Tag: woke

Affirm or Help?

Say a friend came to you for financial advice.  “I’ve really been depressed lately,” he says.  “I feel like I should be rich, but I have $150,000 of debt piled up on credit cards.” 

Would you:

A) Affirm his feelings and say, “Wow, man.  I’m so sorry.  I think you should go buy yourself a Lamborghini so that you can live how you feel.”

or

B) Try to help and say, “Wow, man.  I’m so sorry.  Let’s see if we can figure out how to cut your spending and help you feel comfortable living within your means.”

This may sound like a pretty obvious answer to you.  It would be at best irresponsible, and at worst evil to affirm his feelings.  This analogy is exactly the same as the trans issue we are dealing with today.  If a male friend came to you and said, “I’ve been really depressed lately.  I feel like I’m a girl.”

Would you:

A) Affirm his feelings and say, “Wow, miss.  I’m so sorry.  I will use female pronouns for you.  Let’s get you on some girl hormones and have a doctor remove your boy parts.”

or

B) Try to help and say, “Wow, man.  I’m so sorry.  Let’s get you some help so that you can feel comfortable as a man.”

Affirming something that is not true does not help anyone.  As shown by the Cass Review, a landmark 2024 UK study, it makes things worse.  We know that gender dysphoria is a mental health problem that is doing a lot of damage in the world.  It is not healthy.

Both sides know this.  Conservatives point out that Robin Westman, the shooter at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on August 27, 2025, suffered from gender dysphoria. Instead of receiving help to address it, Westman was affirmed with a name change and female pronouns, and mainstream news still refers to him as ‘she,’ even after the tragedy. 

Using “affirming language” does not help them.  Giving them hormones of the opposite sex does not help them.  Surgery does not help them.  Even the people pushing that approach know that it does not work.  They give proof themselves when they point out that nearly 40% of those with gender dysphoria attempt suicide, yet the Cass Review shows no evidence that hormones or surgery reduce this risk.  They do not come to the obvious conclusion that we should stop trying to normalize this mental illness.  They instead blame the people who want to help those suffering from it.

Instead of going along with a feeling based outside of reality, we need to make it easier for people to find help.  Unfortunately, when you search for help, most of what you find is the opposite.  Even if you ask ChatGPT, it suggests biased, secular organizations that will not help you overcome your gender dysphoria.  You would be taking a major risk if you go to a psychologist who studied at an American university.  Radical gender ideology has saturated those places.  They are far more likely to make things worse by encouraging you to continue in your confusion, or even to act on it with hormones or surgeries.  In fact, these radicals have succeeded in banning helping people in some states.  There is a major case in front of the Supreme Court right now, Chiles v. Salazar, that will decide if states can ban what they call “conversion therapy,” which ironically is not conversion at all.  It is affirming a person’s real gender.

This is why we need to share good resources for people who need help.  Since you cannot just look for help online without getting awful results, here are resources that you can go to if you or someone you love is struggling:

  1. If you are near a Bible believing church, that is a great place to start.  Talk to a pastor.  The one obstacle to this approach is knowing which church to go to.  There are churches now that call themselves “progressive” or “affirming.”  Those are not real churches.  They are social clubs for people who want to belong to a church but do not like what God says.  If you are not familiar with the Bible and are unsure of what church to go to, email me at steve@steveconnally.com and I will personally research and find a scriptural church in your area.
  2. Focus on the Family – Transgender Resources – Offers Christian-based guidance for families and individuals, including compassionate counseling options, articles on standing firm in biological identity, and practical guidance for parents and churches.  www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/transgender-resources/
  3. Restored Hope Network – Its website says, “Restored Hope is a membership governed, inter-denominational network dedicated to restoring hope to those broken by sexual and relational sin, especially those impacted by homosexuality and gender confusion. We proclaim that Jesus Christ has life-changing power for all who submit to Christ as Lord; we also seek to equip His church to impart that transformation.” https://www.restoredhopenetwork.org/what-we-believe
  4. Sex Change Regret – Founded by Walt Heyer (who detransitioned after living for 8 years as a trans woman), this ministry offers testimonies and counseling aimed at addressing underlying trauma and encouraging healing in alignment with one’s God-given design. They emphasize the spiritual and psychological roots of gender confusion. https://sexchangeregret.com/
  5. Advocates Protecting Children – APC’s core mission is to serve and equip those responding to gender activism by offering facts, research, and guidance. Its vision explicitly calls for the “abolition of the gender industry,” including shutting down gender clinics and cosmetic surgeries for minors, while emphasizing child protection and holistic healing. The organization stresses that gender dysphoria in children often resolves naturally with supportive, non-affirming care, citing studies on desistance rates and long-term outcomes.  They also provide educational materials for parents, educators, and churches, as well as peer groups and low-cost counseling referrals. www.advocatesprotectingchildren.org/
  6. Harvest USA – This organization is located in Pennsylvania and focuses on providing biblical guidance for sexual and relational struggles, including transgenderism, pornography, and same-sex attraction.  They offer counseling in Philadelphia or virtually, but their website also has a lot of good resources about any number of struggles. https://harvestusa.org/how-we-help/transgenderism/

One final thought.  I know that some will argue that we should lie and affirm gender dysphoria because it might stop somebody from harming themselves or even taking their own life.  Would you say the same thing if your daughter’s boyfriend threatened to kill himself if she breaks up with him?  That happens often, and some boys do follow through.  Using the possibility of suicide to emotionally manipulate people is not an acceptable reason to give them their way.  It is tragic when somebody chooses to end their life, but that is not a reason to accept lies.  Try to help them by lovingly telling them the truth. 

Elvis: Pushing the Envelope

The new Elvis Presley biopic made me think.  Early in the movie, Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks, says that the acts that made the most money were ones “that gave the audience feelings they weren’t sure they should enjoy, but they do.”  Then the film focuses on the controversial gyrations that drove the girls crazy and made many people upset and uncomfortable as “The King” began his rise to stardom.  Now we laugh because those dance moves that seemed so edgy in the 1950s seem so tame by today’s standards.  This is not a new phenomenon.

Every generation, you hear the older people complaining that the younger generation is worse than theirs was.  “Kids today,” they often grumble.  The popular culture explains this by saying that old people are stuck in their ways and overly critical of the younger generation.  The media may say that the younger generations are not really that rebellious or bad, because the older generation was also seen as rebellious and bad by the generation before them.  Have you ever considered that maybe, instead of each generation being old, stodgy, and self-absorbed, that actually they are right?  Each generation really is worse than the last, because they have to one-up the previous generation by pushing the envelope further than their parents.  Yes, no generation is perfect and they all have a rebellious streak, but that does not mean that younger generations are morally equivalent to older ones.  Just because Elvis shaking his hips on stage was rebellious and controversial in the 50s, that does not mean that it is morally equivalent to Cardi B singing “Wet Ass Pussy” today.  Can we please bring back the innocence of generations past?

The worrisome part about this is that the envelope has already been pushed so far that it is hard to imagine what somebody can do next that will actually shock anybody.  The Beatles’ long hair is certainly not controversial anymore.  Drug references in lyrics that shocked people in the 60s and 70s are old news.  Maybe it would take it to a higher level if someone bit the head off of a bat onstage?  Nope.  Ozzy Osbourne already did that in 1982.  Remember when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s breast in front of over 100 million viewers on live television at Super Bowl XXXVIII?  That was way back in 2004.  I fear that celebrities will become so desperate for attention in the coming years that we will see some disgusting acts being done to gain notoriety.

Will we soon see live sex acts on stage?  Will our entertainment revert back to feeding Christians to lions in front of cheering audiences?  Are we going to see The Hunger Games play out in real life?  We seem to be heading in that direction.  The good news is that there is now another way to cause controversy and gain attention.  Simply do and say good things that were once considered normal and mainstream.  As the Bible says, when people rebel from God, they begin to call evil good, and good evil.  It is definitely happening.  Think about the things that actually are considered shocking and controversial today: 

  • In June, five Tampa Bay Rays pitchers were attacked by the mainstream press and “woke” social media pundits for opting not to wear rainbow “Pride Night” logos on their uniforms.  You do not even have to go back to my parents’ generation for when this stance would have been applauded.  Now it is counter-culture. 
  • Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling started a firestorm of controversy when she criticized the use of the term “people who menstruate” instead of women.  She also committed the unforgivable sin of tweeting her support for a woman who had been fired for saying that “men cannot change into women.”  I am pretty sure that Elvis could have said that without causing a stir.
  • Actor Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, The Terminal List) has been disparaged as “the worst Chris in Hollywood” for his public professions of Christian faith.  What a Hollywood bad boy, huh?  Personally, I think being a Christian is the best way to be a rebel because it also gets you into Heaven.
  • If you really want to be an outcast, choose not to get what is called a Covid-19 vaccine, even though it does not prevent you from getting or spreading Covid-19.  This is the most discriminated against group in America for the past couple of years (with one possible exception).  They have been banned from many places, and some have even lost their jobs.  They are controversial not for anything they did, but instead for not subjugating themselves to their overlords.
  • When it comes to controversial athletes, former baseball star Curt Schilling is near the top of the list.  He was fired from ESPN in 2015 for tweeting “A man is a man regardless of what they name themselves.  Male bathrooms were created with the penis in mind; female bathrooms were not.  Is it now necessary to have laws to teach us otherwise?  Pathetic.”  To any previous generation, that comment would not only be acceptable, but obvious.  Now it is a fireable offense and has even been used to keep Schilling out of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • Actress Gina Carano was famously fired from Disney’s, The Mandalorian, for taking the provocative position that she should not have to ask to be called “she,” since she is obviously a woman.  Apparently, calling a boy “he,” or a girl “she,” is now edgy.  Charlie Sheen had to work a lot harder than that to get fired from a hit show.
  • The one possible exception mentioned above as the most discriminated group in America are supporters of President Trump.  The backlash that Elvis got for dancing is nothing compared to what you can expect if you say you agree with President Trump.  If you support his policies that brought us a booming economy, less government interference in our lives, and four years of peace (including unprecedented peace agreements in the Middle East), you can expect to be attacked more viciously than an opposing sports star in Philadelphia. 

It is terrible that these things are now controversial, but there is one positive thing about it.  Entertainers want attention.  In the past, they had to come up with more and more outlandish and crazy gimmicks than we had previously seen to get that attention.  Now, all they have to do is espouse solid, traditional values, and wait for the media firestorm.

Again, this is not new.  When reading the Bible straight through, the Old Testament prophets were the hardest parts to get through because they were so repetitive that it got boring.  They were all the same thing.  Israel would turn from God and pull further and further away from Him.  He would warn them through prophets, and most of the time they would ignore the warnings and push His patience even more.  Eventually, God said that enough was enough and allowed Israel to be defeated and the people to be scattered into exile.  We are in that same spiral of self-destruction that the Israelites were in.  Each generation seems to push their rebellion a little further than the last.  We have had our modern-day prophets warning us to turn back to our morals and values of the past.  Dennis Prager, Rush Limbaugh, William F. Buckley, and others have warned us about the decay of our values and societal norms of earlier generations.  If America does not heed these warnings and keeps pushing the boundaries, we will soon run out of room to push and we will end up as Israel did. 

There is one last thing I should do before I close out.  To all the old people out there, I apologize for my generation.  You were right.