Compounding Felonies Is Not the Answer

By now, we've all seen the posters, heard the arguments in favor of homosexual marriage by mocking the people who say that it serves to undermine the traditional family.  The usual practice is to cite the many bad examples of domestic unions – Hollywood's classic eight-hour marriages, abusive relationships, and so on (if I hear another reference to a Kardashian or Britney, I may be driven to violence, myself).

I want to ask, do these people, do you really think we should view any of those people as something we ought to emulate?  Do we all really want to pretend that, because Alec Baldwin or Tom Cruise or Cher or (G0d help us all) Roseanne does it, it's a swell plan?

But my real question regarding this tack is, do you believe that compounding stressors is actually a solution for the problem? Let me put this another way: the majority of Americans are now rated as overweight to obese.  Do you think we need to change the national health standards, to encourage massive weight gain? If so, I'm in – ice cream and all, until my cardiovascular system explodes. Or, try this: most people tend to drive above the posted speed limits.  Do we abandon all of those limits, even in school zones, simply because more people are stupid and reckless than are law-abiding?

The point behind defining marriage by its traditions is not to encourage the failures, but to strengthen those who would see it succeed. While it may seem trivial to change that definition to include formerly unaccepted arrangements, the burden must first fall to those who would be included, to demonstrate you are up to the more difficult challenge of keeping the union sacred.

If this sounds absurd, think of the many faiths in which, to join them as a convert, you must live a life adhering more perfectly to their laws than anybody else in that community. Or, if you wish to immigrate to a land not yours by birth, you study all the laws and abide by them, while the high school dropout next door shows zero understanding of the native history and character of his homeland.  Even being a new hire, or transferring offices, or moving to a new neighborhood, you pass tests every day, as one stepping in to another way of life.

You demand acceptance.  Are you willing to show enough patience and strength of character, to actually earn that acceptance? Or do you simply run roughshod over anybody who disagrees with you, tolerance and support be hanged?