Why would conservatives risk the movement?
Exclusive: Dr. Gina Loudon weighs in on ‘drama’ over Palin, Rivers ‘Wife Swap’
by Gina Loudon, PhD
The Palin/Rivers “Celebrity Wife Swap” is set to air Sunday Night on ABC. One thing is sure: Americans will tune in to see if there is drama. And there will be drama.
Most of the drama will probably take place in the living rooms across America and online. Critics are already saying that the producers are stretching it to make a “Wife Swap” edition out of two women with no husbands – thus, not wives.
My family and I participated in “Wife Swap,” and I quickly learned that the drama only begins when the cameras stop rolling. So why would the daughter of a conservative icon participate in a show on a network that indisputably caters to the left’s agenda? Probably for the same reasons a conservative talk show host/journalist would – because the culture demands it.
Andrew Breitbart said we cannot fix politics until we reclaim the culture. The reality is that many of us in the conservative movement call ourselves cultural warriors and then cower when given the opportunity to fight. We fear embarrassment, being misquoted, being harassed.
At first, I turned down ABC’s offer to participate in the reality show. Then I recall the casting agent asking me why. I told him I was concerned about the way reality shows edit time and space, and that I was hesitant to subject my family to an agenda that I knew was not conservative. He didn’t deny that, but he said, “You go on TV and radio every day and talk about what you believe, so if you believe what you say and write every day, aren’t you willing to take that risk to get your message out to an audience of millions that you otherwise might not reach?” I had to ask myself why I was saying no. After all, I wrote a book on “Why the Survival of our Republic Depends on a Revival of Honor,” and I was going to walk away from a chance to make a statement on the subject on national TV?
I could be pious and say, “I wouldn’t subject my family to such lunacy,” but it would have been a lie, and a laughable one. My family is subjected for far worse lunacy every day this culture continues the death spiral into the eventual demise of our country. What was I really afraid of? What was I really fighting for? How was I really fighting? How much was I willing to risk for the values I ranted about on radio and TV each day?
WATCH: Why would Dr. Gina and her family do Wife Swap?