Gay Marriage, Interracial Marriage, and Conservative Values
It never ceases to amaze me how many on the conservative side of the political, and especially cultural, spectrum gleefully embrace the thing that their intellectual forefathers fought against. Meanwhile they use the very same language and reasoning to fight against new sociopolitical developments that are, essentially, logical extensions of the very thing they claim to embrace. A good example of this is women’s rights: they were against it in the middle of the 20th century, until they were for it insofar as it distinguishes the west from radical Islamists.
Another case in point is interracial marriage and gay marriage. There are differences between the two phenomena, to be sure, but at the bottom lies a very simple dynamic: the right for people to receive the same legal benefits as anyone else in the same type of relationship, regardless of their personal characteristics. Whether those characteristics are skin color or sexual orientation, it makes no difference, and has no relevant impact, as far as the nature of the relationship is concerned. The fact that conservatism intellectually and culturally cannot grasp this concept points to the fact that their objections to both have been based primarily on traditionalism, emotionalism, simple-minded religiosity and discomfort with change. In other words, no solid intellectual analysis.
In an article on interracial marriage and the effect on children, the following account of an early legal battle is given.
During the course of the proceeding the trial judge asserted that: “Almighty God created the races of White, Black, Yellow, Malay, and Red, and He placed them on separate continents.” “And but for the interference with His arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages.” “The fact that He separated the races shows that He did not intend for the races to mix.”
Looks like the more things change, the more they stay the same.
MORE ARTICLES:
[...] rights. New York has become the largest, most influential and most important state to recognize gay marriage. Although New York is unequivocally a liberal state, it does contain a significant conservative [...]
GAY AND PROUD! LETS STICK TOGETHER!!