Chuck Norris on St. Valentine: Culture warrior and model for us all

As millions know, "Chuck Norris is the star of more than 20 films and the long-running TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger," per the WND News Center. From the WND News Center to this writer for MHProNews and this Patch is the following in Part I which will be followed by additional information and some other topics covered in Part II.

Part I

CULTURE WARS

St. Valentine: Culture warrior and model for us all

'There comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe
By Chuck Norris | February 10, 2025

When people ask about my heroes, I tell them I have a few favorites. Steve McQueen and John Wayne are at the top of the heap. But I have a new one to add to my list: St. Valentine, and not for the reasons most might imagine.

Valentine's Day today might be about romance, cards, poetry and flowers, but to the originator of the holiday, St. Valentine, it was more about grit than glamor. He was a true culture warrior in his day and even battled against dictators in government until they killed him for his conservative views.

Emperor Marcus Aurelius Valerius Claudius Augustus – better known as Claudius II, Claudius Gothicus, or Claudius the Cruel – was Roman emperor from A.D. 268 to 270.

Claudius had built a strong and battle-worthy Roman army, but was having difficulty recruiting soldiers. He believed the reason for their unwillingness to serve and sacrifice for the crown centered around their commitments to their wives and families.

So, Claudius outlawed engagements and marriages in Rome! Can you imagine?

Along came a Roman priest, named Valentine, who rebelled against the emperor's orders. Valentine not only cared for the troops but was also pro-marriage. His willingness to go to bat for young military personnel was reflective of their own willingness to sacrifice life and limb for the Empire.

History.com explained that, "Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret."

In addition to rebelling against the emperor's decree, Father Frank O'Gara of Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, explained to CBN what other cultural walls Valentine was standing up against: "I think we must bear in mind that it was a very permissive society in which Valentine lived. Polygamy would have been much more popular than just one woman and one man living together. And yet some of them seemed to be attracted to Christian faith. But obviously the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman for their life and that it was to be encouraged. And so it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this."

Valentine's pro-marriage advocacy and actions were eventually found out, and he was imprisoned and tortured.

As History.com detailed, "When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on Feb. 14, on or about the year 270."

Before he was killed, legend tells us that Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it: "From Your Valentine."

History.com explained what happened to Valentine's skeletal remains: "The flower-adorned skull of St. Valentine is on display in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. In the early 1800s, the excavation of a catacomb near Rome yielded skeletal remains and other relics now associated with St. Valentine. As is customary, these bits and pieces of the late saint's body have subsequently been distributed to reliquaries around the world. You'll find other bits of St. Valentine's skeleton on display in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Scotland, England and France."

Valentine, like most of America's founders, knew something to the core of his being: If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. His passion reminds me of Benjamin Franklin's comment at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence: "We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."

So, what would St. Valentine do if he were alive today? I believe he would not be afraid of standing for what today would be the most conservative of causes, and doing so with the God-given right of freedom of speech even if it offended others.

Father O'Gara answered this way: "If Valentine were here today, he would say to married couples that there comes a time where you're going to have to suffer. It's not going to be easy to maintain your commitment and your vows in marriage. Don't be surprised if the 'gushing' love that you have for someone changes to something less 'gushing' but maybe much more mature. And the question is, is that young person ready for that?"

There's a reason that leaders like Valentine and America's founders were venerated in their day and ours, and it's far more than just about love, freedom and legislation. It's about the character and resolve these leaders modeled, and the courage they repeatedly showed to go against the flow. It's also about their perseverance to do the right thing – to stand up and be counted and never give up.

I agree with what Father O'Gara said about what Valentine's life and influence should still mean for us today: "There comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that – even to the point of death."

Maybe that's the reason the Scripture says, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

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Part II Additional Information with More Analysis and Commentary

Frankly, I've come to enjoy several of Chuck Norris' columns on WND over the years. He's either well read and/or a good researcher who is able to connect the dots.

While the entire column above was worth the read, this jumped out at me: "what would St. Valentine do if he were alive today? I believe he would not be afraid of standing for what today would be the most conservative of causes, and doing so with the God-given right of freedom of speech even if it offended others."

Fear is easy to manufacture. Certain politicos and some (not all) journalists who work with them know that it is all too easy to create fear even when evidence may not support it. We don't have to look back too far to see that this was true during the declared COVID19 pandemic. While it was 'real,' and millions around the world did die of it, COVID 19 was perhaps the tamest pandemic ever. We uploaded the following graphic on March 22, 2021.

Well before that date on MHProNews and on our MHLivingNews sister site, we were publishing items from the medical and scientific communities that tended to cut against much of the mainstream media fear mongering narrative about COVID19. But let's set that aside for another keen point that Norris made.

Love, Hollywood Style

Hollywood paints certain images of what 'love' and 'romance' are supposed to be. In many cases, those notions may seem appealing but that doesn't mean they are accurate.

I was talking to an MD last year that works with teenagers. He told me the story (presumably true) of a young teen boy who had sex with a girl, both claimed to be virgins, as the reportedly lad told that MD. But the boy from that single encounter ended up with a raging case of VD from an STD. The MD described how it looked, and my stomach was unsettled just listening to it. As the MD put it, there is no truth in advertising in the secular dating world.

God intended sexual love to be confined to marriage. There is not much disputing that for those who read their Bibles with care. That said, there are plenty of Biblical tales of men and women who were not faithful to God on that topic. Thankfully, God is merciful to those who repent.

The powers that be in our society want to manipulate the greatest number of people possible. I was a young man when I learned that Russia went through a tough period in their history after the Communists took over where 'free sex' reigned and the number of children born out of marriage skyrocketed. Their society began to fray and tear at the edges. They learned from that experience and began to reign that in in their own country but they also exported those 'free sex' notions to the West and U.S. Also, domestic advertisers use sexual images on a routine basis. A combination of factors have woven phony narratives that helps explain why suicide is on the rise among young people and is a leading cause of death. There is no 'free' sex.

It may seem hypocritical to some to see President Donald J. Trump, who reportedly led a pretty wild life for many years, begin to push religious beliefs. But sometimes it is precisely those who have walked across the lines God has given us to realize what that meant in practice and who can then warn others of what is needed now. God is merciful to those who repent.

We need stronger families.

We need more people willing to look in the mirror who are willing to ask themselves tough questions and are willing to look at their manipulators honestly and wonder, how much have I been deluded by thinking that is contrary to God's will?

Does God exist? Yes. When we look in the mirror we are looking at a miracle in so many ways.

Is love just an illusion? No. Love is real. Love can be romantic. But we must also realize that God's plan for love is often at odds with what Hollywood and the social engineers in our society have been feeding us.

I believe flowers or other gestures on St. Valentine's Day can be a fine thing to do. But sometimes the greatest proof of love is a man or a woman's faithful behavior day by day on behalf of their spouse or other family members.

Happy St. Valentine's Day.

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L. A. “Tony” Kovach is a publisher who has earned multiple awards in history. He and his family live in a manufactured home on private property in Winter Haven, FL. He is the co-founder of Manufactured Home Living News.com (MHLivingNews.com) and Manufactured Home Pro News.com (MHProNews.com), trade publications serving segments of the manufactured home industry. Having worked in several segments of the manufactured home industry for over 3 decades, Kovach is a widely acknowledged and often praised expert on manufactured housing. ###