Walter Payton Man of the Year finalists, Baltimore Ravens’ Benjamin Watson smiles as he participates in a fan event in advance of the Super Bowl 52 football game, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Our society has gotten away from the importance of family and family values and it’s our mainstream media that shares a good portion of the blame for pulling society away from the idea of the nuclear family. Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson hasn’t lost sight of the importance of family and laser-focused on it during his speech at CPAC.

Watson said playing football is just his day job, but his real job is being a husband to his wife of 14 years and a father to their seven children.

The Patriots player went on to note the importance of a solid family unit when it comes to raising children, including how children imitate their parents. As such, Watson said that the family is where you teach kids about how to “digest ideas and create new ones.”

“Here’s where we teach our children how to deal with conflict and how to be compassionate, loving, and kind adults,” said Watson. “It’s in the family that we teach them about our faith, and about service and how to demonstrate both of those in their daily actions and interactions.”

Watson went on to talk about how the ultimate goal is to raise well-rounded and confident men and women who will go on to raise even more confident and well-rounded laborers and leaders.

“Whether we believe it or not, the family will always be the nucleus of civilization and the building block of society,” said Watson. “History tells us this. So collectively I think we have a vested interest in protecting, promoting, and praising the importance of family.”

Watson noted that the state of the American family isn’t a good one, and mentioned three threats to the family that we should focus on.

The first is moral relativism which Watson notes is our tendency to do what seems right to us or that we pardon in the name of tolerance.

“Our morality is increasingly being tied to cultural norms instead of transcendent standards,” said Watson.

Watson said he doesn’t necessarily believe in “family values” as they may differ from family to family, but that he does believe in the biblical values from where our real values come from.

The next threat, according to Watson, is fatherlessness. Over one in four homes do not have a father figure noted Watson, adding that studies show these children are at a higher risk of drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, incarceration and more. Watson told the men in the crowd that their responsibilities go far beyond conception.

“We are our daughter’s first love and our son’s first hero,” said Watson to the men in the crowd.

Watson said that the family will continue to crumble until men with honor, integrity, and courage step up and show society what these things really mean, and our children will imitate us.

For the third threat, Watson brought up the issue of abortion which has claimed the lives of millions of children. Watson said it’s the most important human rights issue of our day.

“What greater threat is there to the family than the legal and celebrated extermination of its most vulnerable members?” asked Watson.

Watch the entire speech below.

Watch @BenjaminSWatson's full #CPAC2020 speech on the importance of families. pic.twitter.com/FYeRRcPJNZ

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