JD Vance explained in a chat with Tucker Carlson that people who don’t have children are not likely to make benevolent decisions regarding the future of our nation, because they “don’t really have a direct stake in it.” He seems to think the only issue with his commentary is his use of sarcasm. His wife, Usha, is similarly frustrated by what she perceives as people’s inability to get over his quippishness. The couple have expressed their desire for people to overlook JD’s impudence, and to engage with the substance of the comments.

Let’s.

There are many great parents in the world. I am personally fortunate to be the father of a wonderful, kind, intelligent, and healthy five-year-old, so I am by no means anti-parent. But one does not become a saint merely by virtue of having children. Charles Manson had three. Osama bin Laden had 23. Just because a person has a child doesn’t mean they care about everyone who is part of the younger and future generations. While most parents care about their own children, it still requires a greater deal of morality to care about the rest of God’s children. Really, parenthood is non sequitur; morality gives the power to care. Caring that is dependent on, or the result of, being related to someone will tend to be exclusive to one’s own relations, and not necessarily likely to benefit the rest of our nation or world. The college admissions scandals were evidence of this phenomenon; parents screwed deserving young people out of spots in universities in order to benefit their own children. 

When lobbyists come knocking on JD Vance’s door, asking him to forsake the Americans he serves in exchange for financial gains that could benefit his family, what will he choose?  

Some critical thinking on the substance of Vance’s comments reveal that he is morally adrift. He can’t conceive of what it truly takes to care about one’s fellow citizens and has instead horribly over-simplified the concept. It’s possible that he realizes all this, though he thinks American voters will be too stupid to realize it themselves. He believes childless individuals will accept his browbeating, while parents take oafish delight in having a new reason to feel self-righteous. 

To his chagrin, many voters will simply see right through him.