Friday, November 05, 2004
Whose morality?
I made a rare mistake yesterday -- I attempted to engage a group of Liberals on the question of polite political discourse. I was not gloating, but I felt I had to say something after reading through comment after comment where Kerry supporters referred to Bush supporters as "hate mongers," "bigots," "stupid," etc. What amazed me is that the same posters were pointing the finger at Republicans for coarsening the public discourse and refusing to engage in a constructive dialogue. Of course, when I pointed out that I have never seen such hate and bile spewed against a political candidate and his supporters as I have from the Democrats during this election they ignored me and instead try to pin me down as a racist, homophobe who likes his women uneducated, barefoot and pregnant and who eats meat.
What interested me more that their blind hypocrisy, however, was their slavish devotion to the new Democrat morality, which, as far as I can tell, goes something like this: Republicans are hateful bigots who try to force their morals on the rest of the country. The "proof" breaks down into three major issues:
1. Republicans/Bush tried to prevent minorities from exercising their right to vote;
2. Republicans/Bush want to outlaw abortion (couched as always as "threatening a woman's right to her own body" as if the pro-life movement is all some plot to subjugate women); and
3. Republicans/Bush refuse to uphold the "right" of gays to marry.
The first issue is groundless beyond rumor and innuendo, and is therefore not really an argument as much as an insult. The second issue is so old that it can go to Planned Parenthood without parental permission. The third issue seems to be the big Bush-bashing stick, with most of the Left ignoring the fact that Kerry also opposed gay marriage.
Gay marriage is the issue de jour thanks to conservative initiative victories from sea to shining sea, but I still don't understand how it has become focal point for liberal rage. It is, though. The Left has its collective panties in a wad over the Republicans "efforts to deny homosexuals their right to marry," and is going to shout, "Stop hating!" until we do.
Of course, thinking individuals know that homosexuals have the same right to marry as heterosexuals -- none. Marriage is a state-regulated privilege, not a right, much like getting a driver's license. As such, continuing the status quo is not "forcing morality" on anyone. On the contrary, by changing thousands of years of human precedent and over 200 years of American legislative precedent, Liberals are the ones trying to force their morality on the rest of us -- a morality that claims that people have a right to every privilege based on their sexual preferences.
In responding to the above assertion, one commenter I engaged stated that legalizing gay marriage is not a moral issue because is not "forcing" anyone to do anything. This completely misses the point. By demanding legalizing gay marriage, Liberals are attempting to force all Americans, no matter what their beliefs, to accept homosexuality as an immutable characteristic on par with sex and race. It therefore has everything to do with the "new morality" of the Left and nothing to do with bigotry. The important distinction here is that bigotry concerns tolerance, not acceptance. I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of individuals who voted against redefining marriage to include same-sex couples also oppose violating the constitutional rights of any homosexual. Far from being "hate mongers," these individuals are willing to tolerate a different lifestyle -- but they should not be forced to accept it by those with a different moral belief structure.
In short, don't put your laws on me, man.
What interested me more that their blind hypocrisy, however, was their slavish devotion to the new Democrat morality, which, as far as I can tell, goes something like this: Republicans are hateful bigots who try to force their morals on the rest of the country. The "proof" breaks down into three major issues:
1. Republicans/Bush tried to prevent minorities from exercising their right to vote;
2. Republicans/Bush want to outlaw abortion (couched as always as "threatening a woman's right to her own body" as if the pro-life movement is all some plot to subjugate women); and
3. Republicans/Bush refuse to uphold the "right" of gays to marry.
The first issue is groundless beyond rumor and innuendo, and is therefore not really an argument as much as an insult. The second issue is so old that it can go to Planned Parenthood without parental permission. The third issue seems to be the big Bush-bashing stick, with most of the Left ignoring the fact that Kerry also opposed gay marriage.
Gay marriage is the issue de jour thanks to conservative initiative victories from sea to shining sea, but I still don't understand how it has become focal point for liberal rage. It is, though. The Left has its collective panties in a wad over the Republicans "efforts to deny homosexuals their right to marry," and is going to shout, "Stop hating!" until we do.
Of course, thinking individuals know that homosexuals have the same right to marry as heterosexuals -- none. Marriage is a state-regulated privilege, not a right, much like getting a driver's license. As such, continuing the status quo is not "forcing morality" on anyone. On the contrary, by changing thousands of years of human precedent and over 200 years of American legislative precedent, Liberals are the ones trying to force their morality on the rest of us -- a morality that claims that people have a right to every privilege based on their sexual preferences.
In responding to the above assertion, one commenter I engaged stated that legalizing gay marriage is not a moral issue because is not "forcing" anyone to do anything. This completely misses the point. By demanding legalizing gay marriage, Liberals are attempting to force all Americans, no matter what their beliefs, to accept homosexuality as an immutable characteristic on par with sex and race. It therefore has everything to do with the "new morality" of the Left and nothing to do with bigotry. The important distinction here is that bigotry concerns tolerance, not acceptance. I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of individuals who voted against redefining marriage to include same-sex couples also oppose violating the constitutional rights of any homosexual. Far from being "hate mongers," these individuals are willing to tolerate a different lifestyle -- but they should not be forced to accept it by those with a different moral belief structure.
In short, don't put your laws on me, man.
Centinel 9:11 AM #