On Sunday at church during the sermon, the preacher asked if those in the congregation who were married had felt the foundations of their marriage crumble at about 2:00 the previous afternoon. That was the time this minister had performed the wedding of a same-sex couple, members of the parish who had, among other things, served on vestry, taught Sunday school, mentored confirmands and had their children baptized in the parish.
I have to admit I find the argument against same-sex marriage very strange. Illogical would be the word. The argument that the marriage of same sex couples would undermine marriages between men and women...what is the support for that argument? People keep using it, but I don't understand where they get it from.
I understand that people who are voting for Prop 8 are largely doing so emotionally--viscerally, even. And I think that's how most of us vote for or against propositions that appear before us. But I wish there were a way to get at the underlying fear (what I suspect is fear) in that argument. What really is threatening people's marriages? I don't think it's gay couples.
What upsets me most about our political culture today is that we have lost (and I do think we once had it) our ability to listen to one another, to ask questions rather than try to convince. Perhaps this proposition is a good opportunity for real dialog. I hope so anyway.
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