I spent my final work day of 2014 doing some long-overdue filing—and decided to share links to some of the articles that earned from me the coveted (?) designation of “KEEP.”
These are not all articles I agree with. Some are by authors with whom I vigorously disagree, but they reveal something interesting or important about the “culture wars” in which we are engaged.
These are (roughly) in chronological order:
April 8, 2014
“The Rise of the Same-Sex Marriage Dissidents,” by Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist
Quote:
“This is what marriage law was about. Not two friends building a house together. Or two people doing other sexual activities together. It was about the sexual union of men and women and a refusal to lie about what that union and that union alone produces: the propagation of humanity. This is the only way to make sense of marriage laws throughout all time and human history. Believing in this truth is not something that is wrong, and should be a firing offense.”
April 22, 2014
“Freedom to Marry, Freedom to Dissent: Why We Must Have Both,” A Public Statement, Real Clear Politics
Quote:
“ . . . [W]e are concerned that recent events, including the resignation of the CEO of Mozilla under pressure because of an anti-same-sex- marriage donation he made in 2008, signal an eagerness by some supporters of same-sex marriage to punish rather than to criticize or to persuade those who disagree. We reject that deeply illiberal impulse, which is both wrong in principle and poor as politics.”
May 5, 2014
“Freedom to Marry & Dissent, Rightly Understood,” by Ryan T. Anderson and Robert P. George, Real Clear Policy
Quote:
“The government should not discriminate against or coerce those who speak and act on the belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.”
April 24, 2014
“Opposing Gay Marriage Doesn’t Make You a Crypto-Racist,” by Jonathan Rauch, The Daily Beast
Quote:
“Lots of people compare the opposition to gay marriage and the resistance to interracial relationships. It’s a flawed analogy.”
May 17, 2014
“The Evolution of Marriage,” by Ryan T. Anderson (review of Marriage and Civilization: How Monogamy Made Us Human, by William Tucker), National Review Online
Quote:
“It is our sexual repressions that have made us human.”
May 27, 2014
“Were Christians Right About Gay Marriage All Along?” by Jay Michaelson, The Daily Beast
Quote:
“According to a 2013 study, about half of gay marriages surveyed (admittedly, the study was conducted in San Francisco) were not strictly monogamous.This fact is well-known in the gay community—indeed, we assume it’s more like three-quarters. . . . [T]he future of marriage, in fact, may turn out to be a lot like the Christian Right’s nightmare . . .”
August 11, 2014
“Tracking Christian Sexual Morality in a Same-Sex Marriage Future,” by Mark Regnerus, Public Discourse
Quote:
“Churchgoing Christians who support same-sex marriage are more likely to think pornography, cohabitation, hook-ups, adultery, polyamory, and abortion are acceptable.”
October 1, 2014
“The American Family Is Making a Comeback,” by Michael Wear, The Atlantic
Quote:
“As the costs of family breakdown become even more apparent, Democrats’ no-judgment approach may seem insufficient in the face of a demographic and sociological tidal wave.”
December 1, 2014
“The Myth of Homosexuality in Nature,” by James B. Connelly, BarbWire
Quote:
“Properly speaking, homosexuality does not exist among animals…. For reasons of survival, the reproductive instinct among animals is always directed towards an individual of the opposite sex. Therefore, an animal can never be homosexual as such. Nevertheless, the interaction of other instincts (particularly dominance) can result in behavior that appears to be homosexual. Such behavior cannot be equated with an animal homosexuality.”
December 10, 2014
“Seven Things I Wish My Pastor Knew About My Homosexuality,” by Jean Lloyd, Public Discourse
Quote:
“Continue to love me, but remember that you cannot be more merciful than God. It isn’t mercy to affirm same-sex acts as good. Practice compassion according to the root meaning of ‘compassion’: Suffer with me. Don’t compromise truth; help me to live in harmony with it.”
