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Over the weekend, a friend sent me a deeply personal exchange between a mother and her adult son, in which the mother castigated her son for unethical behavior.
The son was Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s selection to be secretary of defense. The email, written by Hegseth’s mother in 2018, was published by The New York Times Nov. 30. It said, among other things, “We still love you, but we are broken by your behavior and lack of character.”
My friend was applauding Hegseth’s mother, saying she had courage for confronting her son and not abdicating her role as a parent even though her son had long since left his parents’ home.
My reaction was much different. I couldn’t get past my horror at such an intimate family conversation (albeit in an email) being published in a major newspaper, so much so that it was hard to think about the larger issue my friend had tried to raise, which is how much a parent should take an adult child to task when we see them going off the rails. I shared the view of Penelope Hegseth, who told the newspaper that publishing the email was “disgusting.”
Like many of Trump’s picks, Pete Hegseth is controversial because he doesn’t have the sort of resume we usually see in a top administration official. The former Fox News host is also under fire for allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct, which Hegseth denies.
The reporter justified publishing the email by saying the mother “was addressing her son’s character, which bears on what kind of leader he would be.” The story said the email had come from “another person with ties to the Hegseth family,” and its authenticity has not been denied.
But there was additional context, most significantly the fact that Penelope Hegseth said she later regretted writing the email during an emotional moment and that she had apologized to her son for sending it to him. A little more than a year later, she and her husband were on the Fox set for a Mother’s Day segment in which she said she “was proud every day to be your mom.”
So what should we make of all this? My friend thought Penelope Hegseth was doing something more parents of adult children should do — demand better behavior from them, like we do when they are toddlers. But when I asked Google if this is appropriate, the search engine’s AI said it’s more important to respect their autonomy and independence, although it did allow that we could “express our concerns calmly” and offer support if needed.
Ironically, this conversation unfolded the same weekend that President Joe Biden bestowed a remarkable pardon on his grown son, absolving him from the legal consequences of any criminal wrongdoing over more than a decade. It was a move that drew sharp criticism, not only because Biden broke his own word in issuing the pardon after saying for six months that he wouldn’t do so, but because it further erodes Americans’ trust in our institutions.
While the actions (and alleged actions) of Hunter Biden and Pete Hegseth are vastly different, there’s a painful overlap in the Venn diagram of their stories — the parents watching their adult children navigate choices and consequences, all the while praying that Proverbs 22:6 kicks in, sooner rather than later.
Rocky does Mar-a-Lago. Is his statue at risk?
I definitely did not have “Sylvester Stallone eats Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a-Lago” on my bingo card for 2024, but then there’s a lot we didn’t see coming in the past year.
Philadelphia overwhelmingly voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in the election, winning 61 of 66 wards, per CBS. You might think that the iconic “Rocky” statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art might be in danger of being torn down, like so many other statues in recent years, given Stallone’s recent association with Trump and his faithful sidekick Elon Musk.
Also, the actor and his wife, Jennifer Flavin Stallone, were the first guests on Sean Hannity’s new long-form interview show, which debuted on Fox Nation Dec. 3.
But Rocky Balboa is still cherished in the City of Brotherly Love, where “Rockyfest” is going on this week. Per Sports Illustrated, “The festivities kicked off with an exhilarating Rocky Bus Tour, whisking fans away to iconic filming locations, including the bustling Italian Market, the mock grave sites of Adrian and Paulie, and the exterior of Mighty Mick’s Gym.”
This might be a good time to mention that “Mr. T,” also known as Clubber Lang in the third “Rocky” movie, is a surprisingly entertaining follow on social media, where he describes himself as a “professional pitier of fools” and posts a lot of Bible verses and patriotic content.
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