I like political correctness. I think it has made us a gentler
people, a more inclusive, validating and acknowledging people among our neighbors.
Religion has done the same for me. So as my political correctness and religion have
collided over Proposition 22 – the protection of marriage initiative – I have
had to seriously reflect.
Basically, the politically correct say the measure is rooted in hate
and bigotry and that discrimination against those living a gay lifestyle is the aim. My
religion says this is not about civil rights but moral questions surrounding families and
children. To reinforce that, every statement my church has made defending marriage has
also reminded me I
am to be tolerant and compassionate and not use a defense of marriage to clobber any one.
Science, that enlightenment that was to free us from folly, also
weighs in on the issue. Study after study suggests a home lacking the fidelity of a mother
and father, not just sexually, but physically and mentally with their time, their efforts,
their resources, risks children in many ways. Haven’t our experiments thus far put
children at risk enough? Is it more likely for a girl to be molested by her father or her
step-father? Is a boy more likely to spend time in prison if he lived with his father and
his mother or just his mother? As unpleasant as this data is when put up against our
politically correct “anything can work” attitude, it remains.
Is it nice for someone to give you stones for your car when your
fuel tank is empty rather than gas? Is that the politically correct version of
“alternate fuels?” The effort is polite, but compassion? Your car still
won’t work.
Like pagans of old who sacrificed their children to the
superstitions they believed ran the world, we seem as willing to place our children on the
altar. It’s as if we can just say this can work because we want it this way, put the
stamp of a religious ceremony on it, and voila – happy children, happy families,
happy lives. How else to explain someone as nice as Rosie O’Donnell stating the loss
of her mother at a young age created an emotional hole she has yet to resolve, but then
assigns her own children to life without a father from the get go?
When politics asks us to vote on moral questions rather than the
usual fare of property and economics, our responsibility to form a moral opinion is
forced. We are asked to say yes or no, not maybe or sometimes. Although Senator Feinstein
is not referring to Prop. 22 in her current political ad, she gives good direction. She
says, “We’ve got to stop doing what’s politically correct and do what
works,” -- drawing a distinction between being polite and the compassion of what is
real. I’m not willing to take the responsibility of experimenting with
families. Too much is at stake. I’m voting yes on 22.