I'm not coy about my support for gay-marriage rights. I can also accept the fact some don't approve of homosexuals attaining equal marriage rights. However, I can't understand why some of these very people fight tooth and nail in an attempt to prevent gay couples from getting married, especially when they claim that gay couples getting married would "destroy the sanctity of marriage." Really? Whenever I hear or read this, I picture the following conversation between a teenager just returning from Bible Camp and her parents:
Faith Jones (mother): "So, how was camp, sweetie?"
Mary Jones (daughter): "It was okay."
Billy Ray Jones (father): "Just okay?"
Mary: "Yeah..."
Billy Ray: "Is something wrong?"
Mary: "Can I ask you guys something?"
Faith: "You can ask us anything, sweetheart. What is it?"
Mary: "Why can't gay people get married?"
Faith: "Because, it would..."
Billy Ray: "Let me take this one, honey. It's because it would ruin the sanctity of marriage."
Mary: "What does that mean?"
Billy Ray: "It means that marriages like your mom and I's wouldn't be sacred anymore. They wouldn't mean the same thing they used to mean."
Mary: "So, if gay people got married, you and mom wouldn't be married anymore?"
Billy Ray: ::laughs:: "No, that's not it."
Mary: "Would you two not love each other anymore?"
Billy Ray: "Of course we'd still love each other."
Mary: "Would you two still love me?"
Billy Ray: "But, of course! What kind of question is that?"
Mary: "So, your marriage would still be the same, but not really?"
Billy Ray: "That's exactly right."
Mary: "I'm confused."
Faith: "Gays are an abomination to God. It says so in The Bible. Marriage is supposed to be between one man and one woman. That's how God wanted it, so that's how it should be. We don't hate gays, sweetie. We just don't like them very much."
Mary: "What about the marriages in The Bible?"
Faith: "You mean the ones between one man and one woman, like your father and I?"
Mary: "The ones where guys could marry lots of women..."
Faith: "Oh, well, I don't know about that..."
Mary: "Or the ones where women virgins had to marry their rapists..."
Faith: "I beg your pardon! Billy Ray, talk some sense into her!"
Billy Ray: "She's right..."
Faith: "She is?"
Billy Ray: "Yeah... But, sweetie, you have to understand, these marriages happened a long time ago. Things change. Just because polygamous marriages were legal and seen as moral way back when, doesn't make them so today. Do you understand?"
Mary: "Things change then? Including the definition of marriage?"
Billy Ray: "Absolutely!"
Mary: "Then what about gay marriage? If things change, including the definition of marriage, why can't gays get married?"
Billy Ray and Faith: "Uh... Um... Eh... Hmm..."
Faith Jones (mother): "So, how was camp, sweetie?"
Mary Jones (daughter): "It was okay."
Billy Ray Jones (father): "Just okay?"
Mary: "Yeah..."
Billy Ray: "Is something wrong?"
Mary: "Can I ask you guys something?"
Faith: "You can ask us anything, sweetheart. What is it?"
Mary: "Why can't gay people get married?"
Faith: "Because, it would..."
Billy Ray: "Let me take this one, honey. It's because it would ruin the sanctity of marriage."
Mary: "What does that mean?"
Billy Ray: "It means that marriages like your mom and I's wouldn't be sacred anymore. They wouldn't mean the same thing they used to mean."
Mary: "So, if gay people got married, you and mom wouldn't be married anymore?"
Billy Ray: ::laughs:: "No, that's not it."
Mary: "Would you two not love each other anymore?"
Billy Ray: "Of course we'd still love each other."
Mary: "Would you two still love me?"
Billy Ray: "But, of course! What kind of question is that?"
Mary: "So, your marriage would still be the same, but not really?"
Billy Ray: "That's exactly right."
Mary: "I'm confused."
Faith: "Gays are an abomination to God. It says so in The Bible. Marriage is supposed to be between one man and one woman. That's how God wanted it, so that's how it should be. We don't hate gays, sweetie. We just don't like them very much."
Mary: "What about the marriages in The Bible?"
Faith: "You mean the ones between one man and one woman, like your father and I?"
Mary: "The ones where guys could marry lots of women..."
Faith: "Oh, well, I don't know about that..."
Mary: "Or the ones where women virgins had to marry their rapists..."
Faith: "I beg your pardon! Billy Ray, talk some sense into her!"
Billy Ray: "She's right..."
Faith: "She is?"
Billy Ray: "Yeah... But, sweetie, you have to understand, these marriages happened a long time ago. Things change. Just because polygamous marriages were legal and seen as moral way back when, doesn't make them so today. Do you understand?"
Mary: "Things change then? Including the definition of marriage?"
Billy Ray: "Absolutely!"
Mary: "Then what about gay marriage? If things change, including the definition of marriage, why can't gays get married?"
Billy Ray and Faith: "Uh... Um... Eh... Hmm..."
This sums up and deftly refutes the arguments I hear used all the time. I wonder if people even see the errors in their arguments. It seems like when you point out the flaws in their reasoning, they just dig in their heels and yell louder.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've learned that often times when you refute arguments, whether it be through logic, common sense, or fact, the person(s) you're debating simply repeat(s) their refuted statements, only louder than before. In their minds, through the mere-exposure effect, the more they utter said statements, the more prone they'll be to believing them, regardless of how many times those very statements were refuted. Yeah, the older I get, the more I wish we'd place a greater emphasis on critical thinking courses in high school and college.
Delete