{"id":2397482,"date":"2025-01-31T12:07:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T17:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vance-is-right-us-leaders-have-moral-duty-to-put-america-first\/"},"modified":"2025-01-31T12:08:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T17:08:36","slug":"vance-is-right-us-leaders-have-moral-duty-to-put-america-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vance-is-right-us-leaders-have-moral-duty-to-put-america-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Vance Is Right: US Leaders Have Moral Duty To Put America First"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvance-is-right-us-leaders-have-moral-duty-to-put-america-first%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2397482&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a recent interview with Sean\u2063 Hannity, Vice President J.D. Vance articulated the principle of &#8220;America First&#8221; as\u2064 a moral duty rather than merely a political\u200d slogan. His views were particularly relevant in the context of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-yorker-held-hostage-by-hamas-has-been-killed-terrorists-still-holding-body\/\" title=\"New Yorker killed by Hamas, body still held hostage\">tragic incident \u2064involving<\/a> a plane and a \u200cmilitary helicopter, which momentarily overshadowed his statements. \u200dVance emphasized a hierarchical approach to love\u200d and compassion, drawing \u2062from Christian teachings, where one prioritizes \u200cthe love for family, community, and fellow citizens before extending that\u200d compassion globally. He criticized the far-left&#8217;s perceived prioritization of illegal aliens over American citizens,\u2064 stating that the emotional expressions surrounding immigration\u200b often neglect\u200d the plight\u200d of\u200b those affected by crime associated with\u2064 illegal immigration.<\/p>\n<p>Vance referenced biblical\u2062 concepts of &#8220;ordo \u2064amoris,&#8221; \u2062which delineate a priority in\u200d moral obligations, a viewpoint that has sparked public debate. Critics,including pastor Thabiti Anyabwile,challenged\u2064 Vance&#8217;s interpretation,arguing \u200cthat compassion should extend to all,including strangers and enemies.\u2063 However, \u200bVance defended \u2062his stance, arguing that prioritizing one&#8217;s own citizens does not \u2062equate to hatred for outsiders and is essential\u200c for national integrity \u2062and safety.<\/p>\n<p>Vance&#8217;s remarks reflect a broader discussion on \u2063political responsibilities, \u2062moral obligations, and how they intersect with \u200dsocial \u200bissues like immigration. He criticized the moral superiority some feel concerning global humanitarianism while disregarding the needs of their\u200c fellow citizens. The\u2062 conversation has sparked notable debate among both supporters and critics regarding \u2063the ethical implications of prioritizing national interest\u200d in policy-making.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In an interview with Sean Hannity on Wednesday, Vice President J.D. Vance outlined a case for why &ldquo;America First&rdquo; is a moral imperative, not just a campaign slogan. The interview aired even as rescue workers were searching the Potomac River for survivors of the collision between a passenger plane and a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport and was quickly overshadowed by the tragedy. But Vance&rsquo;s comments are worth reviewing because his understanding of his primary responsibilities as a U.S. politician is remarkably clear and, unfortunately, rare.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s this old school &mdash; and I think it&rsquo;s a very Christian concept, by the way &mdash; that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and <em>then<\/em>, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world,&rdquo; Vance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=o98Po0lWZxE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> after Hannity referenced <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/29\/selena-gomezs-breakdown-exposes-corrosion-of-american-identity-through-mass-immigration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Selena Gomez&rsquo;s viral video<\/a> in which she sobbed profusely about deportations of illegal aliens. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Yes &mdash; Thomas Aquinas talks about this in the Summa and it&#8217;s so beautiful to hear a politician speak this truth. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/owYA6KRbRG\">https:\/\/t.co\/owYA6KRbRG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mollie (@MZHemingway) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MZHemingway\/status\/1884823852443656298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s something very deranged in the mind of the far left in this country,&rdquo; Vance said, &ldquo;where I really do think that they feel more of a sense of compassion for illegal aliens, who have no right to be in this country, than they do their fellow citizens, and that really has to change.&rdquo; He said that while Gomez&rsquo;s video was making its way around the internet, people were sending him photos of young children who had been murdered by illegal aliens. &ldquo;As an American leader, but also just as an American citizen, your compassion belongs first to your fellow citizens.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Vance&rsquo;s understanding is biblical, ethical, and logical. While Jesus instructed his disciples to love their enemies (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%205%3A44&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Matthew 5:44<\/a>) and there are numerous passages about showing kindness to strangers, Scripture clearly teaches that others have greater and lesser claims on our love. Of course, God comes first, as Jesus emphasized when he explained which commandment was the greatest (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%2022%3A37&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Matthew 22:37<\/a>). <\/p>\n<p>In addition, it is clear that family members have a special obligation to one another: &ldquo;But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for&nbsp;members of his household, he has&nbsp;denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever&rdquo; (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20timothy%205%3A8&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1 Timothy 5:8<\/a>). Furthermore, the Apostle Paul instructed believers, &ldquo;So then, as we have opportunity, let us&nbsp;do good to everyone, and <em>especially<\/em> to those who are&nbsp;of the household of faith&rdquo; (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Galatians%206%3A10&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Galatians 6:10<\/a>, emphasis added). <\/p>\n<p>The passages above are merely a sample of what the Bible says about what Augustine called <em>ordo amoris<\/em> (the order of loves), a concept further <a href=\"https:\/\/www.compactmag.com\/article\/jd-vance-is-right-about-the-ordo-amoris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explored<\/a> by Thomas Aquinas. But the principle is sufficiently clear: There is an order of priority in whom we love and how we love. <\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are many who disagree with Vance&rsquo;s straightforward explanation of the principle, and some ventured to correct his supposed misunderstanding of Scripture. Thabiti Anyabwile, a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ThabitiAnyabwil\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pastor<\/a> in D.C. and Gospel Coalition <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/profile\/thabiti-anyabwile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contributor<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ThabitiAnyabwil\/status\/1885046203299008875\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">responded on X<\/a> that &ldquo;this may be an &lsquo;ol school&rsquo; concept but it&rsquo;s not a &lsquo;very Christian concept.&#8217;&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>He then <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ThabitiAnyabwil\/status\/1885047538710892725\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cited<\/a> the moral obligation to love enemies, widows, orphans, and strangers &mdash; an obligation that Vance didn&rsquo;t come anywhere close to denying. Vance repeatedly clarified that the principle of ordered love &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t mean you hate people from outside your own borders;&rdquo; it&rsquo;s clearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.compactmag.com\/article\/jd-vance-is-right-about-the-ordo-amoris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">not a scheme<\/a> for exploiting others wriggling out of moral duties. All Bible-believing Christians (and many non-Christians) would acknowledge the authority of Jesus&rsquo; command to love strangers, orphans, and enemies.<\/p>\n<p>But many also agree with Vance that loving strangers doesn&rsquo;t mean leaving the U.S. border wide open so that Hamas terrorists (or numerous other terror groups) can cross <a href=\"https:\/\/homeland.house.gov\/2024\/09\/19\/biden-harris-administration-has-intentionally-left-us-vulnerable-pfluger-higgins-deliver-opening-statements-in-hearing-on-terror-threats-from-the-border\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unvetted<\/a>. Loving orphans doesn&rsquo;t mean supporting a border policy that results in the U.S. government losing track of <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/21\/report-biden-harris-administration-has-lost-track-of-up-to-300000-illegal-alien-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hundreds of thousands<\/a> of migrant children, who then are vulnerable to human trafficking. Loving your enemies does not require Tom Homan and ICE to sit on their hands while <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DrPhil\/status\/1883669382242644069\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criminals<\/a> like the man who viciously murdered <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/laken-riley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Laken Riley<\/a> continue to roam the streets of the United States. <\/p>\n<p>Anyabwile then <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ThabitiAnyabwil\/status\/1885047538710892725\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asserted<\/a> that &ldquo;This country has so baptized the flag in civil religion, or wrapped Christianity in the flag, that it cannot distinguish the two and thereby distorts the two&rdquo; &mdash; an odd contention given that the American political arena is in many ways at the apex of its anti-Christian trajectory (the last 10 or so days of the Trump administration notwithstanding). <\/p>\n<p>Rory Stewart, one of the United Kingdom&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most popular podcasters<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/jackson.yale.edu\/person\/rory-stewart\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">professor<\/a> at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs, called Vance&rsquo;s comments &ldquo;a bizarre take on John 15:12-13 &mdash; less Christian and more pagan tribal.&rdquo; James Martin, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americamagazine.org\/voices\/james-martin-sj?gad_source=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAhvK8BhDfARIsABsPy4ipTXmdRbeqawgBQacipN-D9ZGqIek45nfPdGZw649fJ-e6c0Bbf3caAgPoEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a Jesuit priest and editor at American Magazine<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JamesMartinSJ\/status\/1885082087700435303\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>, &ldquo;Actually no. This misses the point of Jesus&rsquo;s Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10: 25-37).&rdquo; For what it&rsquo;s worth, Vance was pretty obviously not attempting an exegesis of either of those passages. A much longer article would be needed to explore those texts, but in neither does Jesus teach that the elected leader of a democratic republic has a moral obligation to allow anyone and everyone to cross the borders of his country and remain within them &mdash; <em>in direct opposition<\/em> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/18\/us\/politics\/trump-policies-immigration-tariffs-economy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wishes<\/a> of the citizens he was elected to represent.<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, Stewart (who is a former Tory MP), warned that &ldquo;We should start worrying when politicians become theologians, assume to speak for Jesus, and tell us in which order to love &hellip;&rdquo; It&rsquo;s also worth noting that Stewart recently argued that &ldquo;Trump [has] pulled off the biggest political con in history.&rdquo; (He also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spectator.co.uk\/article\/six-brits-who-had-a-bad-election-night\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">predicted<\/a> Kamala Harris would win the election easily, called the Biden administration &ldquo;solid,&rdquo; and labeled a Trump presidency &ldquo;heartbreaking.&rdquo;)<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A bizarre take on John 15:12-13  &ndash; less Christian and more pagan tribal. We should start worrying when politicians become theologians, assume to speak for Jesus, and tell us in which order to love&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rrsivzGdvT\">https:\/\/t.co\/rrsivzGdvT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RoryStewartUK\/status\/1884952501197078922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Just google &lsquo;ordo amoris,&#8217;&rdquo; Vance <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JDVance\/status\/1885073046400012538\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">replied<\/a> to Stewart, before pointing out that &ldquo;the idea that there isn&rsquo;t a hierarchy of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">obligations violates basic common sense<\/a>. Does Rory really think his moral duties to his own children are the same as his duties to a stranger who lives thousands of miles away? Does anyone?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just google &ldquo;ordo amoris.&rdquo; Aside from that, the idea that there isn&rsquo;t a hierarchy of obligations violates basic common sense. Does Rory really think his moral duties to his own children are the same as his duties to a stranger who lives thousands of miles away? Does anyone? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/otvv5g1wFN\">https:\/\/t.co\/otvv5g1wFN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JDVance\/status\/1885073046400012538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Setting aside Scripture verses and sayings of Jesus for just a moment, most Americans (Christian or not) would agree with Vance&rsquo;s common sense argument &mdash; if they were honest with themselves. For example, parents recognize that it would be morally wrong not to provide for their children. The vast majority of American parents have made (and, their kiddos fervently expect and hope, will continue to make) direct payments for the food, clothing, lodging, education, and recreation of their children instead of dividing their monthly income among &ldquo;all the children of the world.&rdquo; Why? Are they driven to do so by their blatant and pagan disregard for the teachings of Jesus? Or do they innately understand the wisdom and morality of the ethical principle expressed in 1 Timothy 5:8? The latter explanation seems more convincing.<\/p>\n<p>Vance quickly went on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JDVance\/status\/1885073378442084444\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to provide<\/a> an explanation for why so many fail to grasp the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-plan-is-an-affront-to-the-dignity-of-everyday-americans\/\" title=\"Biden&#039;s student loan forgiveness plan disrespects everyday Americans.\">common sense principle<\/a> that, just as politicians in other countries are responsible for the interests of their people, American politicians are primarily responsible for the American people: moral hubris. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said before and I&rsquo;ll say it again: the problem with Rory and people like him is that he has an IQ of 110 and thinks he has an IQ of 130. This false arrogance drives so much elite failure over the last 40 years.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to so many U.S. politicians &mdash; both well- and ill-intentioned &mdash; who fundamentally misunderstand their obligation to prioritize the interests of the American people, Vance&rsquo;s clarity on the issue is refreshing.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Joshua Monnington is an assistant editor at The Federalist. He was previously an editor at Regnery Publishing and is a graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a Hannity interview, VP J.D. Vance argued &#8220;America First&#8221; is a moral duty, not merely a slogan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3134,"featured_media":2397483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Copy-of-Untitled-2025-01-31T092946.317.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[34041,49582,15469],"class_list":["post-2397482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-america-first","tag-us-leaders","tag-vance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Copy-of-Untitled-2025-01-31T092946.317.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3134"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2397482"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2397486,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397482\/revisions\/2397486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2397483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2397482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2397482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2397482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}