Money quotes:
Senator Portman’s column in support of gay marriage seems to me to fall somewhat below the standard of seriousness that he himself has set on other issues of public policy.
Now a conservative who cites his “faith tradition” seems to me a fellow who has fallen victim to Stockholm Syndrome. Is it rude to wonder whether he takes the tenets of his faith to be true?
Portman has put family concerns ahead of a particular tenet of his religion, and then tried to reconcile his faith and his family concerns by appealing to the former at a very general level.
if nothing else I applaud his courage in coming out. This issue is receiving way too much attention for an issue that involves no more than 10 per cent of the popuation. Not only do I have a brother who is gay (and with the usual huge chip on his shoulder), a nephew (son of my sister) has come out. He is a pitcher (baseball, don't know, don't care, don't wanna know bout in the boidoir, the bathhouse or the bathroom stall), played on scholarship in college and has taken his 95 mph fastball to the minors (again, in baseball}. If you would believe them, they say that if there is a God, He made them that way, absolutely no choice involved. Science one day will prove this to be immutably true as it has already proven the abortion as murder of an unborn child. But having loved ones come out does quite understandably strongly influence one's views. Bravissimo for coming out for true personal freedom in America, Sen. Portman! Repeal legal murder of the unborn human child! Allow same sex marriage!
ReplyDeleteHow would you prioritize these fealties, listed here alphabetically?
ReplyDeleteCountry
Employer
Environment
Family
God
Others
Pets
Self
Very interesting exercise. Let me take a stab.
ReplyDeleteGod
Family
Others
Pets (actually, I consider this a sub-category of "family")
Country (a little tough, since the USA is a unique type of country and much of what else I value hinges on its continued existence)
Self (putting this one so far down the list could leave me open to charges of hypocrisy, since I, like any human being, am largely driven by self-preservation. Still, I'd like to think that my ongoing maturation process involves an evolving sense of self that makes this placement appropriate.)
Employer (Being mostly self-employed, I don't know that my answer is typical in any way. Of my two relationships with check-cutters that are of an employment nature, there is one - Indiana University - that I do value for the opportunity it affords me to influence young minds.)
I just can't even put "environment" on the list. If I did, it would bbe way down below about tewnty other things I could add.
Good answer. Many of us are taught to put God first. I have often wondered was up wi dat, da least ostensibely accessible? What up wi dis seek ye first stuff? This kingdom of heaven, pie in da sky stuff? And then all my paltry brain come up wi de solution, provisional perhaps, that what's in front of us is Him (or Her or It?) And it all just reflects God back to us (and us to All) bit den I just takes my medicine that's good to salve what ails me and scratch my head and keeps on keepin on
ReplyDeleteJoy to the fishies in the deep blue sea
ReplyDeleteJoy to you and me