Re: 2nd Term Part VII: You May Like Your Doctor But You Can't Keep Her
They should be better educated on what their religion actually espouses. I can't recall Jesus ever saying that gays were evil.... And before you throw out a quote from Leviticus, let me remind you it also says you shouldn't wear clothes of different threads, eat shellfish, get a tattoo or work on the Sabbath (among others).
I've made that argument myself, many times (although Jesus was silent on the subject, there are some New Testament references). Scriptures have been used and abused for centuries to advocate or defend various evils. And that will presumably continue forever. Nevertheless, millions of Americans believe that homosexuality is a sin. And since they're free to believe that if they chose, what are we to do about it? Certainly silencing or punishing them, collectively or individually, is un-American. No, the answer, as the ACLU says, is not less speech, but more. Plus, a dab of the tolerance so many of us proclaim but rarely demonstrate wouldn't hurt.
Back in the days when
Last Temptation of Christ was in theatres, conservative Christians worked themselves into a snit about the film. They organized protests outside theatres, letter writing campaigns and all the rest. They also wanted to pressure theatre owners to refuse to screen it. That's where
I draw the line. They're free to try to convince me not to spend my money on the movie. But in the final analysis, I reserve the right to make that decision for myself. That's help I don't need.
As I have written here many times, censors customarily deny they're censors. They suggest instead that the matter at hand is unique and requires unique measures. So if a movie speculates about Jesus' sex life, or some (very rich) Louisiana clod shares his antiquated view of sexuality, both need to be punished and silenced. Because we aren't capable of deciding for ourselves what's bull sh*t and what's not.