Pride Month’s true competition? Faith, family, freedom

This June, as rainbow flags flutter and parades march on, a noticeable shift has occurred — corporate America is stepping back from its once-vocal support of Pride Month. That retreat offers conservatives not just a moment to observe but a moment to reflect: What are the values we ought to be truly proud of? What are we, as a nation, actually celebrating?

This year, according to Gravity Research, nearly 4 in 10 companies are scaling back Pride-related activities — a major jump from just 9% last year. Major sponsors like Google, Home Depot, Mastercard, and Citi have withdrawn support from some of the largest Pride events in North America. Even entertainment giants like Netflix and Disney have noticeably toned down their rainbow-wrapped algorithms.

If this trend is truly reversing, what should we celebrate instead?

These aren’t isolated incidents. They are part of a growing corporate recalibration — one triggered by consumer backlash. The Bud Light and Target controversies of recent years proved that when brands pander to divisive ideologies, everyday Americans take notice — and they push back. The market has spoken, and many companies are now listening. I’ll crack a Coors Light to that.

None of this is to dismiss the real people behind Pride Month — Americans who genuinely desire dignity, respect, and the freedom to live without fear or hostility. Every person is made in the image of God and deserves to be treated with decency. But that’s precisely why the corporate exploitation of these communities is so hollow. When support is only loud during ad campaigns and silent when there's pushback, it reveals that the motive was never about justice — it was about profit. Those who truly care about human dignity should be just as offended by this performative marketing as anyone else.

If companies are now walking away from Pride because it’s no longer profitable, we should ask a deeper question: Were they ever really “with” the LGBT community in the first place — or were they simply exploiting a cause to sell products?

The answer is obvious.

It wasn’t support — it was a sales strategy.Betrayal dressed in bright colors. You can’t sell “authenticity,” and these brands proved it.

What we’ve witnessed over the past decade is the rise — and now the reckoning — of performative activism. Rainbow logos in June. BLM hashtags in July. DEI statements in quarterly reports. All too often, these campaigns have felt more like virtue-signaling PR stunts than sincere commitments. It’s what critics have dubbed “rainbow capitalism”: when a company paints itself in the colors of a movement, not to live its values but to boost its bottom line.

One organization that has been instrumental in exposing this performative activism is Consumers’ Research. As a conservative watchdog group, it has launched campaigns targeting companies it perceives as prioritizing progressive agendas over their customers. For instance, in response to Bud Light’s partnership with a transgender influencer, Consumers' Research initiated a “Woke Alerts” campaign to inform consumers about companies' political stances. The organization's efforts have played a significant role in holding corporations accountable and encouraging a return to customer-focused values.

So, if this trend is truly reversing, what should we celebrate instead?

Rather than centering our national pride around identity groups or political campaigns, we should be celebrating the things that actually hold America together — faith, family, freedom, and community.

Faith, not in the empty slogans of corporate human resources departments, but in a higher purpose. Faith that grounds our moral order and has shaped the conscience of our country from the beginning. One can’t help but think of Matthew 15:8: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

RELATED: Rainbow rebellion: How Christians can take back what Pride Month stole

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Family, the foundational institution that no government program can replace. It’s within the home that virtue is taught, character is formed, and citizens are raised.

Freedom, especially the freedom to speak the truth — even when it’s unpopular — and to live according to conscience without fear of cancellation or coercion. The most inclusive flag in the land is Old Glory.

And community — real, local, lived-in community — where Americans help each other not because of corporate campaigns, but because it’s the right thing to do.

We know better. These are the values that deserve celebration. These are the virtues that built this country. And if corporate America is finally pulling back from the cultural fray, maybe it’s time for all of us to recommit — not to branding campaigns, but to the timeless truths that made America strong in the first place.

Pride Month 2025 isn’t just about what’s changing on Madison Avenue. It’s about what’s possible on Main Street. Let’s use this moment not to divide but to unify — by celebrating what we’ve always had reason to be proud of.