tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1491368809081158836.post1468745945229923706..comments2023-10-29T16:18:52.142-07:00Comments on She May Be Naked But She's Not Stupid: "Not mein kampf im afraid my friend, not mine. h.f. loves all of his children, even the homo-sexuals and lezbos and in bet weeners." -JacquelineLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04355806806548753255noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1491368809081158836.post-42788942158123248442008-10-30T22:04:00.000-07:002008-10-30T22:04:00.000-07:00Loved reading this, Liz; thank you.In "The Sc...Loved reading this, Liz; thank you.<br><br>In "The Screwtape Letters," C.S. Lewis postulates that one of Satan's most effective tricks is to put an entire generation on its guard, through propaganda and catch-phrases and "contemporary wisdom," against the evils to which they are least susceptible. I.e., an excessively permissive generation would be put on its guard against "intolerance."<br><br>I think this principle applies to individuals as well. Just as you say, people like you and I would be better off training ourselves to think more about faithful obedience and "the tyranny of tolerance," and of course there are those among our acquaintance who could probably stand to ponder Christ's teachings on love and mercy and judging not a bit more.Annie McNeilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1491368809081158836.post-64842629782869013512008-10-28T16:14:00.000-07:002008-10-28T16:14:00.000-07:00Liz, I saw the advertisement for your blog on face...Liz, I saw the advertisement for your blog on facebook and I had to check it out. I really appreciated your thoughts on this issue, because I have struggled with a lot of similar internal conflicts. For instance, I don't understand how the church can be so harsh to homosexuals in a faithful relationship, and yet have much more lenient standards for an individual who cheats on their spouse. I have been thinking about this because I have different friends who have dealt with both trials, and the church was significantly more strict with the homosexual individual, which is mind boggling to me! Anyway, I agree with all of the reasons why you chose to support Prop 8, and I have come to many similar conclusions here at law school. There are two things I would like to add to your list. First of all, remember that "separation of church and state" is not a constitutional right, because it's not in a constitution. It was in a letter written by Thomas Jefferson. So this is a false battle cry of those in favor of homosexuality, and there really is no constitutional basis for there claim. Second, I encourage you to check out this article about a judge in Massachusets who ruled that schools have the right to teach children in KINDERGARTEN that homosexuality is acceptable social behavior, and if parents don't like it they have to send their kids to private school. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/02/24/same_sex_teaching_upheld/<br> This is an example to me of the proverbial "slippery slide" argument, because although I know not all homosexuals feel this way, I believe the end goal of many special interest groups is to silence any social disapproval of homosexuality all together, which would completely violate freedom of religion in the 1st amendment. <br><br>I hope you are doing well. Hope you don't mind me commenting!<br><br>-Stephanie BarclayStephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15398124772872927641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1491368809081158836.post-60386189558530410982008-10-28T15:12:00.000-07:002008-10-28T15:12:00.000-07:00Good points, all.Please indulge this comparison, t...Good points, all.<br><br>Please indulge this comparison, though it can be argued to have a certain degree of naïveté...<br><br>Many will always disagree on moral issues that don’t fit into their moral system. An example from the other side of the aisle is the environment. It is a well known tenant of liberalism that we have a moral obligation to take care of the environment (I know a lot of conservatives believe this as well, but please indulge my oversimplification to make a point). I do, however, know quite a few conservatives who feel they have a right not to recycle, a right to do whatever they want in their homes. For these conservatives, their rights are violated whenever legislation is based forcing them to recycle, or to not drive on certain days, or things like that. Animal rights is another good example. Some feel hunting is immoral, others feel they have the right to hunt. Many liberals who are proclaim the rights of homosexual partners would vote against the right of the hunter to hunt or the conservative not to recycle. So, which examples are actually rights and which ones are not?<br><br>The fact is, both… and neither. The fact is, every law that is debated in congress, every law that is passed and every law that dies always has a moral issue at it’s heart. Always. And your own understanding of what is moral and what is not will color the laws you will support. It is not an emotional issue. So who is right? I am. By which I mean you are. By which I mean we are all obligated to follow the dictates of our own conscience, whatever that may be. It is foolish to be upset and aggravated with someone based on their interpretation of what is moral, because you will disagree with everyone as some point of another.<br><br>Look at the issues. Decide where you stand. Go cast your vote. What is important is that you know what both sides stand for and that you know what you stand for. Never worry what someone else is going to think of you, and never feel guilty about your moral standing, whatever it may be.<br><br>Just feel guilty if you don’t vote. Because then you negate your right to have an opinion at all.Ben P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01551648422444979186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1491368809081158836.post-27369376847223285612008-10-27T01:11:00.000-07:002008-10-27T01:11:00.000-07:00I remember Prop 22. I had a really hard time with ...I remember Prop 22. I had a really hard time with it. I would get verbally attacked at school and lost respect from friends, and I couldn't defend my position because I didn't even understand it. I wrote about that clarification on my blog because I think it was one of the most comforting things I've learned about prop 8 and the church's stance. They are not opposed to gay rights. They're protecting marriage. One of the things my dad said is that "it isn't personal." This isn't a personal attack on gay couples. One gay couple married, raising a family might not hurt anyone but changing the definition of marriage could. This time I think I understand better. And I can see how extremely important it must be because of all the attention and focus the church is placing on it. For me it's like, wow, the church would never ask these things of us if it weren't THAT important.<br><br>This whole thing has been really interesting--especially where I am. My ward has at least two openly gay (or maybe i should say that they have same-sex attraction) members (who do not practice the lifestyle and are temple-worthy, I might add--their stories are really interesting, and i think the two of them are inspirations) as well as parents with gay children who want to get married. I love our ward. There is such understanding and love. Our bishop called all of them before reading the letter so they could choose whether to come to the meeting or not. I really appreciate that kind of consideration and respect. When our stake president spoke about prop 8, you could really feel the pure love--the charity--he had for everyone, including gays who are memebrs and non-members, practicing and not. <br><br>Just last week we were talking with one of the gay members of our ward. He had just been to a friend's gay marriage that weekend, but then he said that he had decided to vote for prop 8. That's huge!! He's not opposed to gay marriage, and he would never admit his position to his friends. He said, "I considered what would happen if a gay couple wanted to be sealed and then sued if they couldn't" (or something like that). That's what's made him decide to vote yes.<br><br>It'll be even more interesting to see what happens on Nov 4.Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10700889359187704139noreply@blogger.com