Continuing my recent pattern of Colin-instigated blogging, I now respond to this post on same-sex marriage. Colin argues well that the issue is rather difficult for many of us to understand. From our perspective, sexual orientation falls under the same umbrella as race or religion. To deny a loving couple the ability to marry, instead offering a civil union, is as criminally absurd as “separate but equal” during the civil rights movement. Colin asked whether I thought his argument was effective enough so that “anyone reading who is an opponent of same-sex marriage [would] change their opinion.”
The content of his argument aside, since I’ve already praised it, I don’t think any such argument exists. That is, I don’t think any rational position, no matter how well-defended, will be able to convince some people. I was watching a terrifying show on PBS that focused on the battle between the religious right and, well, reason. I watched as members of the Texas school board, whose textbook choices tend to influence the purchases of the rest of the nation, argued that health textbooks should teach only abstinence. Parents stood before the board and recited facts about the effectiveness of such a program, only to be met with obfuscation and dismissal. Below I paraphrase one part of the discussion:
Board Member: Kids are taught about condoms, but they still have sex. They still get pregnant and get diseases. Condoms fail. We must teach abstinence.Parent: We also teach fire safety, but fires still happen. We need to teach kids how to deal with their sexual fires. Condoms fail a very small percentage of the time, but 88% of abstinence vows are broken within a year. That’s why Texas has such high rates of teen pregnancy.
Board Member: May I remind everyone that this is the same group of people who argued against saying the Pledge of Allegiance?
[audience boos, though at whom is unclear]
In the end, the textbooks shipped without mention of condom use. Without reference to homosexuality. Without line drawings explaining how to give oneself a breast exam. In another segment, I watched a conservative woman explaining why she felt homosexuality and multiculturalism should not be taught in school: “Our kids are being taught that all cultures are equal. That they all have value. That is a flat-out lie.” Another man believed that public schools are “indoctrinating” children into homosexuality.
People like that are not interested in having a discussion. They don’t want to hear a rational argument, even if it withstands close scrutiny. Their views are based on something other than facts; instead, it comes from what they call “faith”. By my definition, faith is something you have when you don’t have facts or evidence. I choose to believe in God because I have no evidence one way or the other, and it makes me happier to pretend there’s some uber-powerful dude keeping me company. But when people attribute to faith something that amounts to ignorance, they do themselves and their communities a disservice. To many others, they do great harm.
If I was forced to distill my opinions on correct human behavior to a single phrase, a litmus test for good or evil, it would probably be a respectful nod to the Hippocratic Oath: first, do no harm. Homosexuals are called fags and denied the joy of marriage. Valuable knowledge about safe sexual practices are hidden from children, permitting the spread of deadly diseases. Scientific theories of the Big Bang and evolution are suppressed, while baseless theories like Creationism are pushed on an increasingly ignorant younger generation. Women are denied control of their own bodies, with disregard for their safety. Children are taught that Jews, like me, are going to hell. From what I see in the world, and on the news, this so-called “faith” of the religious right is an evil of the grandest sort.
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October 19th, 2004 at 2:31 pm
You need to update your blog.
Do what I say, bitch.