LUBBOCK, Texas “”mdash; With all the foreign policy straight out
of the neo-imperialist handbook, President Bush seems to have found
time somewhere between working out and ignoring cries for help to
try to keep homosexual marriages illegal.
Obviously for the Bush administration, religious
fundamentalists, and good ol’ hypocritical conservatives,
nothing scares them out of their minds more than the idea that the
“sacred union” of marriage will actually be given to
those whose sexual preference is different than theirs.
I thought our country might be moving in the right direction
after the Supreme Court struck down Texas’ anti-sodomy law a
few weeks ago. I thought people were finally coming to terms with
the fact that we are a “progressive” society. I thought
we might actually be entering the beginning stages of that Great
Awakening found throughout human history in legendary
civilizations.
I thought wrong.
Bush’s public statement desiring marriage to be solely for
heterosexuals included quotations such as:
“I believe marriage is between a man and a
woman.”
“That does not mean that someone like me has to compromise
on an issue such as marriage.”
And my personal favorite, “Yes, I am mindful that we are
all sinners.”
Does anyone else see a pattern forming?
A leader of the western world using such blatant allusions to
the Bible flies in the face of everything on which the United
States was founded. Pilgrims traveled across the ocean to get away
from the mixing of religion and government. Bush’s blatant
close-mindedness toward anything that can’t be looked up in
the world’s bestseller signals a regression of American
intellect and morality.
What is it that has so many people suddenly defending what is
now a simple, legal procedure that ends in divorce over half the
time?
Are they afraid once we start letting men marry men and women
marry women that the next generation may start to think that
homosexuality isn’t wrong?
Keep in mind this is the exact same country with prime-time
shows where this “sacred institution” is decided by
call-in voters with nothing better to do. This is also the same
country where people get paid $1 million to start a relationship
with someone they’ve only met during the series premier.
I guess things like love, trust and happiness don’t
qualify in Bush’s definition of who should be allowed to get
married. I don’t look down on Bush for being religious. That
is his right. I do, however, look down on him for letting his
religion dictate the lives of millions of Americans.
Despite the current trend, the United States of America was not
set up to be a Christian state. It was set up for the diversity of
mankind to flourish into a functional model of different people
living in one nation.
Throughout history, we have seen the effects of radical
religious leaders gaining control over their respective masses.
People have proven religion and politics make poor bedfellows. For
Bush to think his personal beliefs are what’s best for every
single individual is a dangerous and un-American thought, at
best.
Ring is from Texas Tech University.