So, since November, I've been meaning to write about my thoughts on Prop 8, but things have been so busy, and I just didn't want to get myself all worked up.
Anyway, as I stated in my last entry, the election of Obama does not fill me with the same hope and confidence that it does others, and it's the passage of the indefensible Proposition 8--here in California of all places--that prevents me from feeling that our country is finally outgrowing its repellent conservative streak. The fact that a majority of voters in one of the most progressive states in the nation cannot grasp the principles of Free Society assures me that as soon as the Recession appears to pass, Americans will rapidly embrace that brand of sociopathy called Free Market Capitalism with glee.
So be it. The prosperity and strength this country saw when it had a strong, skilled Middle Class in the mid-20th Century will remain a thing of the past, and America's greatness will fade into history. And we'll deserve it, because we call ourselves the Home of the Free but can't stop caring what total strangers do with their dicks.
Simply put, the Constitution of the United States of America has, in its very first amendment, an article stating that the government cannot legislate or discriminate based on religion. That same Constitution also has an Equal Protection clause which prevents unreasonable discrimination based on sex/gender, as well as other criteria such as race. California's constitution provides the same protections.
So is marriage a sacred institution? Your priest/rabbi/minister/shaman might have his or her thoughts on the matter, but the government has no opinion on the matter because it doesn't have the authority to have an opinion on the matter. Marriage, as far as the government is concerned, is a legal contract whereby two individuals marry their legal and financial interests into one. Due to equal protection, the government doesn't have the authority to decide who can enter into a legal contract.
Simple. End of story. Gay marriage is protected by the Constitution of California and the United States. And that's the decision the California Supreme Court made.
But wait. The Constitution can be changed. We've done it in America before, amending the Constitution to allow the government to outlaw liquor. Americans granted their government the power to institute tyrannical laws, and the results were unsurprising.
And now we've done it in California. A majority of Californian voters, feeling the principles of Free Society to be unpalatable, forced the state government to institute a moral tyranny. Defenders of reason and sense are fighting Prop. 8 in court, but they don't have much hope. Californians voted. It's law now. We now live under a tyranny of the majority.
Yes, as a straight man, this particular tyranny might seem not to affect me. But any unreasonable limits to the freedoms of Americans are an affront to all Patriots to the true America, which is more a set of principles and ideas than it ever was a geographic region or a people.
And make no mistake; this discrimination is unreasonable. You don't have to like, understand, or even condone homosexuality. I don't understand gay men. (Hell, I don't even understand straight women. Thanks God someone is attracted to guys, but I sure don't get it.) I'm not even always comfortable around homosexuals, especially the flaming variety. (Of course, I like having my comfort levels tested and challenged from time to time. Viva la discomfort! ) In fact, I'm not even convinced that heterosexuality isn't an inherently better state than homosexuality.
But I don't have to understand, be comfortable with, or condone homosexuality to grasp the simple idea that in a Free Society it's NONE OF MY FUCKING BUSINESS. There is nothing in homosexual behavior that is violent or larcenous or in any way antisocial.
Until not just Californians but Americans can figure out that minding their own business isn't optional in a free society, our rights to the word free is under constant threat
Anyway, as I stated in my last entry, the election of Obama does not fill me with the same hope and confidence that it does others, and it's the passage of the indefensible Proposition 8--here in California of all places--that prevents me from feeling that our country is finally outgrowing its repellent conservative streak. The fact that a majority of voters in one of the most progressive states in the nation cannot grasp the principles of Free Society assures me that as soon as the Recession appears to pass, Americans will rapidly embrace that brand of sociopathy called Free Market Capitalism with glee.
So be it. The prosperity and strength this country saw when it had a strong, skilled Middle Class in the mid-20th Century will remain a thing of the past, and America's greatness will fade into history. And we'll deserve it, because we call ourselves the Home of the Free but can't stop caring what total strangers do with their dicks.
Simply put, the Constitution of the United States of America has, in its very first amendment, an article stating that the government cannot legislate or discriminate based on religion. That same Constitution also has an Equal Protection clause which prevents unreasonable discrimination based on sex/gender, as well as other criteria such as race. California's constitution provides the same protections.
So is marriage a sacred institution? Your priest/rabbi/minister/shaman might have his or her thoughts on the matter, but the government has no opinion on the matter because it doesn't have the authority to have an opinion on the matter. Marriage, as far as the government is concerned, is a legal contract whereby two individuals marry their legal and financial interests into one. Due to equal protection, the government doesn't have the authority to decide who can enter into a legal contract.
Simple. End of story. Gay marriage is protected by the Constitution of California and the United States. And that's the decision the California Supreme Court made.
But wait. The Constitution can be changed. We've done it in America before, amending the Constitution to allow the government to outlaw liquor. Americans granted their government the power to institute tyrannical laws, and the results were unsurprising.
And now we've done it in California. A majority of Californian voters, feeling the principles of Free Society to be unpalatable, forced the state government to institute a moral tyranny. Defenders of reason and sense are fighting Prop. 8 in court, but they don't have much hope. Californians voted. It's law now. We now live under a tyranny of the majority.
Yes, as a straight man, this particular tyranny might seem not to affect me. But any unreasonable limits to the freedoms of Americans are an affront to all Patriots to the true America, which is more a set of principles and ideas than it ever was a geographic region or a people.
And make no mistake; this discrimination is unreasonable. You don't have to like, understand, or even condone homosexuality. I don't understand gay men. (Hell, I don't even understand straight women. Thanks God someone is attracted to guys, but I sure don't get it.) I'm not even always comfortable around homosexuals, especially the flaming variety. (Of course, I like having my comfort levels tested and challenged from time to time. Viva la discomfort! ) In fact, I'm not even convinced that heterosexuality isn't an inherently better state than homosexuality.
But I don't have to understand, be comfortable with, or condone homosexuality to grasp the simple idea that in a Free Society it's NONE OF MY FUCKING BUSINESS. There is nothing in homosexual behavior that is violent or larcenous or in any way antisocial.
Until not just Californians but Americans can figure out that minding their own business isn't optional in a free society, our rights to the word free is under constant threat