The Right to Choose.... a Mate?

Gay marriage is in the news, because in the recent presidential election there were referendums in eleven states asking voters if they did or did not support gay marriage. Overwhelmingly the American people spoke and passed state constitutional amendments that ban gay marriage. This legislation denies a state court the ability to rule and therefore allow gay marriage, such as the decision that was passed and subsequently overturned in California. Supporters of the referendums want an amendment to the United States Constitution, denying the Supreme Court a possible later ruling allowing gay unions nationwide. That means the burden will fall on the Congress of the United States of America to write, propose, and vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in America. Good luck. With Congress’s recent record of problem solving, no such legislation will come to pass. Maybe it is appropriate that the states retain the right to rule in such cases. With that authority comes a freedom also offered in our Constitution. That freedom is the right to the pursuit of happiness. It could have been when the founding fathers of America penned our Constitution, they understood a democratic republic and the relationship between state’s power and the power of the federal government. With state governments comes a degree of liberation, a term vital in defining freedom and happiness in America. Liberty. Liberal. In most cases these words are synonymous with freedom. Conservative on the other hand usually drums up images of a staid and stagnant bureaucracy. Conservative ideals are ones reserved for those both in power and who are rich. When your circumstances are positive, why would you need to change? In the recent presidential election Americans' chose liberty and liberal. While abandoning all of a country’s traditions does not seem prudent, abandoning the ones that are ineffective does. For a country to evolve, a complex growth process that often painfully sheds an old skin for a new one, it must change. As in the arts, one cannot become a better artist without pain. While pundits will dispute this, religion gives this concept credence. Bill Maher does not understand why anyone would worship a God who sacrifices his only Son. Unfortunately as intelligent as Mr. Maher is, the term hedonism applies. It may be that many Hollywood celebrities fall into this category. Religion on the other hand shows us that life is not all pleasant, but with strife and adversity often can come wisdom and happiness. God's offering of His only Son was the creation of the ultimate human soul. It was the ultimate altruistic offering to His people. It was what He was willing to do to show Christians and others that chose to follow Him how deep his love was. It was the ultimate sacrifice. It is of no consequence how great our adversities become, because God allowed his son to be crucified. Jesus was nailed to a cross and left to suffocate from the weight of his own head. While this could seem depraved, seen in the proper perspective it gives the human race its soul. Love is a complex emotion, but it is a fundamental component of Christianity and other religions. God loves us, and therefore He would like for us to acknowledge His presence and ultimately praise and worship Him. It is a two-sided coin. From that love comes our own salvation and serenity on earth. If we were left to hope for humankind to solve our worldly problems, then surely another Dark Ages would ensue. Letting your only son die on a cross shouldn’t be man’s pinnacle ambition, but it should provide us with humility. Humility is the maturity to be able to acknowledge man did not create us and the world. It is interesting leading scientists to this day dispute the existence of God. Instead they believe the great sciences of chemistry, biology, physics, zoology, and astronomy somehow created themselves, and men were the great minds that discovered them. Narcissism is defined. The Bible was God’s word, and although it was compiled over many centuries by many scholars it gives humankind insight into many of life’s situations. The Bible should be interpreted in a modern context, which brings up the issue that is in the news. When God says marriage, both a holy sacrament and a civil institution, is a union between man and woman should we believe Him? I think God is saying, “Be cool and don’t press the issue.” Humans can get away with many sins, as long as we feel accountable for them and ask for forgiveness. We should not be proud of our sins, and maybe God is saying, “Be gay but don’t expect narcissistic hedonistic humans to re-write My words. Be humble and hide.” The benefits gay couples seek are monetary ones that are acknowledged by local and federal government. It seems fitting the states retain the authority to rule in their own provinces. That allows Americans the freedom to choose where they live and along with that destination the values to which they ascribe. If Congress passes legislation that bans gay marriage nationwide, it may be many of our other freedoms are soon to be truncated as well.