We, the right, screwed up.
It is not a partisan blog, more like a lament, looking back.
I look back, and review the decades that have gone by that I actually remember. In the 80s, the religious right was in its glory, advancing morality in law. This was a direct response to the free love, and the me eras of the 60s and 70s.
Crusades against abortion (okay, actually, I am still behind this one, especially since it was revealed today that many of these Planned Parenthood body shops were not using ebay, but Amazon to market their wares). The defeat of the ERA. Trying to enforce morality on television, and other movies. In the 90s, the grumblings began regarding gay marriage. With the issue of transgender bathrooms succeeding today, the ERA, while defeated, essentially has come to be everything its detractors feared.
All the while, the left was pointing its fingers, changing the culture, using the courts to chip a little here, and a little there. Effecting a culture change through entertainment, schools, and courts. It is tragic, but not really surprising. Way back time.
In the 50s, a movie was made to highlight the problems of marijuana. It was "Reefer Madness" and was a horribly done movie, that probably had the opposite effect. Decades later, it was still being shown in schools, and ultimately, I remember that it was shown during one of the Memorial Day/Labor Day all night blowouts that the Classic Rock station of the era, KYYS, KY102, put on. It became a spoof, and a cult classic. (but who doesn't remember those blowouts?)
The right forgot (and still hasn't remembered, other than lip service) that they were the party of small government. As such, writing laws limiting what people can do for, or to, themselves, was really contrary to that mantra. By focusing, and highlighting all of these things, the right essentially lit the candle that drew everyone in. I mean, come on, if they want to ban it, then it must be awesome, right? (Reefer Madness) By highlighting a practice (gay marriage) that has no impact on anyone, directly, (more in a minute), the Right created a sympathetic backlash, that rode its way into King Kennedy's court. (that would be Supreme Court Justice Kennedy, to whom social standing is way more important than law, and was the deciding vote on Gay Marriage)
It is at this moment that I want to explain how we have not followed a key point in freedom. It is a Mormon teaching, yet universally applicable. For those that don't know, let me explain,
First, of course, I do not represent the Church of Jesus Christ or Latter Day Saints, in any capacity, other than as a member. Having said that...
The Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, wrote a letter that contained 13 tenets of the faith, as a response to someone asking about the beliefs. These are known today as the Articles of Faith, and can be found in the book of scripture known as the Pearl of Great Price. Here is #11:
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
Read it again. It lays out very forcefully an essential truth, particularly for those societies that believe in religious freedom. If we want to believe as we will, then, by necessity, we need to allow others the right to believe, or not, as they wish. That includes limiting laws only to protect the lives, liberties, and properties of others. Of course, that protection includes not forcing people to participate in activities that violate their beliefs. Practicing a religion is more than Sunday worship. It is living.
Can we talk about our morals? Of course. Can we fund entertainment that supports our beliefs? Absolutely. With freedom comes accountability. Had the religious right focused on the culture, using the mediums available, instead of mandates of law, how different would things be? Hindsight is 20/20. And now that we are where we are, we have jeopardized religious freedom for all.
I look back, and review the decades that have gone by that I actually remember. In the 80s, the religious right was in its glory, advancing morality in law. This was a direct response to the free love, and the me eras of the 60s and 70s.
Crusades against abortion (okay, actually, I am still behind this one, especially since it was revealed today that many of these Planned Parenthood body shops were not using ebay, but Amazon to market their wares). The defeat of the ERA. Trying to enforce morality on television, and other movies. In the 90s, the grumblings began regarding gay marriage. With the issue of transgender bathrooms succeeding today, the ERA, while defeated, essentially has come to be everything its detractors feared.
All the while, the left was pointing its fingers, changing the culture, using the courts to chip a little here, and a little there. Effecting a culture change through entertainment, schools, and courts. It is tragic, but not really surprising. Way back time.
In the 50s, a movie was made to highlight the problems of marijuana. It was "Reefer Madness" and was a horribly done movie, that probably had the opposite effect. Decades later, it was still being shown in schools, and ultimately, I remember that it was shown during one of the Memorial Day/Labor Day all night blowouts that the Classic Rock station of the era, KYYS, KY102, put on. It became a spoof, and a cult classic. (but who doesn't remember those blowouts?)
The right forgot (and still hasn't remembered, other than lip service) that they were the party of small government. As such, writing laws limiting what people can do for, or to, themselves, was really contrary to that mantra. By focusing, and highlighting all of these things, the right essentially lit the candle that drew everyone in. I mean, come on, if they want to ban it, then it must be awesome, right? (Reefer Madness) By highlighting a practice (gay marriage) that has no impact on anyone, directly, (more in a minute), the Right created a sympathetic backlash, that rode its way into King Kennedy's court. (that would be Supreme Court Justice Kennedy, to whom social standing is way more important than law, and was the deciding vote on Gay Marriage)
It is at this moment that I want to explain how we have not followed a key point in freedom. It is a Mormon teaching, yet universally applicable. For those that don't know, let me explain,
First, of course, I do not represent the Church of Jesus Christ or Latter Day Saints, in any capacity, other than as a member. Having said that...
The Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, wrote a letter that contained 13 tenets of the faith, as a response to someone asking about the beliefs. These are known today as the Articles of Faith, and can be found in the book of scripture known as the Pearl of Great Price. Here is #11:
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
Read it again. It lays out very forcefully an essential truth, particularly for those societies that believe in religious freedom. If we want to believe as we will, then, by necessity, we need to allow others the right to believe, or not, as they wish. That includes limiting laws only to protect the lives, liberties, and properties of others. Of course, that protection includes not forcing people to participate in activities that violate their beliefs. Practicing a religion is more than Sunday worship. It is living.
Can we talk about our morals? Of course. Can we fund entertainment that supports our beliefs? Absolutely. With freedom comes accountability. Had the religious right focused on the culture, using the mediums available, instead of mandates of law, how different would things be? Hindsight is 20/20. And now that we are where we are, we have jeopardized religious freedom for all.
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