I'm shocked but not surprised at the protests against the passing of Prop 8 that are specifically directed against the LDS church. First of all, Mormons make up only 2% of the total California population. We didn't pass this alone. We are, just as in most things, just very organized. That organization alone has made us a target.
Someone on a TV show said today that the will of the majority being forced on a minority was unconstitutional. She said that the Constitution was there to protect minorities. REALLY? I thought it was "equal protection under the law" and that it was for ALL Americans. And, yes, in a democracy where we get to vote, the minority doesn't often rule. That's as it should be. We have a right as Americans to collectively define American culture. Apparently, marriage between one man and one woman is one of those things we clearly stand together on. That doesn't mean we are bigots, it just means we are preserving traditional values. This wasn't a vote against homosexuals, it was a vote FOR MARRIAGE as it stands today. In my opinion, this isn't a civil rights issue. We HAVE equal rights. I can't marry a woman either. Everyone has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex regardless of race, religion or even orientation. It's equal.
Those that are protesting don't understand that the LDS church was in a similar spot in 1890. We had practiced plural marriage - a form of marriage as old as time itself and still practiced today in many countries. Well, the opinion of the majority of Americans was that it was wrong. So, without even a VOTE on it, the U.S. government imposed their will on a tiny minority of Americans in the form of the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act. Then that was followed up by the ever popular Edmunds-Tucker Act. Both were specifically formulated laws against the LDS church. How many would tolerate a law specifically AGAINST ANY minority group today? Yet, it happened to us many, many times. They said, "If you want to become a state, you give up the practice of plural marriage." And, guess what we did? We quietly gave up the practice of plural marriage. We didn't stage protests. We didn't shoot out church windows or burn sacred books or call people names. We just complied - and continue to comply (although I often tell my husband I could really use a good wife... :-)
Yet, interestingly, I have heard some (not in our church) say that if you allow marriage between two men or two women, then the next logical step is to legalize PLURAL marriage. If "anything goes" in the definition of marriage, then that makes sense. But, I've heard homosexuals decry that form of marriage as "unnatural" and that they will NEVER support it. Why not? Why not marriage between two first cousins? It's extremely common in most parts of the world yet illegal in all but about 2 states in this country. Again, "no way - that's sick!" What makes THEIR position any more "right" than than the position of those of us supporting traditional marriage or those who want to have more than one wife or those (like a couple in our neighborhood) who fell in love with their first cousin? It's a slippery slope into a bottom-less pit.
Anyway, I expect this fight will come to my state in the very near future. I just wish that those who protest against the LDS church understood our history. We've been where you are and we handled it very differently. The will of the majority in this country is what shapes the country. Sometimes we need to just accept and move on rather than letting our lives be consumed with hatred towards others.
Someone on a TV show said today that the will of the majority being forced on a minority was unconstitutional. She said that the Constitution was there to protect minorities. REALLY? I thought it was "equal protection under the law" and that it was for ALL Americans. And, yes, in a democracy where we get to vote, the minority doesn't often rule. That's as it should be. We have a right as Americans to collectively define American culture. Apparently, marriage between one man and one woman is one of those things we clearly stand together on. That doesn't mean we are bigots, it just means we are preserving traditional values. This wasn't a vote against homosexuals, it was a vote FOR MARRIAGE as it stands today. In my opinion, this isn't a civil rights issue. We HAVE equal rights. I can't marry a woman either. Everyone has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex regardless of race, religion or even orientation. It's equal.
Those that are protesting don't understand that the LDS church was in a similar spot in 1890. We had practiced plural marriage - a form of marriage as old as time itself and still practiced today in many countries. Well, the opinion of the majority of Americans was that it was wrong. So, without even a VOTE on it, the U.S. government imposed their will on a tiny minority of Americans in the form of the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act. Then that was followed up by the ever popular Edmunds-Tucker Act. Both were specifically formulated laws against the LDS church. How many would tolerate a law specifically AGAINST ANY minority group today? Yet, it happened to us many, many times. They said, "If you want to become a state, you give up the practice of plural marriage." And, guess what we did? We quietly gave up the practice of plural marriage. We didn't stage protests. We didn't shoot out church windows or burn sacred books or call people names. We just complied - and continue to comply (although I often tell my husband I could really use a good wife... :-)
Yet, interestingly, I have heard some (not in our church) say that if you allow marriage between two men or two women, then the next logical step is to legalize PLURAL marriage. If "anything goes" in the definition of marriage, then that makes sense. But, I've heard homosexuals decry that form of marriage as "unnatural" and that they will NEVER support it. Why not? Why not marriage between two first cousins? It's extremely common in most parts of the world yet illegal in all but about 2 states in this country. Again, "no way - that's sick!" What makes THEIR position any more "right" than than the position of those of us supporting traditional marriage or those who want to have more than one wife or those (like a couple in our neighborhood) who fell in love with their first cousin? It's a slippery slope into a bottom-less pit.
Anyway, I expect this fight will come to my state in the very near future. I just wish that those who protest against the LDS church understood our history. We've been where you are and we handled it very differently. The will of the majority in this country is what shapes the country. Sometimes we need to just accept and move on rather than letting our lives be consumed with hatred towards others.
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1 comment:
This was very well said....I will pass it on to numerous friends and relatives........
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