Friday, May 04, 2012

War Is Peace. Slavery Is Oppression. Ignorance Is Strength.

Once again, it seems that the word "Family" in an organization's name can be more accurately replaced with "patriarchy". The Illinois Family Institute didn't like President Obama's National Day of Prayer proclamation. No, they didn't:

President Obama’s proclamation has raised the eyebrows of some because he is thankful that we live in a country that “respects the beliefs and protects the religious freedom of all people.” Critics have noted that this point seems to fly in the face of the President’s failure to defend the Defense of Marriage Act which would have huge ramifications for religious freedom should marriage be undefined to allow for homosexual couples. (The repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is already causing problems for military chaplains.) The President’s prayer proclamation also contradicts his actions associated with his health care plan that could force people to pay for abortions and contraceptives against the teachings of their faith

Got that? Failing to uphold a law that tells gays they can't marry the person they want is at odds with religious freedom. Not forcing gay soldiers to live a lie is at odds with religious freedom. Telling religious employers that they have to play by the same rules as everybody else is at odds with religious freedom.
I once had a discussion with my friend JB about the Civil War, and mentioned the argument that the war was fought not over slavery, but over states' rights. She snorted and said, "Yeah. The right to own slaves." Your right to religious freedom ends when it affects people outside of your sect. Your right to worship as you see fit does not include the right to be kowtowed to, the right to make other people live by your rules, or even the right not to be offended. Put on your big-boy pants and deal with it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great post! I wonder what "problems" military chaplains are experiencing because of the repeal of DADT -- the mere knowledge that some of the troops they "serve" are gay? The inability to get a person dismissed from military service on the basis that they're gay is not a problem. Jennifer

arensb said...

As far as I can tell, yes, the problem is that chaplains have to know that there are (whisper) homosexuals around them, and aren't even allowed to tell them that they deserve to be set on fire forever.

Don Wharton said...

I love this post. There are far too many right wing fundies that think they have a religious right to dominate the rest of society.