Skip to content 9/1/2025 Tony Perkins and Jody Hice Pay Tribute to the Late Dr. Dobson and Look at Parental Rights in America Sep 1 · 59 min ...more
9/1/2025 Tony Perkins and Jody Hice Pay Tribute to the Late Dr. Dobson and Look at Parental Rights in America
September 1, 2025 · 59 min
A tribute to the late Dr. Dobson, who was instrumental in founding Family Research Council, and a close look at parents exercising their rights to raise their children as they see best.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Family Research Council is serving in the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, & freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
September 1, 2025 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
A tribute to the late Dr. Dobson, who was instrumental in founding Family Research Council, and a close look at parents exercising their rights to raise their children as they see best. ...more Show the full description Show less A tribute to the late Dr. Dobson, who was instrumental in founding Family Research Council, and a close look at parents exercising their rights to raise their children as they see best.
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In this video 0:00 The Heartbreaking Reality of War and Captivity4:27 Honoring Dr. James Dobson's Legacy18:41 Battles in Education: Upholding Biblical Values38:39 Raising Gender-Confident KidsComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
The Heartbreaking Reality of War and Captivity 0:06 Welcome to the Washington Watch news desk. I'm Sarah Holiday. And this Labor Day, we are diving into a heart wrenching story that's worth our attention. On October seventh 200:17 23, the Hamas terrorist group ambushed a music festival in Israel. They killed 1200 innocent people and they took at least0:28 251 hostages to Gaza. The attack was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The war has now been going on for about 2 years. And with each day that0:40 passes is another day people are killed or left subject to the destruction of this war. In an interview with Reuters, Doron Steinbrecher reflected on her0:50 471 days in captivity. Her hope is for all the remaining hostages to be set free soon.0:59 The important thing now is to bring all the hostages home. Every moment, every second, they are in danger because there's no food, no no1:11 water. The sanitarian situation is very, very bad.1:17 Now Steinbrecher is choosing to hold on to the confidence that the estimated 50 hostages still held in Gaza will eventually see freedom. But, sadly, Israeli officials1:28 fear that only about 20 may still be alive. Ceasefire talks have crumbled time and again, leaving the fate of those still held captive hanging by a thread. Among those1:40
1:49 I've been there. I know what they thinking now, what they feeling now. The fear for life every single
2:00 moment you go to sleep and you don't know if you wake up.
2:06 Steinbrecher endured unimaginable horrors. She was confined underground in suffocating tunnels, some of which were so tight she couldn't even fully stand up. Through the
2:18 torture, she forged strong bonds with other young women held captive beside her. But even that small sense of camaraderie simply wasn't enough to dismiss the suffering they were subjected to.
2:30 In the tunnels, there's no light, no fresh air, a little bit of food and water, shower when
2:42 they let you. You don't know when it was day or night.
2:54 Hamas militants put Steinbrecher through relentless psychological torture. If Israeli military were to draw near, she said Hamas threatened immediate execution. She was forbidden from
3:05 showing even a flicker of emotion. She was rarely allowed to wash and was also forced to beg for scraps of food to survive each grueling day. When Steinbrecher did cry, unable to hold back her fear and
3:17 sadness, she had to cry as silently as possible. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to crush Hamas. He's declared that their demise as well as
3:29 the return of all of the hostages are keys to ending this brutal conflict. Israelis have taken to the streets to protest, demanding an end to this brutal war that has taken thousands of lives
3:41 in both Israel and Gaza. With time running thin, pressure is mounting on both sides to strike a deal for peace and to bring the remaining hostages home before it's too
3:53 late.
3:54 When the hostages will come back home And the war is over. We can think of start
4:06 a new life and rehabilitation. And maybe there is a good
4:18 future for us.
4:21 With the second year mark officially around the corner, we pray there is an end to this war quickly. I'm Sarah Holliday. Thank you for joining us this Labor Day. You can dive deeper with the
Honoring Dr. James Dobson's Legacy
4:32 Washington stand at washington stand dot com. Up next, we have Washington Watch with guest host Jody Heiss. We're back tomorrow with more stories that matter.
4:54 Capital in Washington DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a
5:06 biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heise.
5:11 Well, good afternoon, and welcome to this special Labor Day edition of Washington Watch. I'm Jody Heise, senior fellow here at the Family Research Council. Happy to be filling in for Tony today and glad to have you on
5:23 board with us as well. Alright. With a new school year underway, we wanted to make the focus of today's program on our nation's children. It's certainly clear that the environment in
5:35 today's culture is a challenging 1, probably most especially for our kids. And we'll highlight some of those challenges today with guests who have been tracking what's happening in schools at the
5:47 state level. I'll be sharing my recent interviews with Victoria Cobb from the Family Foundation of Virginia, as well as Angela Morabito from the Defense of Freedom Institute. And
5:59 regardless of whether your children are in public school, private school, or even homeschooled, they'll certainly be facing challenges in a culture that's fighting against our values. So we need to prepare them.
6:11 And for that, I'll share my recent interview with doctor Jeff Myers from Summit Ministries, who, by the way, is out with a brand new book called Raising Gender Confident Kids. But first today,
6:23 we wanna start off the program by recognizing a man who devoted his life to helping children and families thrive. And that, of course, could be none other than the late doctor James Dobson,
6:35 who went home to be with the Lord last month. Doctor Dobson was certainly 1 of America's most influential Christian leaders in the last half century. God certainly used him in a
6:47 powerful way. He gave birth to give attention to so many ministries along the way. Ministries like focus on the family, alliance defending freedom, family policy
6:58 alliance, the doctor James Dobson Family Institute, and of course, right here, the Family Research Council. In fact, doctor Dobson was instrumental in
7:10 the establishment and the growth of FRC. Well, 2 years ago, we marked the fortieth anniversary here at FRC. And
7:22 in celebration of that, Tony actually sat down with doctor Dobson for a special interview. They talked about the events that led to the founding of the Family Research Council, including what
7:34 around here now is a famous prayer meeting from which the resolve to establish FRC was formed. They also talked about the times in which we're living today. And I wanna share some of that
7:46 conversation with you right now. Here's how it all began.
7:50 40 years ago, you were instrumental in the Family Research Council. Take us back and give us the origins of the
8:02 beginning of the Family Research Council. How did it all start?
8:05 Well, Tony, the history of the Family Research Council, that is, 1 of the, most coveted experiences of
8:17 my life because it goes back to 19 80 when president Jimmy Carter decided there was gonna be a White House conferences on the family. So it
8:29 was a very liberal conference, but I was invited to come and speak, and everybody else that spoke there came from a very liberal point of view, obviously, and I
8:41 didn't. And I spoke very differently than they did. The crowd was gracious. And afterward, James Guy Tucker, who was the director
8:53 of the White House conferences, came up to see me. He said, I wanna tell you something. People like you who have professional degrees and and,
9:05 have, come from a different point of view, a major university, those people do not come to this city. They're not invited here, so this is a rarity. And he said,
9:17 this town ought to hear what you have to say because it is never heard here. And I went back. I had 7 buddies, there were 8 of us there
9:29 that night, And I told them what he had said, and we had all agreed we have to change that. The voice of biblical truth as related to the family
9:41 must be represented in this town. We got on our knees that night and prayed. And we asked the Lord to bless what we were gonna try to do because it was not going to be
9:53 easy. And, that was the beginning of the Family Research Council. That's what was organized that day.
10:03 We look at the terrain today, and we look at the journey that Christians engaged in public policy have been on. What do you see today?
10:15 Well, you know, Tony, I have the long perspective because I was a professor of pediatrics at USC School of Medicine and, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles for 17 years,
10:27 and I could have spent the rest of my life there. I could have enjoyed doing research and being in academia.
10:34 And everybody loving you?
10:36 Oh, it was nice. You know, there's a lot of
10:39 When you step out into this arena, not everybody likes what you have to say.
10:42 Well, I I walked into a buzz saw, I can tell you that, because I left there to start focus on the family.
10:51 And and I'll just say the country is so much better because you stepped into that buzz saw.
10:56 Well, you're very kind. The first thing that hit hit was here in Colorado. There was amendment 2, which became so controversial. I had just
11:08 arrived in town. The gay activists there had didn't have anybody to blame for that loss from their point of view, and they they decided to tear me up. We
11:19 had the bloody animal parts brought to our door. I'm here. I'm a new guy in town coming out of medical school, not used to stuff like that. And they,
11:33 told lies about us, and it it was really pretty difficult. It went all the way to the Supreme Court, and my point of view lost. We've lost most of the big battles
11:45 along the way. And, I think maybe things are changing now. The pastors seem much more aware of the battle that we're in. We serve a big god,
11:57 and we can't give up.
11:59 Speaking of that long game and that long view on the issue of life, the sanctity of human life, and we took a lot of criticism for being involved in elections, electing
12:11 pro life candidates, pro life presidents. But look where it's led us to a point where we've, in our lifetime, we've seen the overturn of Roe v Wade and an opportunity
12:23 for the nation to get it right when it comes to the sanctity of human life.
12:28 You know, I will admit to you, I never thought it would happen. I really didn't have the faith to believe the court would awaken 1 day and say this is wrong. We've got to change it. But
12:40 it's a marvelous thing that happened, and, of course, the far left is still furious over this, and we still it's not the battle's not over, you know. There are 50 states out
12:51 there that are gonna have to deal with this issue, and so we're gonna fight tooth and nail to try to save this country from itself.
13:02 So let's talk for just a moment to the believers that, as you said, it's becoming brutal. You know, if you're a Christian
13:13 and you openly profess your faith and you live according to your faith, there's some professions that are driving you out. It's becoming more difficult to live out our faith, but
13:25 that's the very thing we should be doing. What do Christians need to be doing right now in this hour?
13:31 Standing firm. You know, I think our country's in great jeopardy. The things that are taking place right now are breathtaking to me. You know, there there's there's been no time in the
13:43 history of this country except the civil war when we have been so divided and there's been so much hatred and so much wickedness and people calling,
13:55 good evil and evil good. We have got to be salt and light in a dark and stormy culture. When people say to me, especially Christian
14:07 people and especially pastors, who say, well, we don't get into that because we're not political. They're bragging about not being it's not political, it's moral. We're
14:19 calling we're talking about killing babies. We're talking about teaching 5 year olds, more immorality on a daily basis in the public
14:31 schools. We're talking about things that were would have been unconscionable a few years ago. We cannot give up. And we've got the Lord on our side. We can't forget
14:42 that. We're not alone in this thing. The Lord has called us to a battle. He's called us to fight with everything that we have.
14:52 I know there's been times of discouragement where things didn't work out the way you thought they would or should, And I'm sure there were some temptations at times maybe
15:04 to step out of this arena and go where it was a little more
15:08 friendly. What kept you at it? Tony, I never considered stepping away because I was called to this. My father told me right
15:20 before he died that he had a vision of my reaching millions of people around the world. That was unheard of. That was, that was crazy. Well, how
15:32 could 1 lone voice here have the opportunity to speak in China and Russia and India and other places around the world? There's an anointing there. I don't know how
15:44 to explain it. I certainly don't think I'm responsible for it. My job is just to be faithful and to hang in there and I'm gonna do that as long as I've got a voice. And today I don't have much
15:56 of a voice, but it's craggy and I'm doing the best I can to talk over it. But we're not gonna give up as long as I've got breath in my body.
16:07 Well, you've reached those millions and you've, you've done it well. And we're grateful that you were never tempted to get out of the arena.
16:16 You're doing the same thing, Tony. You've had to face exactly the same issues that I have, and you've been faithful too. And I guess that's why I love you so much.
16:26 Well, it's mutual. Thank you.
16:30 Well, that was Tony's conversation in a sit down interview in Colorado Springs with the late doctor James Dobson who went home to be with the Lord last month. Thank you so much for tuning in for this special
16:41 edition of Washington Watch. You know, it can't be overstated how big an impact doctor Dobson had on our nation, on families, on individuals. It's it's
16:53 frequently said that a rising tide lifts all boats. And in so many ways, God used doctor Dobson to raise the tide. He helped countless ministries to continue
17:04 expanding the kingdom of God. Countless more lives have been changed for eternity's sake because of the things that he was able to accomplish. I know in our family, we raised our daughters on the
17:16 teachings and the instructions of doctor doc Dobson and Adventures in Odyssey. In fact, very interesting, the day before doctor Dobson died, I was in a conversation with a friend
17:28 who told me that they listened. In fact, they fell asleep every single night listening to Adventures in Odyssey all the way up to when they went to college. But so many ministries, so many lives,
17:40 thousands upon thousands, massively impacted and eternally changed because of the ministry of doctor Dobson. We have family policy council groups all over the country
17:52 that were inspired by the leadership of Dobson. Even the American Heritage Girls attribute Dobson as the catalyst that propelled their ministry forward. He's also credited so frequently with
18:04 the success and growth of the entire homeschool movement in America, which we ourselves were part of. So where do you stop saying a huge thank you, Lord,
18:16 for giving us such a powerful leader as James Dobson? And so today, we wanna pause for a moment and genuinely give thanks to God for doctor James Dobson, and we
18:27 honor his ministry. May his life, the servant of God, inspire each of us to continue serving the Lord with all our heart. Glad to have you joining us for this special Labor Day edition
18:39 of Washington Watch. Next, when we come back, we'll be highlighting some battles that are taking place in schools at the state level. So stick around. We'll be back in just a moment.Show more
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