We have always had those noble souls who earnestly concern themselves with the affairs of others.
The victory of President-elect Barack Obama just about assures that judges will institute same-sex marriage in this nation. It is just a matter of time. This will occur in spite of the fact the majority opposes same-sex marriage. Why? How come the opinion of the majority does not count?
The Argument For Same-Sex Marriage
Let’s consider the argument for same-sex marriage.
- Marriage is defined as a sexual relationship between two adults who love each other.
- Marriage is a civil right.
- Denying same-sex couples the “right” to marry denies them their civil rights and the benefits of marriage.
With these arguments we also get a lot of sob stories and the complaint that same-sex couples should be able to have families just like heterosexual couples.
Even though these arguments are foolish, to some they make sense. Some people think government is about giving us what we want. Because a bunch of politicians have discriminated in favor of people who are married and raising children, we are suppose to fix that wrong with another wrong. We are suppose to redefine marriage and families.
Marriage currently exists both as a religious ceremony and as the government’s recognition of the union of a man and woman. The vast majority (I hope.) still concedes that what churches do about marriage is their own business. What the government does about marriage should involve protecting the rights of children, the only parties to a heterosexual union who need such special protection. That makes the government’s motivation for marriage about responsibility, not rights. Since same-sex partners cannot have children, there is no requirement for government to recognize or endorse such sexual relationships.
Of course, the subject of children leads to adoption and artificial insemination. However, what bringing up adoption and artificial insemination actually demonstrates is how far same-sex “marriage” advocates have to go to “prove” their argument. It underlines the simple fact the interests of a child are best served when that child has both a father and a mother. It underlines the fact that same-sex “marriage” does not protect anybody’s rights. Instead, what it shows it that our nation needs families with responsible fathers and mothers. Unfortunately, responsibility gets much less airplay than rights.
Most realize sexual confusion is not a right. Most understand that sexual confusion is simply a condition which makes marriage improbable. Nonetheless, the arguments for same-sex “marriage” are slowly working. Even though redefining marriage makes about as much sense as the way some people have redefined the word “gay,” the arguments for same-sex “marriage” are slowly carrying the day. Even though two wrongs do not make a right and most people understand sexual confusion is not a right, enough people have accepted the arguments for same-sex “marriage.” Enough people voted for Obama and a majority Democratic Party Congress. So homosexual rights activists will get their judges.
The Problem Of Busybodies
How did we get into this mess? Too few people understand the concept of civil rights. A wise and productive person generally wants the right to be left in peace. Such a person wants to go about his business without unnecessary interference. It is enough work to get anything useful done without a bunch of busybodies (see Busybodyism) trying to tell you what to do. Unfortunately, we have become a nation of busybodies.
The United States? A nation of busybodies. Sounds like a joke, right? Look what has happened in the last year. We reached a new threshold. We started spending hundreds of billions to bail out failing banks and business enterprises. We have millions of people making their failures the responsibility and business of others. How did that happen? We are being lead by political opportunists.
Because busybodies delight in self-righteously meddling in the affairs of others, political opportunists need busybodies. Busybodies empower political opportunists. In return for political donations, political opportunists provide elaborate explanations of how this or that is unfair and not right. A political opportunist will happily concoct a grand scheme that “fixes” some perceived unfairness.
With the support of busybodies, political opportunists promote empowered politicians, more laws, more bureaucrats, more law suits, more red tape, more wasted money, more poverty, and more problems. More problems lead, of course, to more political donations and more grand schemes. If you are a political opportunist, you cannot succeed without busybodies. Anybody except a busybody will be more concerned about the conduct of their own affairs.
Supposedly, we do not have government just to make busybodies and political opportunists happy. We have government and laws to protect our rights. Unfortunately, most of us now vote for what we can get out our government, and we have made government a booming growth industry. Our own greed and nosiness condemn us. Our own greed and nosiness permits scalawags and carpetbaggers to buy our votes with whatever grand schemes they can dream up. In time, our own greed and nosiness will make us all poor and the slaves of scalawags and carpetbaggers.
So What Do We Do?
As should be apparent by now, this post is not just about same-sex “marriage.” Some make a great deal about the evils of same-sex “marriage.” How evil same-sex “marriage” is I do not know. I know same-sex “marriage” is not marriage, but I doubt that by itself same-sex “marriage” will be the downfall of our society. What I fear is our inability to restrain even such obvious silliness.
Most of us never give much thought to the ethics of government. Instead we become enthralled by less important matters such as what the sexually confused are doing in their bedrooms. We do complain about corrupt politicians, yet few of us notices that it is our ethics that our leaders practice. It is our demands that our leaders carry out.
Instead of complaining, we need to ask a fundamental question. Where does government get the power to tax? Where does the majority get the right to demand that those who do not wish to pay taxes pay taxes? How do we morally justify throwing someone in jail for refusing to pay taxes? Imagine the citizen who complains: “I do not want to pay taxes so you can “invest” in X, Y, or Z.” Do you have the right to throw that citizen in jail just because he is uninterested in financing a mass transit system he will never use?
Can you even claim the “right” of the majority? Because we all want some goody from government, political opportunists do not need majority support; they just need majority indifference. Look again at the bailouts. Even when the majority disapproves, we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars. When so much of this money goes to fund pork and to line the pockets of the corrupt, how can the political opportunists who lead us be so confident of their power?
How? They understand our greed. When government becomes about giving us things — Christmas presents from Uncle Sam — instead of protecting each citizen’s right to be left in peace, they know we have lost control. The political opportunist knows that in return for getting our goodies we will ignore every other porky purchase he makes with our money. So that the old can collect Social Security and Medicare, homeowners can write off their mortgage interest, and parents can get an exemption for each child, a developer will get an Interstate highway interchange, a corporation will get a special tax break, a snooty society matron will get her opera on PBS and NPR, rich homosexual rights activists will get their judges, and so forth.
Before we can reform our government, we each must reform ourselves. In some Christian traditions, there are four cardinal virtues (see here):
- Prudence – able to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time
- Justice – proper moderation between the self-interest and the rights and needs of others
- Restraint or Temperance – practicing self-control, abstention, and moderation
- Courage or Fortitude – forbearance, endurance, and ability to confront fear and uncertainty, or intimidation
When we demand favors from our government, goodies and special rights, we steal from our neighbors and we burden our children with debt. When we engage in such behavior, we violate every cardinal virtue and risk destroying both ourselves and our nation. If we care for our children, we must stop.
We have also always had those people who sincerely believe their problem is your problem.
We have always had those who want ….
