Legalizing Gay marriage supports divorce attorneys

Two things in today’s entry:

One. I have been reading that a good blog should have a central idea or theme that the posts consistently relate to. I confess that’s going to be a tall order for my brain. There is a lot I want to say about a lot of different things. So for the time being, I’m just going to plug away, and see if any particular pattern emerges. In the meantime, bear with me, and enjoy the ride.

Two. The Gay Pride Parade was held this weekend in Los Angeles. So today, I will focus on the hubbub surrounding the issue of gay marriage.

I believe that anybody who wants to get married should be able to. Besides, with fewer straight men and women getting married these days, divorce attorneys need the work.

Seriously, I support Gay marriage. What I find objectionable is all the political drama surrounding it. For Gays and Lesbians, this issue is deeply personal. If we accept discrimination is bad, then Gays & Lesbians should enjoy the same rights as the rest of us. Unfortunately, the emotionality of the issue makes for good news. Like moths drawn to a candle flame, anything that makes for good news seems to draw the attention of those who need…well, some attention.

I don’t think the issue of Gay marriage would be an issue if it were not for two underlying factors: One. It presents the opportunity for certain reactionary groups (read organized religions) who have been steadily losing power in American society, to grandstand and thereby regain some of the spotlight.

When somebody has power, they want to keep it. They want to protect it. They will not give it up without a struggle. It goes against human nature to give up power willingly, and, as the old adage states, desperate men do desperate things.

The same is true of organizations. Organized religions – and the conservative politicians they support - do not have the same clout in the determination of what American culture looks like as they used to. They are not going to go down without a fight.

Suffice it to say with a pro-choice President back in the White House, and a Democratic majority in Congress, the winds of change are a blowin’ - as they always are – but for the short term, in a direction that is clearly unfavorable to the interests of the religious lot. Their base of power is threatened.

More evidence of the political nature of this dispute can be found in Jesus’ own teachings. Those teachings appear to stand in stark contradiction to the position of the religions that claim to represent Him. As an ex-Irish Catholic (I’m still Irish), I have some experience here. If I remember correctly, Jesus taught about acceptance. He asked his flock not to judge thy neighbor, but to tolerate them, and to peacefully co-exist with them. Leave the judging to His Father, Jesus bade us. God would sort the bad ones out at a later time and place.

If Gays and Lesbians are bad, then let the good Lord turn them into pillars of salt on the appointed day. Meanwhile, let our elected officials concentrate on the serious issues they were hired to address. Aha! That leads to factor number two. As Deep Throat said, “follow the money.”

Two. Married folk get a nice tax break. I bet there is a study conducted by some political group somewhere that calculates the tax revenues that will be lost to Federal and State governments if the marriage deduction is extended to Gays and Lesbians. And in these days of economic woe, and diminishing tax revenues, our governments need all the money they can get.

I’m sure the politicians’ thinking goes along stereotypical lines (and now I’m talkin’ about politicians on both sides of the aisle): “Gays and Lesbians have higher educations, double incomes, and no kids. Therefore, Gays and Lesbians have more earnings potential and higher savings rates than heterosexuals. As long as the religious guys can keep this issue whipped up, let’s not give the homos the tax break. We get the money, and the heat falls on the churches. It’s perfect for us! “

So sadly, until the good American people see through the political fog, and recognize the real issues at hand, Gays and Lesbians will be denied the same rights as the rest of us.

Oh yeah, one last thing for the record. I know that not all Gays and Lesbians have higher educations, and that not all Gays and Lesbian couples have double incomes, and that there are Gay and Lesbian couples raising children. And based on the Gays and Lesbians I know, I’m willing to bet that on a statistical level, there are fewer incidents of emotional and physical child abuse in households with Gay or Lesbian parents as there are in homes with heterosexual parents. Any sociology or social work grad students want a research project? There ya go.

I will address the real problems that face the institution of marriage in America today in my next posting. Until then…

Warm regards,

Preston