We need honesty about our differences where homosexuality is concerned
Last night on "The Good Wife," Elisha Florrick told her opponent in the Cook County State's Attorney race that "nobody thinks there's anything wrong with being gay."
Well, there's a sense in which she's right- a sense which the cultural Left is very careful to overlook. Only an idiot would regard being born with a homosexual orientation as a moral failing. What is controversial is not being homosexual. What is controversial is the morality of homosexual behavior. That's why all attempts to portray marriage redefinition or other attempts to mainstream homosexual behavior as civil rights issues are misguided. The issue is not discrimination against people who are of homosexual orientation, but rather the ethics and social impact of acting upon that orientation. Some may regard this as a subtle distinction, but it's really not.
We're talking about behavior, not an ontological condition like race or even a belief system like religion.
Now, the fact is that a large percentage of the American public do regard homosexual behavior as ethically wrong and socially undesirable. Any attempt to penalize such behavior would be inappropriate, an intrusion into matters that are none of anyone else's business, and a clear violation of the rights of people who choose to engage in it. But not so opposition to attempts to sanction or mainstream that behavior.
Confusing the distinction between orientation (a relatively recent concept, btw, and one not even known in biblical times or throughout nearly all of the history of the major American religions) and behavior is a favorite tactic of the cultural Left these days. And statements such as the one Elisha made to Frank Prady in last night's episode are either remarkably unperceptive of that crucial distinction, or- more likely- deliberate attempts to confuse it. Something close to half of the American people regard homosexual behavior as ethically wrong, and whether one agrees with that perception or not, it's less than honest to deliberately misrepresent the issue.
It seems that it's not enough that only one side is allowed to be heard in the debate over homosexuality these days. The cultural Left can't even manage to be honest about what the disagreement is.
Well, there's a sense in which she's right- a sense which the cultural Left is very careful to overlook. Only an idiot would regard being born with a homosexual orientation as a moral failing. What is controversial is not being homosexual. What is controversial is the morality of homosexual behavior. That's why all attempts to portray marriage redefinition or other attempts to mainstream homosexual behavior as civil rights issues are misguided. The issue is not discrimination against people who are of homosexual orientation, but rather the ethics and social impact of acting upon that orientation. Some may regard this as a subtle distinction, but it's really not.
We're talking about behavior, not an ontological condition like race or even a belief system like religion.
Now, the fact is that a large percentage of the American public do regard homosexual behavior as ethically wrong and socially undesirable. Any attempt to penalize such behavior would be inappropriate, an intrusion into matters that are none of anyone else's business, and a clear violation of the rights of people who choose to engage in it. But not so opposition to attempts to sanction or mainstream that behavior.
Confusing the distinction between orientation (a relatively recent concept, btw, and one not even known in biblical times or throughout nearly all of the history of the major American religions) and behavior is a favorite tactic of the cultural Left these days. And statements such as the one Elisha made to Frank Prady in last night's episode are either remarkably unperceptive of that crucial distinction, or- more likely- deliberate attempts to confuse it. Something close to half of the American people regard homosexual behavior as ethically wrong, and whether one agrees with that perception or not, it's less than honest to deliberately misrepresent the issue.
It seems that it's not enough that only one side is allowed to be heard in the debate over homosexuality these days. The cultural Left can't even manage to be honest about what the disagreement is.
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