Sometimes America Needs to be Forced to do What's Right

This may sound archaic but I actually read the newspaper. The first thing I usually do is go to what the local paper calls the “Public Pulse”. It is the section where the readers can write in and speak their minds on stories from the news or anything really. Well I have been waiting over a month to read the responses to President Obama making his statement in support of same-sex marriage. I live in West Michigan and while it is moving more toward the middle it is still a very conservative part of the country, so you can imagine what kind of things would be said in these letters.


Just so you know what I am talking about, here is the actual letter entitled “Be mindful of history, voters’ wishes”:

While there are those whose opinions have evolved on same sex marriage, let us be truthful.

While all persons are created with worth and worthy to be loved, that does not conclude that the general public should approve of same sex marriage. The USA was built upon the concept of “families.” The tradition of man-and-woman families has a proven track record of raising children for the betterment of mankind.

Gays need a job, place to live and caring friends, but they should not be recognized as entitled to marriage. If you do not believe in the God of creation and the Bible, see the truth as it is lived out in our country.

From a Washington Post story that ran in the Grand Rapid Press:  “In all 30 states where voters have been asked to approve or reject same-sex marriage, they have rejected it.” Six states and the District of Columbia made it legal by an act of the state legislature or the courts.

Knowing of someone who is gay does mean caring for that person, but it does not negate the truth of history.

Here is the biggest problem with this person’s thought process. While we do live in a democratic society, the majority cannot dictate what rights a minority populations can have. After all, we are all entitled to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The letter is right on one thing though and that is in every state that has had a vote on allowing or banning same-sex marriage, the state in questions always votes the idea of allowing same-sex marriage down. The question though is why is that happening? In the past couple of years it has come to light that for the first time in the country’s history, that the people are to come around to the idea that same-sex marriage is something that should be allowed. So why is it that all these states keep turning down same-sex marriage?

I think most people would agree that when it comes to accepting same-sex marriage, the younger you are, the more likely you are to be for it. The cut off for this seems to be the Boomer generation. Those people of the Boomer generation and older tend to be against gay marriage where the people born after tend to be more tolerant. Well according to the 2010 US Census, the Boomer generation and older, made up over 50% of the eligible voters in this country (you can see the breakdown of this here).  So if the younger generations tend to be more accepting of same-sex marriage than we can assume that in the next 20 years or so, that the population will be well in favor of allowing same-sex marriage (click here for Pew Research Centers results of 2010 survey on same-sex marriage acceptance).

The other part of this letter that I have a problem with is their assertion that the US was built on the idea of the traditional family. This country was built on one idea that supersedes all others and that is that all humans have the right to live as they see fit, as long as they don’t take away anyone else’s rights, and that they shouldn’t have to  worry about their government impeding on that freedom as well.

Since the people, at least right now, aren’t willing to grant their fellow humans the basic right of marriage, it is up to the government to drag the country kicking and screaming to do what is right. If it was put up to a vote of the people do you think slavery would have ended?  What about women’s suffrage or the Civil Rights Act? Slavery may be the only one of those three that even had a chance of being voted down, and even then it may have been a long shot, but the other two had to be forced because when everything is said and done, it was the right thing to do. Hopefully that day comes sooner rather than later but I will guarantee that it will happen someday.