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Why Marriage in America Is Wrong
Marriage equality has become a sticking point for many Americans, primarily from the conservative side of the spectrum. As we get closer to the point where SCOTUS could arguably settle the dispute, I have been thinking about why we have ended up with the entire argument in the first place.
The basis of the marriage equity camp’s argument is the 14th Amendment, while those opposed tend to argue on the basis of the First Amendment (even though we haven’t really gotten to the point where lawsuits are being filed to force religious organizations to recognize same-sex marriage.) Ben Carson ended up in a minor situation with the Southern Poverty Law Center over the fact that he publicly stated that gay rights organizations should not be able to define marriage. Sadly, I can’t bring myself to agree with him, at least not in the context of state recognition of marriage.
Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day said that a good culture is one that makes it easy to be good and a bad culture is one that makes it easy to be bad. As conservatives, we know that culture does not come from above. Rather, the culture — good or bad — is a composite of all of our little decisions. No one action makes the culture bad or good, but they still move the culture, imperceptibly, in one direction or the other.
