Republicans: Gays Threaten Marriage! All Others Can Marry Multiple Times, Cheat & Then Divorce!

THIS DESERVES ATTENTION: Most media missed this one, but, hey, that's why you read blogs! Cardinal Theodore McCarrick (Washington DC) said that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and that altering that definition would denigrate society... OK, so what? Well, he had the guts to say that it's the business of the secular state to allow same-sex civil unions! Wow! McCarrick said although it's not his ideal, the government needs to protect the rights of same-sex couples to care for each other or visit each other in a hospital. He said allowing civil unions would protect those rights! [here's the link]

When homosexual persons allowed to marry, all the other traditional marriages will fall apart at an alarming rate! No? If we let the “gays” marry each other then the traditional marriages will be worthless; so, some 50% of those marriages will fall apart and, god knows, how many will be held together not by love but by mere necessity. Marriage—the foundation of society, according to the President—isn’t doing well in these United States of America! Fortunately, this Republican Congress and Mr. Bush are coming to the rescue by proposing a Constitutional Amendment whereas homosexual persons will be allowed to marry someone of the opposite sex only! Nice!
Senator Rick Santorum [R-PA] delivered a passionate speech on the Senate's floor about moral values, riled against sodomy and all the other ..Biblical sins. I’m sure the theocrats were very pleased with Mr. Man-on-dog Santorum. He has often reminded us that if we allow two men to marry, then what would stop a man from marrying his ..dog?!! What would indeed?! I wonder, if those who want to merge our secular laws with religion—and let’s not hide behind the middle finger, they’re talking about Biblical law—are ready to tell us whether they have masturbated, had sex outside their marriage, and, if unmarried, they’ve remained celibate. I would like to see the so-called defenders of marriage resigning their posh seat in the Congress. I presume that all them sinners have already repented so they may not be stoned to death! [though I'm no expert on Biblical punishment]

A hedonist would say, “if it feels good do it!” I guess the theocrats and the political manipulators have something in common with the hedonists, because it may feel good to them to propose constitutional amendments that have nothing to do with reality and fixing a problem. Is marriage really being threatened by the homosexual community that wants same human & civil rights? Or, is marriage threatened by other forces, some of which are of our own creation? The political decisions we’ve made and the social order we’ve established carry many threats to marriage.

People are good and bad, make sound or imprudent decisions, and their character does affect the relationships they establish. But, what we, as a society, do to enhance people’s lives and help the married ones stay together in a healthy and stable family unit? The economic stress is one of the top reasons for divorce. Do we provide health care so the parents can be healthy to raise their children? Do we provide health care to the children so they’ll grow up to be parents themselves one day? How about day care? What kind of a social safety net do we have in our country? I think the answers to these questions reveal a lot about the root of the problem.

There are just too many wingnuts in our country that believe whatever feels good to them regardless of the proximity to reality. Many others fall into what the philosopher Immanuel Kant described as perpetual immaturity because they don’t like to think for themselves and let others tell them what to do. If it weren’t so, the likes of Pat Robertson, Falwell, Coulter, Hannity, Limbaugh, O’Reilly, David Duke, would be in the margins of society, but they are not because they have millions of people behind them.

At any rate, recent polls reveal that, although 58% of Americans are against same-sex marriage (and civil unions), 51% are against a constitutional amendment and prefer to leave the marriage laws to the states. Yet, some 42% think that their marriage will be worthless if homosexual legal unions take place! However, there is a glimmer of sunshine in all of this as the majority of Americans under 30 years old would support a same-sex legal union!

Keep an Eye on those Queer Republicans
I believe that 50 years from now we’ll look back at this issue and as a nation will have the same reaction we have today regarding the racial divisions and the racial segregation of the past, ie. Florida’s state constitution (sadly one of many) that explicitly forbade the marriage between a white person and a negro (4th generation inclusive).

Obviously the issue of same-sex unions isn't a top priority in the agenda of Americans [only 3% see it as a very important issue], but the Republican demagogues feel that their only chance of surving in power is to play the cards of fear, race and thus motivate their very conservative base to come out and vote. This is a wedge issue! The Republican party has controlled all branches of government for the last 6 years and basically it has screwed up royally. They have no excuse for their failures and nothing good to show for. Fear and confusion are their only hopes. Much of the rest of the country is more concerned about the war, energy costs, health care, federal deficit, terrorism, and education.

People can believe whatever they like, but religious dogma & religious laws should stay out of the secular state. A rational society with concerned and thoughtful people should debate the issues on their merits. A “divinely-inspired law” cannot be part of the public discourse. I mean, Zeus has given me a few a priori laws [and we all know that Zeus is the god of gods] but I prefer to follow those "laws" in my own domain, valuing my own relationships not by what others are doing but by how decent of a person I am!

Editor's Note & Addendum:

UPDATE: The Republicans managed to get only 49 votes in the Senate, but their leadership insists on bringing the failed amendment to the House for a vote! They know they've failed but apparently they think this issue has mileage with their conservative base. They're counting heads...

Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter said of gay marriage: "I don't believe there's any issue that's more important than this one." In other words, this catastrophy [<-please click on the link] pales in comparison. Yep, isn't rather obvious that most Republicans don't care to aleviate the human condition and truly enhance life--when it matters!