Small Victories; Big Defeats
Wingnut and I firmly believe in political engagement. It is the only way to protect our rights and our way of life in this country. We even do our very best to stay abreast of local politics and vote in even the primaries and off season elections.
I don't know when or why the morality of an issue became a forbidden topic for discussion. I have a feeling we are afraid of harshing someone's buzz by proclaiming the Truth. When did we become so timid and where do we reclaim our courage?
This last week our county had a single ballot issue come to the polls. Our county board was pushing for a levy to be passed that would raise our property taxes just a tad, but raise them nevertheless. The revenue raised would go to hiring more teachers in our "overcrowded schools". Isn't that always the argument? Don't get me wrong, I love teachers, but I despise the NEA, who is always behind this nonsense. Our county is one of only seven counties in Utah that has never had a levy pass. Our county is also the highest taxed county in Utah. We definitely did not want this ballot measure to pass. Wingnut and I even persuaded our newly registered Utah voter, Karate Kid, to vote on the issue. Ya know, the county turned out like gang busters to vote on Tuesday and the measure was defeated handily 2:1--which meant a win for our side. It was quite a satisfying little victory.
Our celebration was short lived once the Supreme Court had its day of decisions. As a Catholic Christian it was completely disheartening to see traditional marriage take such a huge beating at the hands of the court. Unfortunately, this is the direction our country is taking and I do not foresee a return to traditional values in the near future. We have chosen immorality over Godly values. Even worse, morality is not even part of the discussion. A dear friend posted this excerpt from an article on The Remnant that I feel nails the disappointment right on the head:
The saddest part about the decision, however, is the dissenting opinions of the Catholics on the Court, who although they would have upheld the Defense of Marriage Act do so using liberal principles. They would uphold the law not because it is a restatement of the immutable Natural Law, but rather because it is the “will of the People”.
Whether the government should bestow the rights and benefits of marriage on non-marriages is not for them an issue of truth and justice but merely a choice to be left up to the “political branches.” Justice Scalia, for example, dissents out of his conviction that the people should decide whether or not to deny reality, violate the principle of non-contradiction and declare that which is not a marriage to be a marriage. He writes: “We might have covered ourselves with honor today, by promising all sides of this debate that it was theirs to settle and that we would respect their resolution. We might have let the People decide.” All hail the “divine” revelation of the god of the People. The people had spoken in DOMA and therefore, according to Scalia, the cause is closed.
Our celebration was short lived once the Supreme Court had its day of decisions. As a Catholic Christian it was completely disheartening to see traditional marriage take such a huge beating at the hands of the court. Unfortunately, this is the direction our country is taking and I do not foresee a return to traditional values in the near future. We have chosen immorality over Godly values. Even worse, morality is not even part of the discussion. A dear friend posted this excerpt from an article on The Remnant that I feel nails the disappointment right on the head:
The saddest part about the decision, however, is the dissenting opinions of the Catholics on the Court, who although they would have upheld the Defense of Marriage Act do so using liberal principles. They would uphold the law not because it is a restatement of the immutable Natural Law, but rather because it is the “will of the People”.
Whether the government should bestow the rights and benefits of marriage on non-marriages is not for them an issue of truth and justice but merely a choice to be left up to the “political branches.” Justice Scalia, for example, dissents out of his conviction that the people should decide whether or not to deny reality, violate the principle of non-contradiction and declare that which is not a marriage to be a marriage. He writes: “We might have covered ourselves with honor today, by promising all sides of this debate that it was theirs to settle and that we would respect their resolution. We might have let the People decide.” All hail the “divine” revelation of the god of the People. The people had spoken in DOMA and therefore, according to Scalia, the cause is closed.
I don't know when or why the morality of an issue became a forbidden topic for discussion. I have a feeling we are afraid of harshing someone's buzz by proclaiming the Truth. When did we become so timid and where do we reclaim our courage?
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