April 03, 2004
From the desk of Mindles H. Dreck:This just in - I disagree with Puritans
From an interesting article at Common-Place about Puritans and Marriage.
The outcry against gay marriage rests on the assumption that marriage is a "natural" institution rooted in timeless religious and cultural practices. But President Bush and his supporters have got their history wrong, at least with respect to religion, government, and marriage in Massachusetts. The Puritan colonists who founded Massachusetts might not have welcomed same-sex households, but they were not afraid to use the power of government to redefine marriage. And they surely would have agreed with today's gay-marriage advocates that the state and its concern for fairness, not the church and its concern for sanctity, should govern the social rules for joining two people in perpetual union.
Well, score one more Puritan/Dreck disagreement, I think marriage isn't the state's business at all.
Also check out the article about Early American Erotica:
It is certainly understandable that Winterthur would want to avoid potentially offending a visitor, but such precautions pose a conundrum for the serious researcher: if one does not know about the existence of pornographic artifacts, how does one find them?Here's what the fuss is about. Keep the women under armed guard. (and don't miss the "wheel of Dildos" - what would Vanna think of that?)
Posted by Mindles H. Dreck at April 3, 2004 12:01 PM
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Technorati inbound links"The outcry against gay marriage rests on the assumption that marriage is a "natural" institution rooted in timeless religious and cultural practices."
Always love political arguments that state my opinions for me, without my consultation, and then proceed to hammer that assumed opinion.
I've listened carefully to Prez Bush's pronunciations on gay marriage, and the consistent theme I've heard is this: "Let the people decide. This is too important an issue to decide by judicial fiat."
I don't really have an opinion on gay marriage. But I agree with Mr. Bush that this issue should be decided, if it is to be decided, by the people and/or their elected representatives. You'd be surprised by how many people are in my camp.
The left insists that any issue defined as a "human rights" issue is beyond the purview of the electorate. Clearly, the left resorts to this argument when it knows it has lost. If we are to change thousands of years of legal, religious and social tradition, then we must consult the people. The left's most important task, if it is to regain political clout and respectability, is to cease calling Americans "bigots" and to regain respect to democracy and majority rule.
Posted by: Stephen on April 5, 2004 04:00 PMComments are Closed.