Francis and Obama Both Pack Punches: Blasphemy, Cable TV Pundits, Climate Change, and ... Gay Marriage

Pope Francis (en route to the Philippines):

"If my good friend Dr. Gasbarri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch," Francis said half-jokingly, throwing a mock punch his way. "It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others."

Obama (State Of The Union):

As Americans, we respect human dignity... It’s why we speak out against the deplorable anti-Semitism that has resurfaced in certain parts of the world. It’s why we continue to reject offensive stereotypes of Muslims — the vast majority of whom share our commitment to peace.

Pope Francis (Catholic News Service):

Pope Francis went on to say that the "family is also threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life."

Obama:

I’ve seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country, a civil right now legal in states that seven in ten Americans call home.

In The Ring

Both President Obama and Pope Francis threw punches at various times on a variety of subjects, the only difference of opinion being in that of gay marriage: Pope Francis called it a harmful "ideological colonization" while Obama referred to it as a civil right.

Other punches were delivered to blasphemy (Francis), to cable news pundits (Obama) and to climate change deniers (both Francis and Obama), but it was on the issue of gay marriage that the two differed visably. And while both have been a visible thorn in the Right's ideology (esp. the Christian Right), Francis ameliorated his poor standing with the statement about the family being threatened by efforts of redefinition of marriage. On his part, Obama widened the wound to marriage equality foes who are still not willing to believe that 70% of America is ready for gay marriage.

The who-am-I-to-judge pope definitely delivered a punch to gay marriage. The Christian Right will be making handstands and hay with the statement for months to come, especially before the Supreme Court hears four cases from states banning such. They have been hoping for such a statement ever since their meeting with the pope last November. Trust amicus briefs from Catholic sources to mention it.

Obama also countered anti-gay activists by saying, in effect, that 36 states following the rulings of the federal courts couldn't be wrong. The petulant 14, (the worst being Florida, Texas and Mississippi) are in the minority and, civil rights-wise, we've seen that scenario before.

Maybe It's Just Another Matter Of Evolution

Like Barack Obama's views on same-sex marriage, will Francis' views evolve? Possibly, but the extent to which he will enforce those views on the Catholic Church (and hence, most of Christendom) is the key. And that might take a longer time than the evolution of his thoughts on the subject. In other words, America might find itself with another problem in the culture wars: being pitted against the rest of the world's religious beliefs. It is, already, of course, but the gap may widen and become impassable - that is, if people like Tony Perkins and Scott Lively have anything to say about it. 

Think of Uganda.

Love Makes A Family

With his statement, Francis reduces the love between two men or two women. He glorifies love within the traditional family makeup, while lessening his famous "who am I to judge" statement.
In his State of the Union address, however, Barack Obama elevates same-sex love and puts it on a par with "traditional values." 

He recognizes that love makes a family. 

Christmas Bliss

The two little boys making faces at each other, sounding noises through their rears and noses while sitting at the breakfast table are really two grown men.

That's love for ya.

They also have a hard time "demagnetizing" in the morning and getting out of bed. They make a point of snuggling at least once during the day and can't understand people who don't snuggle at all. And they each bless the day they found each other.

It was several days after my 65th birthday (June 15th, 2012) that I met Chris. He thought I came on too strong, but when I said "I never promise anything, but I'm a great snuggler," he was hooked.

We didn't say the "L" word until Christmas. We lived "in the present" for what seemed like an eternity at the time. 45 weekend visits from Sacramento and 5 parking tickets after meeting, Chris moved in with me.

We got married last March 28 at San Francisco City Hall. This Christmas is our first as a truly married couple.

True Married Bliss - Acceptance

Chris says "hubby" a lot when we snuggle. Oh, there's "Daddy" and "Lover" but "Hubby"is stressed more. "Hubby" is an expression of mutual love ... and acceptance.

Chris' mother, Janice, has accepted me as  part of the family - her new son-in-law. All I can say at this point is that the sense of family that marriage brings is immense: a loving, welcoming family can make all the difference in a relationship. There is no finer show of respect than simple acceptance.
My very first lover's parents accepted me as an in-law back in the days before same-sex marriage became an idea. No one has any idea of how that made a newly out gay man feel back in 1975. My new mother-in-law has helped to make me the happiest man alive. 

Love. Acceptance. Snuggling. ... and making faces at each other. Everyone should be as blessed this Christmas.

Have Yourself A Married Little Christmas Everybody!

For many of the global LGBT community, this Dec. 25th is their first married Christmas. How many? 50,000? 100,000? The  numbers keep pouring in, changing, but the fact remains: this Christmas will be joyous for many more gays and lesbians than ever before. From poor gays in rural America to celebrities in Europe, same-sex marriage has helped make this Christmas very, very special.

LONDON - Entertainer Elton John and longtime mate David Furnish officially married Sunday on the ninth anniversary of the day they entered into a civil partnership.

Joining the real world

To a gay person, "lover", "partner", even "soulmate" doesn't begin to match the term "husband", "wife" or even "spouse". "Lover" is sexual, "partner" is legal-sounding, and "soulmate" is almost too ethereal. "Husband", "Wife", "Spouse" on the other hand, connote reality ... total commitment, you see, is reality.

Of course, there are those who have never actually needed specific terms to define their relationship, but they might have the luxury of living in a community that has accepted them without those terms. They are indeed very lucky, because we are in a world of defining labels, labels which have been in our cultures for literally thousands of generations, labels which can accept or reject a person in an instant ... and forever.  

And joining the real world is all about acceptance. 

Yes, same-sex marriage is about acceptance. And that's why so many right-wing Christians won't feel the same joy we feel this Christmas: the courts have ruled for acceptance in too many states for them to feel too much joy. Acceptance is anathema. It is an abomination. It is condoning "sin." It is the object of unstable hedonists* who wish to destroy traditional values! The subject of same-sex marriage brings out the old saw about people who obsessively focus on others' sin cannot be truly happy themselves.

Marriage In The Spirit Of Christmas

I've often said that the Spirit of Christmas has transcended the traditional. It has become inclusive to the LGBT community in such a way that same-sex marriage holds a place in Christmas. It is perhaps the ultimate in love and acceptance - "good will towards men" - and overcomes many of the world's tribulations to achieve its goals. It never looks to man's "sinful nature" and destruction. For those imbued with the Spirit of Christmas, destruction of man and this world seem very far away.  

This Christmas, there will be those praying for things to change ... back to the way they were when discrimination was the order of the day. They will pray for the sanctity of their own marriages as if some outside force is dooming them. They will pray that their renewed vision of (their own) persecution will sway a righteous public away from social issues like same-sex marriage. They will pretend to pray for us, while desperately praying for themselves. This is a sad Christmas for those souls.

They certainly won't know our joy - the joy of couples whose love has sought acceptance for years - or the hope, that in other states and countries, the human right to love and make a commitment to each other will be honored with acceptance and dignity.

And while they pray, let us pray for the Spirit of Christmas to open up their hearts to experience the joy we feel in marriage, in being ourselves.


* As to the "Harm Factor" of same-sex marriage, the latest figures show that America's divorce rate has declined (the first time in decades), so women aren't divorcing their husbands to become lesbians (ala Pat Robertson) nor are men divorcing their wives for those hirsute hotties. Don't tell that to twice-divorced Attorney General Pam Bondi**, who insists that gays have extremely unstable relationships.
**BTW: Bondi's latest marriage to a gentleman 23 years her senior was "performed" in the Cayman Islands and is speculated to be a tax dodge.

The Armageddon of Billionaire Jesus and The Liberation Of A Progressive, Gay OpEdNews Writer

Approaching a writing milestone, one wants to write something terribly profound. This is my 501st article for OpEdNews. It's late, I know. Actually, it's been a long time in coming, but so much of the usual crap got in the way, that profundity is virtually extinct in this author: last week Ann Coulter, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Uganda, homelessness, Billionaire Jesus, and rape-hangings  numbed the creative writing process (as well as normative thinking).* 

Readers of progressive sites like OpEdNews, however, are aware of the effect the real world has on writers (much of the Right lives in its own 1% - or 1% wannabe - world), excusing the numbness and exhaustion, patient for the writer to revive himself. 

The Last 500

Writing is always liberating: putting words out, crafting phrases to fit thoughts is freeing to the mind in a way few other mediums can begin to approach. Other art forms may come close: painting, for example, places emotions on canvas, but no matter how explicit, detailed the painting may be, no matter how vividly it displays emotion, it may not always achieve exactly what the painter feels. 

And being allowed to write on many people and incidents is even more liberating. That's what OpEdNews has enabled me to do. It  has permitted me to peruse headlines and pick up kernels of religion and politics (and the fusion of the two), investigate them and formulate ideas to throw out. It liberates me in being opinionated, as long as I back up my opinions with salient points and supporting links. In the last 6 years, it has allowed me to liberate my opinions - 500 times!

Sideline In The Forefront - The Last 6 Years

Let's get one thing straight as far as my writing is concerned: I'm not exactly a gay activist. I wish I were. I was at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic many years ago and experienced burn out by the late 90's. I now do things on the sidelines as it were. Writing as I do is definitely a sideline kind of deal. 

Sideline in the struggle for equality, but forefront in my life. Writing about the inequalities, the absurdities and the atrocities of our real world sustained me through the last 6 years: taking care of a dying partner, struggling for housing, restructuring my life, finding a new love, getting married were all accompanied by the sense of liberation and completeness that goes with writing. 

The Armageddon Of Billionaire Jesus - It's About Equality

My last series - Billionaire Jesus - has been about the major concern of the real world: economic inequality, as it relates to the country's 1% and it's religious proponents. Billionaire Jesus, you see, is greed personified and made holy, and it's a greed that lacks any form of "true" compassion** 

The difference between the Scriptural Jesus and Billionaire Jesus is that Billionaire will not return after Armageddon. At least, humanity hopes he won't, for in Billionaire Jesus are the seeds of his own undoing: unfettered greed (unregulated capitalism) cannot hold it's own weight. 

When will Armageddon commence? Probably when all progressive writers have their say, for progressive writers as a whole are against Billionaire Jesus. Probably when the 99% realize that they've had enough of the 1% who think that greed is good and that Billionaire Jesus is the answer to everything. Probably when certain forms of "freedom" (e.g. restrictive religious freedom - only for certain Christians, as Judge Roy Moore proclaimed) are exposed as tyranny. 

Probably when equality gains momentum: equality in pay for both sexes, equality in education, equality in opportunity and even equality in marriage. 

Armageddon will be sweet.

*Add Sarah Palin, Religious Right Persecution, Elliot Rodgers and Gay Marriage, Disney's Public Displays of Perversion ...
** True compassion having unequivocal acceptance.

Who's Harming Marriage? Gays ... Or Southern Baptists? Another Christian Right Meme Bites The Dust.

The Christian Right's chief meme against same-sex marriage is that it will "harm" traditional marriage. Exactly HOW it will harm traditional marriage, however, they don't seem to know ... or care. Is it possible that they're shielding their own harmful attitudes on marriage? A new study put out by the University of Texas at Austin points to a higher rate of divorce among social conservatives with a few new perspectives (surprises).

     "Divorce is higher among religiously conservative Protestants – and even drives up divorce rates for other people living around them, a new study finds.
Researchers discovered that higher divorce rates among conservative Protestants were tied to earlier marriages and childbearing – factors known to ramp up divorce. Starting families earlier tends to stop young adults from pursuing more education and depresses their wages, putting more strain on marriages, University of Texas at Austin professor Jennifer Glass said."

And now a segue to the Christian Right's latest icon, Phil Robertson:

CNN:

"They got to where they're getting hard to find, mainly because these boys are waiting 'til they get to be about 20 years old before they marry 'em," Robertson says in a video clip that resurfaced Monday. "Look, you wait 'til they get to be 20 years old, the only picking that's going to take place is your pocket. You got to marry these girls when they are about 15 or 16. They'll pick your ducks."

Second-Hand Divorce

"But the study went a step further: Glass and another researcher also discovered that people living in areas with lots of conservative Protestants were at higher risk of getting divorced, even if they weren’t conservative Protestants themselves."

Kinda like second-hand smoke and cancer. Unfortunately, there is still no data to show that when gays move into the neighborhood, the divorce rates rise. Wonder why? Interestingly, the state with the greatest number of years of same-sex marriage has the LOWEST divorce rate in the country: Massachusetts. Iowa and New York were also low. And states like Tennessee, West Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Mississippi? Clustered around the top of the divorce rate charts.

The UTA study may be on to something.

From The American Psychological Association:

"Scientists have found that the psychological and social aspects of committed relationships between same-sex partners largely resemble those of heterosexual partnerships. Like heterosexual couples, same-sex couples form deep emotional attachments and commitments. Same-sex and heterosexual couples alike face similar issues concerning intimacy, love, loyalty and stability, and they go through similar processes to address those issues. Empirical research also shows that lesbian and gay couples have levels of relationship satisfaction similar to or higher than those of heterosexual couples."  

"...or higher." Very interesting.

This author's personal take on the "harming traditional marriage" idea: I could see that some Fundamentalist wives might find out marriage can be more equitable than they had thought and become disgusted with their situation: in the extreme, they could see two handsome, considerate, loving men, then turn to look at the inconsiderate, misogynistic slobs on the couches and say to themselves "what was I thinking?" On the distaff side, those same slobs might feel threatened, thinking that they might be forced to spruce up those qualities the wife thought were once (but no longer) attractive.

One disheartened woman put it this way: "I long for the good old days when the good men were either married or gay. Now they're both."

The Screams You Hear Are Not God's: Christian Right Enraged That SCOTUS Acquiesced To The Creator, Allowing Gays To Marry.

DOMA is down. Prop 8 is caputt. God is pleased. America is relieved.

And the cult of Tony Perkins is pissed. No, not pissed - ENRAGED! And there is great gnashing of teeth, wailing, and rending of garments at organizations like NOM (National Organization for Marriage), FRC (Family Research Council/Tony Perkins) and the AFA (American Family Association). "Bishop" Harry Jackson, Lou Engle, Linda Harvey, Pat Robertson, Bryan Fischer, James Dobson, Mike Huckabee (and most of FOX News except maybe for Shep Smith) are simultaneously weeping while foaming at the mouth.

It is a theater, a circus, not to be missed.

It is easy to see the progress of righteous indignation: the circus parade will commence with the terms "activist judges" and "powerful homosexual lobby." They will then move agonizingly on to "a nation without God's protection", through "Obama will enslave Christians" then to "the end of civilization as we know it."* They will juggle "it's a choice" with "reparative therapy" and the newest ex-gay ministry (anyone who denounced the demise of Exodus, International). The march of lions (Evangelical Elmer Gantrys), tigers (Catholic bishops) and elephants (Republican panderers) will be long and colorful, the ensuing weeks filling FOX News with Coulters and Malkins and Rushes. Moral acrobats will chant "but we really love them!"




Jesus Wept, Obama Rejoiced

The predictable reactions:






"Today, marriage, children, and the rule of law all suffer." Randy Thomassen, Save California

"The Supreme Court has just abandoned 7 million voters, giving us no justice and no access to the courts. Maggie Ghallagher, NOM. 

In a miscarriage of justice the US Supreme Court has refused to consider the decision of a single federal court judge to overturn the perfectly legal action of over 7 million California voters who passed Proposition 8 defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Brain Brown, NOM.



Friends, today is a shameful day in American history. - Gordon Kingenschmitt, In Jesus Name Project

How long before federal agents haul pastors out of the pulpit? - Todd Starnes, Fox News

Amidst all the protesting hoopla, the Christian Right will miss the possibility that the Creator is actually pleased: God surely approves of anything that progresses to brotherly love. And His Son, Jesus, might actually rejoice along with mortals like President Obama. Such thoughts are heresy, of course, since they go against strict interpretations of a Bible written to instruct sinners, and not to confirm the love of the Creator towards His creation. They will eschew the possibility that SCOTUS believes it as well: denying people the right to confirm their love and form a recognized commitment is not only against the Constitution, but against divinely created humanity. They will certainly dismiss opinions (posts like this) as "absurd," thereby continuing their circus of the absurd.

Yes, the coming months will be very, very entertaining.

The Gifts That Will Keep On Giving

It is no coincidence that the rulings fall on the 10-year anniversary of another landmark ruling, Lawrence vs. Texas (6/26/03) which struck down Texas' sodomy law. The timing of both were planned as gifts to the LGBT community. True, both rulings were 5-4, but those opinions were arrived at months ago. And by a court that realizes it must reflect most of the country:

USA Today:

WASHINGTON — The nation's rapidly changing attitudes toward homosexuality have been reflected in dramatic changes in the views of presidents, the rules for military service and the policies defining families.

And now, in the Supreme Court.

Can A Circus Provoke A War?

One week ago, a coalition of Christian Right ministries and organizations - the ironically named Freedom Federation - vowed to oppose any court rulings with outright non-compliance:


" ...make no mistake about our resolve. While there are many things we can endure, redefining marriage is so fundamental to the natural order and the true common good that this is the line we must draw and one we cannot and will not cross."


There will be a rash of ministers refusing to performs marriages in the coming years, but the impact of such a stance may be moot: fighting a war that has already been lost is futile and will unnecessarily cause casualties - bloody casualties - in the name of God, Family and Marriage.

Poor Paulie Ryan: The Boy Don't Get No Respect

"Adoption, I’d vote differently these days. That was I think a vote I took in my first term, 1999 or 2000," Ryan said. "I do believe that if there are children who are orphans who do not have a loving person or couple, I think if a person wants to love and raise a child they ought to be able to do that. Period. I would vote that way."

But he's against gay marriage. Whatever. His position on gay adoption just landed him in the doghouse of the Christian Right. Those little darlings who applauded him at the Values Voters Summit last year are now wailing and gnashing their teeth (not to mention rending their Walmart suits!). In their eyes, the Budget Slasher just slashed his own political throat for being pro-gay in any way.

The Winds Of Love: Portman's Change Of Heart Latest Blast To Republican DOMA Diehards

When Republican Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) came out of the same-sex marriage closet to state that his view on the subject had, like President Obama's, "evolved", the Right (especially the Christian Right) returned a volley of wailing, gnashing of teeth, and rending of Brooks Brothers suits. Portman hit home particularly hard: 

      "The overriding message of love and compassion that I take from the Bible, and certainly the Golden Rule, and the fact that I believe we are all created by our maker, that has all influenced me in terms of my change on this issue," Portman said, adding that he feels that "in a way, this strengthens the institution of marriage."

Citing the Bible to bible-thumpers, has no positive effect: in fact, it created a very negative effect, giving people like Tony Perkins of Family Research Council the sadz:

       "Our unconditional love for our children should not override the historical and social science evidence which makes abundantly clear what is best for all children and for society - being raised by a married mother and father."

It would seem, however, that Portman is riding a wave of support from Republicans, since even Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, when asked about the issue of marriage equality said that there was "no doubt" young conservatives considered it basic and not "a disqualifying issue."




Walker's comment followed only a week after it was reported that 78 prominent Republicans signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in the DOMA case. 

Hurt hardest with the news of defecting Republicans is Speaker John Boehner, who spearheaded an effort to defend DOMA in the courts and capped out last year with $1.5 million in lawsuits. He was, of course, the most prominent politicians to weigh in against Portman's decision by bolstering his own position:

John Boehner:

       "Rob [Portman] is a great friend and a long-time ally. And I appreciate that he’s decided to change his views on this.I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. It’s what I grew up with. It’s what I believe. It’s what my church teaches me. And I can’t imagine that position would ever change." - House Speaker John Boehner, appearing yesterday on ABC's This Week.

Boehner's base is eroding: if Republican changes of heart aren't enough, some evangelicals are switching as well. Former megachurch pastor Rob Bell: “I am for marriage. I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it’s a man and woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man.”

Justice Roberts' Second-Best Option

The leader of a prominent anti-gay organization called Supreme Court Chief John Roberts' decision to adopt children the "second-best option," the AP reports.

Desperate times seem to call for desperate rhetoric from anti-marriage equality groups, and the most inept of late, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) held a panel at CPAC to an almost empty house. That's when NOM's chairman, John Eastman, made the now-infamous remark about Justice John Roberts' family. The back-peddling, of course, described adoptive parents as  "heroes" but the damage was done. In response, one ten-year-old adopted boy with two dads has fashioned a YouTube "letter" to Justice Roberts that has gotten wide attention (see below)

The Winds Of Love and Change

       Support for gay marriage reached a new high in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, marking a dramatic change in public attitudes on the subject across the past decade. Fifty-eight percent of Americans now say it should be legal for gay and lesbian couples to wed.

The poll also brought another significant number: only 24 percent of Americans think that being gay "is a choice." The Supreme Court may have to weigh in on the immutability of homosexuality on the grounds of discrimination.

A ton of amicus briefs from members of Congress, corporations, notable politicians and celebrities. Reversal of opposition by prominent Republicans. A poll showing a dramatic shift in the national psyche.

John Boehner and his supporters are crying again.