California Appears Likely To Ban Gay Marriage
It's sad to me that married couples in California were forced to go door to door to ask their neighbors to allow them to remain married, and it's even sadder that their neighbors' resounding answer seems to have been 'Not on your life'.
I fail to see how two willing individuals entering into a marital contract has any negative impact on the economy, foreign relations, or democracy as a whole.
In fact, I would be willing to argue that allowing homosexuals to marry would actually have a positive impact on our society: It is good when families are formed, and families have a vested interest in the success of the society to which they belong. It would also be good for democracy, and would add credence to that often bandied about idea regarding 'Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'
Religious fundamentalism is the bottom line here. It shackles us, and makes us fearful and hateful of those who believe differently than we do. It encourages an arrogance that parades as humility while simultaneously looking for the blackness in the souls of those around us.
Until we stop making our decisions based upon the teachings of thousands-of-years-old fairy tales, there will always patches of darkness obscuring our potential.
Andrew Sullivan offers consolation for those hurt by this undemocratic vote.
PS, I don't believe that religious belief itself is bad. Most things in life require a little leap of faith. I'm talking about a doggedly literal and legalistic approach to reading the text for the most part, and I don't believe that that is necessarily all bad, insofar as it doesn't limit the growth of children, their psychological and spiritual well-being, and their liberties and the liberties of others.
ReplyDelete