problem No. 3: How do you promote American “values” to secular and Islamic societies, which mostly do not share them? Who has the credibility to speak for and represent such values, even if they could be agreed upon?

Problem No. 4: Do we really want to turn over what ought to be the responsibility and privilege of individual religious believers—namely, telling people about a better way to live—to the federal government?

Kasich rightly laments the loss of some core values most Americans once embraced. It wasn’t the federal government that got rid of most of them—though the Supreme Court played a role. Rather, it is we the people who have chosen to live by different values to our detriment and shame. But if such values are to regain their place in American society and to spread around the world, it will require the diligent and prayerful work of those “Judeo-Christians” not a new agency of the dysfunctional federal government.

© 2015 Tribune Content Agency LLC.

Listen to Cal Thomas’ commentary on The World and Everything in It.