Righting the Ship: The Left Spent Decades Steering the Narrative that Americans are Throwing Overboard
For years, the left told us the voyage was over. The USS America had run aground on the Island uninhabited by traditional values. The destination had been reached. Craig DeRoche, CEO of Family Policy Alliance, and former Speaker of the House in the Michigan State Legislature, countless Americans who defended faith, family, and traditional values despite the storm, were told they were fighting a losing battle. Traditional values were relics of the past, marriage had been permanently redefined, and anyone who disagreed would be marooned in yesterday’s reality.
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- Gallup data challenges years of claims about settled debates
- Statistics can inform truth—or be weaponized against it
- Public opinion is shifting after decades of one-way movement
- Cultural narratives often outpace cultural reality
- Americans are increasingly questioning institutional assumptions
History had rendered its verdict. But newly released Gallup data suggests the story Americans have been hearing for years may have been more narrative than reality.
A newly released survey shows support for same-sex marriage has declined from its recent peak, while moral acceptance of both same-sex relations and gender transition has fallen significantly from highs recorded just a few years ago. After decades of movement in one direction, public opinion is showing signs of a measurable course correction.
For DeRoche, the significance extends beyond the numbers themselves.
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The lesson here isn’t that one poll proves everything. It’s that statistics are not facts in and of themselves. They are measurements. And measurements can be selectively used, framed, and amplified to support a political agenda. DeRoche says that’s part of the equation. Goalposts can be moved when people aren’t looking or engaged. Once traditional values seekers open their eyes, those goalposts start moving back and those gaslights become a bit brighter.
For decades, activists, academics, media organizations, and cultural institutions pointed to polling trends as evidence that major social debates had been settled once and for all. Americans who disagreed were frequently portrayed as standing on the wrong side of history. The numbers were presented not simply as evidence of public opinion, but as proof that dissenting viewpoints no longer deserved consideration.
Now those same measurements are moving in the opposite direction.
Between 1996 and 2022, support for same-sex marriage climbed from 27 percent to 71 percent, creating the impression of an unstoppable cultural wave. Yet today’s Gallup findings suggest that what many considered permanent may have been far less settled than advertised.
DeRoche argues that the larger story is not merely changing attitudes toward marriage and sexuality, but a growing willingness among Americans to challenge narratives that were treated as unquestionable truths. Back to Family.
“The culture isn’t a roller coaster locked onto a predetermined track,” he says. “People reassess. They reconsider. They push back. And sometimes they discover they’ve been told a story that was far more certain than the facts ever justified.”
As policymakers and voters digest the latest polling, DeRoche offers a reminder: trends are temporary, narratives are powerful, but truth doesn’t rise and fall with survey results. The real story may be that Americans are finally beginning to distinguish between the two. Deep down, their wiring says traditional family values matter.
Relevant Article(s):
Support for same-sex marriage in US drops from 2023 peak, poll shows
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- How did activists turn polling data into a tool for ending debate rather than informing it?
- What does Gallup’s latest survey reveal about the gap between cultural narratives and public opinion?
- When did statistics stop being measurements and start being treated as moral authority?
- Why were so many Americans told the debate was over when public attitudes were still evolving?
- What can policymakers learn from the reversal of what appeared to be a decades-long trend?
- How have media and cultural institutions shaped perceptions of what Americans actually believe?
- Does this data represent a temporary fluctuation or the beginning of a broader cultural course correction?
- What does this moment say about the danger of confusing popularity with truth?
ABOUT CRAIG DEROCHE…
Craig DeRoche serves as President and CEO of Family Policy Alliance, the central hub of the pro-family movement, equipping citizens, churches, and elected officials to protect children, defend parents’ rights, and advance biblical values through civic engagement. Under Craig’s leadership, FPA and its network of 40 state family policy councils have helped lead major national campaigns including Save Girls Sports, Help Not Harm, After Roe, and Let Parents Parent.
Craig previously served as Speaker of the House in Michigan and president of Justice Fellowship, founded by Watergate figure, Chuck Colson. He is a frequent speaker and author on faith, culture, public policy, and civic engagement and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fox News, and Christianity Today. Craig is also a devoted husband and father and the author of Highly Functional and Outrageous Justice.
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