Sanctity
President Bush decided recently that he would support a Constitutional ban on gay marriage. It would seem then that Karl Rove is positioning the topic of homosexual rights to the front of the agenda, where Republicans have popular support on their stance. This is tragic in both how it reflects on our society and our Constitution grounding.
Homosexuals have become the scapegoat for all that is wrong in American society. Societies outrage at young sexual exploration, teen pregnancy, high divorce rates, and the homogenization of sociopathic and destructive tendencies in our youth are channeled at the loudest group urging for a loosening of societal norms. Somehow, it is felt, that if only gays were banned from making legally binding lifelong commitments to their significant others, then straight couples would learn to work together in the best interest of their family in their own marriages! Besides, Britney Spears getting married during a Vegas weekend made a better case for allowing gay marriage than any pride parade ever could have.
Though loosening popular norms might be part of the equation for the general decay in the social fabric of our nation, there is more. Perhaps it is the rigged individualism preached in our society as the pillar of all that is American. Think about it, our entire economic system is based on the premise that if everyone just acts autonomously in their own self-interest all of the time somehow society is elevated. Thinking this at least eight hours a day must lead to some bleeding through into our social interactions.
The other problem is the sanctity of our Constitution. The Constitution, with one bad example of prohibition, has always been a granter of the people’s rights rather than a denier. Denying rights based on sexual identity has not place in the same document that enshrines my freedoms of speech and peaceful assembly.
It worries me that perhaps we do not take our Constitution as seriously as we used to. We are continuing to see the erosion of the right to bear arms and simple civil liberties like habeas corpus and right to trial have been revoked for US citizens with the wrong friends. Constitutional amendments banning rights to US citizens have no place in this years campaign guide.
Tags: Treyopia Spinnaker Gay Marriage Constitution Bush Amendment
