When you celebrate and embrace something that is abnormal and unhealthy, you turn reason and common sense on its head.
I believe in allowing all free people, including homosexuals, to live and let live. That is the definition of tolerance. I have a close family member who is homosexual. I have affection for him and his partner. But I am opposed as elevating the status of a homosexual couple to the level of the intact family. The intact family is special. The intact family is the foundation that our society is built upon.
Today's popular culture considers diversity a virtue, in and of itself. I disagree. Due to the celebration of diversity, many negative behaviors have been wrongly, embraced, celebrated, and encouraged. As a result, the out-of-wedlock birth rate has increased to 40%. The single mom is celebrated as a selfless hero. The blended family (like the Brady Bunch) is embraced. Mixed religion marriages are embraced by both sides of many families. Homosexual couples are wrongly considered equal to intact nuclear families.
In order to help individuals feel better about themselves, our society as a whole is suffering.
In my opinion, high levels of crime, poverty and ignorance are the direct result of the breakdown of the family unit. We can not tolerate this high percentage of flawed homes for our children. Children need to grow in an environment where the innate characteristics of a man and a woman, complement each others strengths and restrain each others weaknesses under the guidance of a higher power.
It has been statistically proven that children who grow up in intact families, are more likely to become an asset to society rather than a detriment and drain. Our society and nation have been built on the foundation of predominantly nuclear families, close family relations and universal spiritual principles. I believe that our society will crumble without the foundation of a strong family unit that embraces the universal spiritual principles that this nation was founded upon. I believe that it is paramount to celebrate, embrace and encourage the intact nuclear family and to be humbled and guided by a higher power. I see this foundation becoming diluted and I see today's popular culture becoming confused, distracted, corrupted, misguided and weakened.
As a result,today's popular culture has lost the ability to distinguish between, good and bad, right and wrong, normal and abnormal, healthy and unhealthy, constructive and destructive, considerate and inconsiderate, brave and cowardly, modest and lewd, vulgar and polite, acceptable and unacceptable, respectful and contemptuous, virtuous and shameful, tolerant and intolerant, intelligent and ignorant, etc. As a result, commonsense and reason have been turned on their heads.
Without guidance from commonsense, reason and a higher-power (universal spiritual principles), emotions will prevail. Thus, any type of behavior becomes justifiable. The inevitable result will be less freedom, less prosperity and less safety for all.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
garyganu, From your
May 3, 2009 - 14:01 ET by hydrodynDMgaryganu,
From your post:
If you are going to argue against gay marriage, it might not be such a swell idea to start your argument off from a position so far to the right that you alienate most of your audience.
I'm surprised you didn't also include "mixed race marriages" in that list.
Lets have some lists of arguments against gay marriage
May 23, 2009 - 04:52 ET by Daniel BakerOpposite Sex unions should be allowed special rights
* Homosexuality is a choice.
* Homosexuality is just a behaviour! Behaviours don't have associated rights.
* Marriage exists to support sexual reproduction. Gays can't reproduce!
* Homosexuality is unnatural! If everyone was gay, mankind would die out! Evolution would have eliminated homosexuality!
* Homosexual parents would hurt their children and make them gay!
* Homosexual marriage deprives children of a mother and father.
* The bible says...
* You want to redefine the fundamental unit of our society!
* You threaten the sanctity of marriage!
* Gay marriage would weaken a fragile institution.
* Opposition to gay marriage is about preserving our moral fiber, not about discrimination
* Homosexuals already have the right to marry; they can marry someone of the opposite sex right now!
* Homosexuality spreads diseases! Homosexuals are promiscuous!
* Because I have freedom of religion, I shouldn't be forced to accept homosexual marriages!
* Marriage is a covenant with God, and God says marriage is between a man and a woman.
* Churches will be forced to marry homosexuals!
* If two men can marry, then why not a man and a pig? Why not a man and his sister or brother? Why not marry groups too? Where does it end?
* It will be expensive if homosexuals can get married. They'll start getting on their partners' insurance! Insurance will become more expensive!
* Gay marriage would be government endorsement of a dangerous lifestyle.
* The majority of people don't want gay marriage, so allowing it would be undemocratic!
* Gays have civil unions.
* Let gays have civil unions.
* Gays want "special rights!"
* Gays don't want rights; they want acceptance
* Gays can already get the rights they want with contracts, filing for power of attorney, etc!
* If gays get married, society will collapse. Plague, locusts, famine! Destruction! Doom! Sky is falling!
* Marriage is a privilege, not a right.
* If gays can get married, gay marriage and homosexuality will be taught to children in schools!
* Churches will lose their tax exemptions without a ban on gay marriage
* Individuals will be sued unless gay marriage is banned
-------------------------------------------
Liberal judges are the high priests of redefined marriage. Good men want freedom, Evil men want license
hydrodynDM
May 23, 2009 - 07:39 ET by garyganuI', sorry that you feel alienated. However, often the truth is not popular. Currently, 40% of children are born out of wedlock as our society is going to "hell in a hand-basket".
IMHO, the current breakdown of our society in the area of crime, drugs, violence, huge prison population, illiteracy, corruption, spiritual depravity, disrespect, vulgarity and inconsideration is all due to the breakdown of the intact family.
If you have helped foster this situation by producing b*astard children or by participating in the break up your own marriage, you should feel ashamed of yourself, because you are part of the problem.
I am sorry if my words hit close to home, but this is the unabashed truth as I see it.
We should look at ourselves for solutions, rather than pointing fingers at others. The behavior of the gay activists toward their opposition is dispicable.
garyganu, I point out
May 25, 2009 - 11:20 ET by hydrodynDMgaryganu,
I point out that your view about what constitutes an "intact family" is extreme and your response to is to suggest that I'm just upset with your words since I've produced bastard children and have taken your post personally.
Um, nope.
My criticism of your post obviously focused on your bizarre views about "blended" families and "mixed religion marriages". The fact that you didn't touch on these topics in your response to my post suggests that you know how over the top those views are.
But, hey - I know you're just expression your opinion. You're obviously free to do that. Just like you were free to express your totally uninformed opinion about entropy in a previous forum post. (By the way, I'm still waiting for a response to my last post on that topic - if you can muster one).
A Re-Post of One of My Other Comments, With Additions
May 3, 2009 - 16:55 ET by rexdraconimI wrote this in response to another bigoted, intolerant post for which the original bigot had no direct answer. Maybe the bigot author of this forum will answer my questions, honestly. If such is possible.
Here it is, in its entirety. I will expand on it following. My respects to those of you who don't like long posts, but I do. This comment was in response to a post by Lord-come-soon-please on this thread.
Here is my previous post regarding a similar topic....the questions are still relevant, maybe more so:
This is NOT a Flame or Snark
April 27, 2009 - 22:39 ET by rexdraconim
I really mean that. But I have to ask a few questions, mostly for myself, but perhaps for others.
I would like to offer a little disclosure first in the hopes that
people will read my entire comment and not just skim or cherry-pick.
Disclosure: I am not a Christian. I am a man of deep
and abiding Faith, I live in my religion and by my religion daily. I
understand that this is a Christian nation and was founded as such. I
think it speaks well of Christians that I can live here, generally
peacefully, as far as religion goes. I think Christians make fantastic
neighbors.
Further Disclosure: I am a Conservative and usually
vote Republican, even if it is no more than the lesser of two evils. I
am both socially and fiscally conservative.
But I am not a Christian. I am not an atheist nor am I an
agnostic. To be called either, when it happens, is a gross and
tasteless mis-characterization of who I am.
I would ask these questions in response to your post:
I have more questions, but they are very similar. A person can easily extrapolate them for themselves if they wish.
But they are serious questions, nevertheless. I do not say that
your post claims the non-inclusion put forth in these questions, but at
the same time, the implication that I should, in your words, perhaps "keep it to yourself and your close circle of friends" seems unpleasant at best.
While not an agnostic or atheist myself, and while not totally
understanding the why of people having beliefs or lack of beliefs along
those lines is, admittedly, beyond me, I do have very good friends,
conservative friends who so label themselves. They are folks of good
character and standing. How are my questions answered regarding them?
The Left has made the assertion that the Right is made up of
feelings and people who would hold that statement as true. I would
like to believe it is not, but in my time here at NB, I have found
several posts such as this and I wonder. The bulk of the posts have
been more in line with my experience with Good Neighbors.
Will I stop being Conservative? No....I am a Conservative because I
believe in the things that Conservatism espouses. Comments like these
will not change what I believe. Comments like these will not change my
deep Faith or my Patriotism. I can understand the anger and disgust
felt towards the immorality of Leftist Secularism, but are we going to
become as our opponests on the Left? Are we going to live up to the
stereotypes of the Left?
I would like to know, to have these questions answered. We will see what happens.
Will I get a bunch of grief for this post? Perhaps, perhaps not.
I would still bet that my experience with Christians making for good neighbors will hold true.
I will expand and increase relevance in this forum.
I am of mixed "races." Which is a dumb thing, because I am 100 percent HUMAN! "Races" is primitive beyond words. But for all the bigots, I will admit to being of mixed blood.
I am a product of miscegenation as they say. A mud blood. Need I go on?
My wife is too. So are my kids. So are most of my Ancestors, at least recently, the past several generations. We have also adopted kids into our family, from time to time....more immoral mixing, for a bigot's standards. We have even allowed women who had been raped to have their babies and we love them no different; it is not the mother's nor the babies' fault!
I will use the same paragraph as hydro above to expose this bigotry. In case of edit, this paragraph was directly copied from GaryGanu's own forum post:
Today's popular culture considers diversity a virtue, in and of itself.
I disagree. Due to the celebration of diversity, many negative
behaviors have been wrongly, embraced, celebrated, and encouraged. As a
result, the out-of-wedlock birth rate has increased to 40%. The single
mom is celebrated as a selfless hero. The blended family (like the
Brady Bunch) is embraced. Mixed religion marriages are embraced by both
sides of many families. Homosexual couples are wrongly considered equal
to intact nuclear families.
"Blended family"? Because embracing love in another, from tragedy turning to a good family is a BAD thing? Wow, to a bigot who seeks pain and suffering for all to elevate his power over fellow man, I guess that two families united by tragedy and stabilized by love is a terrible, terrible thing. Pretty darn revealing about anyone who would write that sort of trash.
"Mixed religion marriages are embraced by both
sides of many families" Here we see the author writing about my own type of family. My wife and I come from different Tribes, different religions, and these things were reconciled and joined to a greater purpose and strength, with the approval of our families. Our children are raised with a deep Faith, and so too are our grandchildren...all stronger for what they have received from BOTH parents.
That's right, grand children; my wife and I have been happily married for 30 years...some of our children are old enough and have now married and have little ones. Such is the progress of the never-ending cycles of life.
But, we are not Christian, not of pure blood and no doubt have a bastard or two somewhere in our pedigree. So to folks like GaryGanu, we are heathen animals, anyway. Not fit to live or prosper. Too bad for GaryGanu that we are so darn hard to eradicate.
Despite agreeing with much of his forum post, I believe that the paragraph noted here-in discredits whatever truth GaryGanu may be promoting. The truth is still the truth, but GaryGanu has a deeper and darker agenda. GaryGanu uses the truth as a lure to promote garbage and defame the good names of Americans and Good Men of ALL faiths.
A person who would use truth to promote hate and lies knows not the truth of anything.
And for the record, FIVE generations (and good education common before that, too) of 100 percent college completion, on our own dime....
FIVE generations (at least) of nothing more than the occasional traffic ticket and darn few of those....
THIRTEEN generations of serving our Nation and spilling our blood....
Not bad for a bunch of mixed blood heathens and their family, huh?
But look, readers....my people are lumped in with the homosexuals, the deliberate un-wed mother; our family is not considered a "true" family.
All you Good Neighbors and Americans who read this, I know you are great people. But it is time to denounce garbage who would pervert the truth to further their own ends!
"You can have Peace or you can have Freedom; just don't count on having both at the same time." - R.A.H
"I'll take the harsh reality of liberty over the illusion of security...every time!" -me
So, it's simply "all about
May 23, 2009 - 07:54 ET by ThisnThatSo, it's simply "all about you", eh?
___________________________________
The challenge is to follow a consistent plan despite inconsistent prices - Sarah Palin, State of the State of Alaska speech
Gary
May 3, 2009 - 17:37 ET by WhichWingGaryganu has made it clear how he believes his home and family should be. I just hope Garyganu understands he doesn't run all our households, and that we enjoy the liberty of making those decisions for ourselves.
I find the "best for society" arguments I've been hearing around here lately a little disturbing. Freedom and individual responsibility is what this country is based on, we have no duty to build a Utopia for our neighbors.
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
How very wrong you are
May 23, 2009 - 07:53 ET by ThisnThatGo read the Declaration of Independence, fool. Especially the last sentence, thus: "And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor".
In the future, whichwing, don't try to give history lessons.
___________________________________
The challenge is to follow a consistent plan despite inconsistent prices - Sarah Palin, State of the State of Alaska speech
Where?
May 23, 2009 - 08:10 ET by WhichWingI don't see where we've disagreed.
That doesn't surprise me,
May 23, 2009 - 11:57 ET by ThisnThatThat doesn't surprise me, given your stated take on U.S. history.
___________________________________
The challenge is to follow a consistent plan despite inconsistent prices - Sarah Palin, State of the State of Alaska speech
...
May 23, 2009 - 17:03 ET by WhichWingWhich is what?
Question
May 27, 2009 - 15:53 ET by UnsaneWhy do societies and governments exist?
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Consummating Residual
May 27, 2009 - 23:23 ET by Nearly NobodyI can’t see how anyone with full mental capacity could justify qualifying with marriage a perversion that the very act of consummating would involve cleaning off the residual crap.
"Nearly Nobody's News"