Reply #73: you should not have used it

[Old Mouse]

I will avoid that point further.

To restate: A religious minority believe that the word "marriage" has a specific Biblical meaning. They are in fact, incorrect. That is not important however because we have crossed into the realm of fanatical religious belief. It is not possible to convince these people the error of their interpretation. Faith trumps logic, an inoculation against any possible argument. These people only wanted the WORD. They didn't care about benefits, or civil unions, or the disparity of such... just that word itself, not its legal meaning.

Other people, for their own ends, started pushing these congregations to the fore of the news. Pundits started making noise that it was a major problem. The public swirling with images of steamy man-on-man sex combined with pinpoint focus of the "cultural divide" made this story carry more political impact than its separate factors. Religious fervor is higher now than at any other time in American history. People with political goals manipulated the religious angle in the public perception with tremendous skill.

This is when the community should have stood down. They should have looked beyond the immediate goal and seen some of the long term consequences of what was happening. In fact the issue stood a chance of petering out until Mayor Newsom overstepped his authority. He's my mayor. I voted for him. I am proud of him for the stand he took, but I wish he had used more of Willie Brown's political savvy.

George bush proved he didn't care about the issue and spoke against his own party's platform by endorsing civil unions just before the election. That should indicate the level of political manipulation this issue has wrought.

This issue allowed the Republican propaganda machine to craft the term "activist Judges" specifically to begin the removal of judicial check of the executive branch. That's a whole lot bigger than Gay rights.

Should have let the fundies have the eight letters. It was a battle that could be fought in other ways on other days. And I believe the left as a whole does not take the time to empathize with those they oppose.