The following is my response to a Facebook discussion some of my friends were engaged in.
I chimed in with the following opinion. I have edited areas that had grammatical errors and added passages because my original commentary didn’t fully reflect the breadth of my opinion:
“I have given this issue a lot of thought over the past year. I am still torn. On the one hand, I am a Christian. On the other, I am an American Conservative Constitutionalist. These are not mutually exclusive philosophies, as the founding of our nation was based on Christian-Judeo precepts. However, they do have areas where no clear agreement may exist. The area of gay marriage is one of these.
It seems to me that marriage is both a sacred (blessed by God) and legal (sanctioned by society) union traditionally-represented by the archetypes of Adam and Eve. As a sacred union that is normally officiated by religious institutions (institutions that do not accept homosexuality on principle or practice), it seems to Christians that homosexual activists have chosen to wage war against “God.” These activists are demanding the redefinition of marriage as opposed to solely seeking to attain equal protection under the law for civil unions. Thus, the issue is one of mainstreaming a segment of the population that has ever always been viewed as fringe and perverse.
97-99% of society, depending on whose stats you review, is heterosexual. To redefine cultural norms that have been in existence for thousands of years isn’t justified to me because the greater society is being rent apart by a minority of that culture’s members.
Better to me, it seems, homosexuals accept equal legal status as lifelong partners under civil unions than to demand and legally force religious heterosexuals to change their beliefs and values so that the institution of marriage be rendered meaningless.
As a Constitutionalist, Americans have freedom of religion, not from religion. There is no such thing as separation of church and state in the Constitution as described by activists in this country. The only thing the Constitution says is: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech…”
So, criminalizing churches that preach homosexuality as a sin or being against their religion is unconstitutional. Period.
However, I am also struck by the following precepts which serve as the foundation for the law of the land: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Our government is not allowed to deny us these rights. Thus, how can I believe in and uphold the Constitution if I denied my fellow Americans their God-given rights? Homosexuals have every right to pursue their happiness. They are human beings! They love just like everyone else.
Throughout my life I have worked with, lived with, and befriended many individuals whose sexual orientation happens to differ from mine own. In fact, one of my favorite teachers ever was Mr. Robert Reed (Mr. Brady from the Brady Bunch).
Mr. Read was a wonderful person. I had heard jibes about him prior to attending Shakespeare courses under him at UCLA, but I dismissed the spurious comments because I didn’t care one way or another. Besides, the man knew far more than I did about the subject. And, I went to UCLA to learn about theatre from experienced professionals.
During my time with him as my teacher and unofficial adviser, he never once introduced the subject of his sexuality into our conversations. To the contrary, he was a stern professional who addressed everyone by their last names, and who expected their best. He was generous with his time and money, as evinced by Thursday afternoon video pizza parties for those who chose to attend.
When I had written my first play at UCLA based on my previous relationship with a woman I feared had given me AIDS, Mr. Reed was non-judgmental. I really was in a panic and heartbroken because I had discovered just before transferring to UCLA my fiancee was a drug addict who was secretly sleeping with a dealer, a lesbian housemate, and a butch homosexual with a “queen” boyfriend. Perfect play material, I thought.
In open office door meetings, he genuinely asked my how I felt and why I chose to depict certain characters the way I did. In taking the time to do so, he made me feel more confident as a person and as a student; and for that I will be forever grateful. He was simply a good person. Thankfully, my deep-seated fears of affliction were never realized.
There is one moment, a year later, that I now recognize revealed a great deal about Mr. Reed. The moment I am recalling is when I walked up to him after reading, “The Engines of Creation” by Eric Drexler. This was the first book I had read on the subject of nanotechnology, circa 1989. I told Mr. Reed that some scientists were working to develop microscopic-sized robots that could course through our veins, cleaning our blood and eliminating plaque and other dangers.
Excitedly, Mr. Reed asked, “Really? When will this be?” “Not for twenty years, or so,” I replied. In my mind’s eye I now see how crestfallen and disappointed he felt at the response. He brushed the subject off and called the class to order. To my deep regret, I only now remember seeing the tears that had barely formed in his then sad eyes.
Three years later, Mr. Reed passed away. According to his death certificate, he had HIV, but unrelated cancer is what did him in. According to reports publicized by such journalistic empaths as Geraldo Rivera, Mr. Reed was a “conflicted” person. Though he had been married in the 1950s and had a daughter, he was also allegedly homosexual. I say homosexual instead of bisexual because publicly he had always kept the subject of his sexual preference to himself; like a shameful secret. I did not know that when I knew him.
When I happened to learn of his passing while surfing the Internet one day, I was very saddened. We lost a caring human being. But, it seems, any time he comes up in conversation, he now serves as the brunt of gay jokes and lambasting memoirs. I sometimes wonder how hard it must’ve been to be “in the closet” as he was; how his life was diminished because of his self-loathing. I read in several articles about him after his death that he genuinely refused to accept he was a homosexual. Yet, he must’ve engaged in sexual behavior that resulted in his acquisition of the HIV virus. Such conflict shaped him as he went through life, and as a result, he was not considered a nice person by some. My experience was different, and I choose to remember him as a genuine person.
Therein is the crux of my moral dilemma on the matter of same sex marriage. It is not as simple as concluding it is normal or abnormal. As a Christian, I appreciated Mr. Robert Reed for who, not what, he was.
As yet, I have not committed myself to a definitive opinion because my intellect and spirituality are not sufficiently developed at this time for me to be able to do so. I do pray I have the courage and wisdom to come to the correct conclusion. Doing so, though, would require me to subsume one set of beliefs to the other. And, that may not be such a terrible thing. I think I owe it to Mr. Reed to give this my utmost consideration before making any further proclamations on the subject.
What I would like to understand is why it is so crucial to homosexuals to redefine “marriage.” If they seek tolerance of their differing views and lifestyles, that is one thing. If they demand outright acceptance from others whose beliefs are anathema to such acceptance, then that is another thing. After all, in order for homosexuals to have “marriage,” religion has to be compromised, or even destroyed. That is unacceptable; not only because it would be wrong, but, because we have the Constitution saying it is illegal to do so.
Congress simply cannot compel Christians to stop being Christians. It is against the law of the land. By the same token, Christians cannot compel homosexuals to stop being homosexuals. Despite that not being possible *, the primary “law” Jesus told us Christians to practice was to love our brother as we ourselves would want to be loved.
And, as a Christian, who am I to break one of God’s laws?
Who are you?
* To clarify, I do not subscribe to the idea that homosexuals spontaneously explode into existence somewhere around their pre-teen years. I believe they, like me, were born they way they are.
Get Rid of the Old White Guys in the GOP!
May 30, 2009Dear Lord. I think I may agree with race-baiting liberals on one thing: the old white guys in the GOP absolutely suck.
Anytime I start to feel hope that the GOP is starting to get its shit together, they sneak up behind me and pull out my chair. One old white guy after another has been publicly trashing Conservatives and Rush Limbaugh. Senator Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is the latest. He had some mighty serious words to say about Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, in regards to the confirmation debate about Sonia Sotomayer:
“Neither one of these men are elected Republican officials. I just don’t think it’s appropriate. I certainly don’t endorse it. I think it’s wrong.”
Why did he say this? Because both Newt and Rush have not minced words and have called Obama’s nominee for a seat on the Supreme Court, a racist. Based on her own words and attitude, she apparently is. Yet, what is Cornyn’s take on what Sotomayer said in several instances, and how she plans on judging?
“We are all a product of our upbringing and who we are, and I think it’s a fact people do have different backgrounds, but I don’t think those backgrounds ought to determine what the law is.”
I completely agree, Senator. But, whoo-eee, aren’t you the tough talker when it comes to trashing people who are essentially on your side. When it comes to standing up FIRMLY, COURAGEOUSLY, and WITHOUT CONPUNCTION against the single-most dangerous person to hold the seat of the Presidency, well… Then, you are timid and hesitant.
Your duty, sir, as is the duty of every Republican, is to fight as publicly as possible against the unconstitutional excesses of Barack Hussein Obama.
This includes taking Sotomayer to task in the most strenuous possible manner, in order to prevent the usurpation of the rule of law by extremists. Sotomayer, by her associations with extremist organizations (like La RAZA), by her mediocre record of jurisprudence, her questionable temperament, and by her expressed intentions on how she will judge, does not deserve to be confirmed.
But, instead of forcefully doing your duty, you forcefully deride two high profile Conservative individuals (and the MILLIONS of people they represent).
That demonstrates poor judgment on your part, sir. So, I hold little hope that you and the rest of the old white guys running things in Washington will ever catch a clue.
Therefore, we want you OUT. Come next election cycle, you and your pals are going to not only fight the Donks, but We the People, as well. It’s looooong past time we cleaned house in Congress.
It’s time to sweep away the old white guys and bring in the YOUNG white guys (as well as, the young brown and black and yellow and plaid guys, and gals).
UPDATE:
Now Senator Jeff Sessions is decrying Rush, et al.
“I will not use that kind of language ["racist"]. These people out there are not party officials. They are not Republican officials.”
This type of kowtowing is exactly why the GOP is bent over a barrel by the Donks.
GET RID OF THE OLD, WHITE MEN!