The nation is at war with itself. Rights have advanced, but harmony has not.
I was wondering if we will ever have peace again in this country. The last election, I was told, was about economic anxiety. I disagree. When I look around, I note that the things that really animate people are culture war issues. So, the President tells a cheering crowd last week that he will make people say "Merry Christmas" again. And the New York Times, while they try to pay more attention to kitchen table issues, still obsesses about how many genders there are.

So, why can't we end this? Because we perceive it as a war. And a war has a winner, and a loser.
One side wants to prevent others from getting married if that marriage violates the terms of their religion. The other side,,,, not only do they want that marriage to be legal, they want to force someone else to bake a cake for the reception.
So, people are not imagining and striving for tolerance for both sides. They are imagining winning.

People cannot imagine equality. They can only imagine the existing power structure being either maintained, or inverted.
Fundamentalist Christians don't fear that Gays will be equal. They fear that nonChristains will one day dominate their lives the way that the Christians once dominated them. I mean, have you never heard Evangelicals complain that they are under siege?

What to do? Well, strive for liberty, not victory. Treasure individual rights, even when we don't fully understand them.
Hey, I never saw anything in the bible saying that I shouldn't sell a cake to a gay couple. But, someone doesn't want to do that, let them be. There are plenty of bakers around.
On the other hand, if you work in a government office that issues marriage certificates, and gay marriage is legal, you have to comply or get another job.

Stop thinking in terms of "War". Think in terms of how can we get along, not how one side can conquer all.

Last edited by Goose (10/21/2017 6:17 am)