"America stands at a defining moment. The only comparison is our battle for independence for England."
No, that quotation wasn't George Bush talking about the war on terror, John Kerry speaking about the dangers of the Patriot Bill, Abraham Lincoln during his Gettysburg Address, or even Ralph Nader's ego holding forth on his candidacy for U.S. President. Rather, it was from Reverend Louis Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, speaking about, of all things, gay marriage (in an Associated Press article on CNN.com). Yes, folks, there are people--and they have the ear of this Administration--who absolutely believe that the fight for and against gay marriage is equivalent to the American Revolution in terms of its importance in defining our country.
The focus of the article in which this quote is found is that many opponents of gay civil rights and gay marriage are actually welcoming the attention on gay marriage, because they believe that it will draw new audiences for their bigoted and hateful rhetoric and beliefs.
Even as they issue dire warnings, many longtime opponents of the gay-rights movement are welcoming the furor over same-sex marriage as a chance to expand the audience for their unfavorable views of homosexuality.
Activists in this camp -- clergy, conservative lobbyists, men and women who say they moved away from homosexuality through prayer or therapy -- have been dismayed by gay-rights advances in recent years. But they see new opportunities for their cause if, as polls indicate, a majority of the Americans oppose the spreading push for gay marriage.
"People are taking us more seriously," said Joseph Nicolosi, a leading proponent of the contested concept that homosexuality is a disorder treatable by therapy.
It's sad and a little frightening that there are people who spend so much time, thought, energy and money to paint gay folk as sick, evil or both. Just think what good they might do if they spent as much time worrying about the real evils that plague our society.
Perhaps they are right, in a way. I believe this issue may define our country for the future. If this amendment actually passes, it will define our country as a bigoted, hipocratical state where we can treat our citizens like dirt and hear no comments to the contratry but will tell all of nations how they are to treat their citizens.