This article was in the Star Tribune in Minneapolis today. I think it makes a good case in defense of gay marriages.
Imagine if evangelical Christians -- the loudest critics of granting civil marriage rights to gay Americans -- were the minority seeking such rights. Would it be OK to say about them what they say about gay Americans?
I categorically deny that I am anti-evangelical. I think evangelical Christians should be fully protected under the law and treated like everyone else. I think consenting evangelical adults should be able to do whatever they want behind closed doors. I think some evangelicals can be good parents, even if their families are less than ideal.
But they have gone too far. They demand the 'right' to have their relationships and families deemed equal to my relationship and my family. That is a slap in the face to every mainstream American. It threatens the very fabric of our society.
Evangelicals baptize themselves in rivers and call themselves 'born again,' a practice rejected by every mainstream church. They claim to have conversations with God. Some call the pope Satan. They see demons. They say billions of people who are not 'born again' will burn in hell. Many speak in tongues. How can people with such a strange lifestyle and such destructive beliefs expect the rest of us to honor their relationships and families? In America, as President Bush says, it is essential that we support and protect the ideal family. Is it ideal for children to be raised babbling gibberish and thinking that most people on earth are condemned to an eternity of pain and humiliation? I think not.
Evangelicals are a minority among mainstream Christians. Their lifestyle was unknown or condemned during most of the 2,000 years of Christian history. These people came to America because true believers in their homelands rejected them. Sure, we have tolerated them all these years, but now they ask too much.
Evangelicals claim that preventing them from marrying makes them second-class citizens. That is ridiculous. Evangelicals can marry. Every evangelical is welcome to become a mainstream Christian or Jew and marry another mainstream Christian or Jew. No one is forcing evangelicals to remain evangelical; it is their choice. They have the right to make that choice, but as a society we are not required to endorse their choice by allowing them to marry one another.
Evangelicals say they want to build marriage up, not tear it down. They say they will use marriage to strengthen their relationships, build community and raise children. We know better. The evangelical agenda is about one thing: destroying the traditional family.
Since the 1960s, evangelicals have gone from being a tiny sect confined to the South to being widely accepted across the county. They have their own television shows and are active in politics and the news media. As their strength and visibility have grown, divorce rates have skyrocketed, teen pregnancy has become epidemic, drug use has soared and mainstream Christianity has declined. Now evangelicals want to marry. The result will be further decline in mainstream society. Marriage will wither as mainstream folks conclude that marriage has been redefined so as to be almost meaningless. Will you want to marry if the 'born again' couple next door can?
If evangelicals can marry, what other groups will demand inclusion in civil marriage? Surely, activist judges will take evangelical marriage to its logical conclusion and legalize polygamy, child marriage and bestiality.
Evangelicals claim they have experienced discrimination and deserve 'civil rights.' How outrageous! Evangelicals have the ability to hide their identity and can join the majority any time they choose. African-Americans never had that option. Evangelicals should be ashamed of equating their antifamily agenda with the civil rights movement. Being able to 'love whom you choose' has nothing in common with civil rights.
Frankly, maintaining a stigma against evangelicals is good for society and for evangelicals themselves. It discourages children from being enticed into the evangelical lifestyle and it gives evangelicals an incentive to join the mainstream and live happier, healthier lives.
Some people say my opinions will be condemned as bigoted and hateful in 20 years. They say that evangelical marriage will be routine and that born-again people and their families will be fully accepted. They say my children and grandchildren will read these words and be ashamed of me. That's crazy. I'm a good, decent person. I feel nothing but love and compassion for evangelicals, not hate and bigotry. Why can't evangelicals just let things stay the way they are?
Hippies - they want to save the world, but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad.
Pabst Blue Ribbon is the greatest beer ever.