THE ON GOING VIOLENCE OF GAY MARRIAGE

The California Supreme Court decision lifting the ban on gay marriage succeeded in subjecting citizens to a subtle violence by declaring the legislative process a farce. Dictatorial judges, not people, make the rules in this land. And liberals incessantly label Republicans fascist? Aside from the adulterated legal process which led to the infamous ruling, other natural law kinds of issues arise and will continue to play out as the gay community, along with rogue judges, seek to force their will upon the people. The ever compelling Michael Medved recently expounded on those issues in an op. ed. piece. He suggests that the current wave toward legalizing gay marriage spotlights three bad ideas from the 60s and 70s found wanting. In particular Medved address the old hippie-dippie philosophy, "if it feels good do it." Here's what he says about the baneful implications unique to the feel good impetus:

2. Following – and Honoring – Your Deepest Urges. Though I ought to be embarrassed to admit it, I actually hitch-hiked to San Francisco during the vaunted “Summer of Love” in 1967 and repeatedly encountered the slogan “If It Feels Good, Do It!” invoked with almost liturgical fervor. As an intrigued eye-witness to some of the public “Love Ins” and private social gatherings associated with that storied time and place, I can testify that this philosophy produced less fleeting fun, let alone long-term satisfaction, than widely assumed.

Every moralist, gay or straight, concedes that our passions – even the most deep-seated and undeniable urges—remain notoriously unreliable guides to happiness, productive relationships, and even long-term health. By supplanting the old imperative to “do your duty” with the new commandment “follow your heart,” the Love Generation embraced emotion as the standard for judging all intimate arrangements and explorations.

This new emphasis produced its most damaging impact not through the indulgence of new sexual alternatives, but with the exploding rate of divorce in the 1970’s. If marriage rested on feeling rather than obligation, it naturally proved more evanescent and disposable. Before the sexual revolution, many families might quietly hum the Righteous lyrics “We’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” but relatively few of them actually broke up their relationships. Commitment, tradition, honor and duty all helped to keep most couples together, even through difficult times.

Gay marriage serves to move matrimony even further toward the primacy of feeling. The chief argument for treating gay attraction as equally deserving of respect and support as man-woman-love is the depth, sincerity and undeniable nature of the passion that same sex partners feel for one another. The language promoting such couplings always emphasizes emotion rather than duty or commitment or tradition; same sex partners can hardly take their position in a long, sacred line of succession back to the beginnings of time. Yes, every society has included gay people but no civilization ever sanctioned gay marriages. Redefining matrimony as “an expression of love” rather than a public and profoundly consequential social contract damages the understanding of the institution for all elements of society.

To be sure, if we advance this "Summer of Love" logic a bit further we indeed may subject our nation to chaos-the very condition our laws and judges ought to protect us from. If everyone acted on their feelings of love they may end up at the end of the barrel of a gun, sported by a jealous "feeling" lover. But, that's o.k. because the feeling matters more than a human being. Glandular induced behavior exposes the human condition that destroys God's creation. We know the condition full well as self centeredness. Medved, a practicing Jew and well versed in the Bible, surely understands the scriptural portrait of love. The scriptures lift God's ideal as two individuals desiring the best for each other, despite their feelings. It takes into account the supreme value God places on human beings. When we desire the best for others we love as God loves, not with our fleeting emotions, but according to an eternal principle. Hippie-dippie love eventually destroys the human spirit, and spreads its fallout for miles. When our nation's laws begin to contradict a higher moral law we wind up at the end of a barrel of our own self destructive behavior.