Trappist monk, Father Thomas Merton
"The best, imposed as a norm, becomes evil.”
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"The best, imposed as a norm, becomes evil.”
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Dear John,
You probably know that same-sex marriage has been legalized in your native Pennsylvania.
A related observation...
For decades, right-wing Christians have made liberals, progressives and radicals feel out of place in the church, that these "rebels" are incorrigible sinners and that conservatives alone are God's "Chosen People."
"Liberalism: Satanic Rebellion Against God"
The Thinking Housewife
Now, in large part due to Pope Francis' emphasis on non-judgmental service, conservative hubris is revealed as counterproductive arrogance.
Across the spectrum of Christian opposition to Francis' commitment to "walk The Way," "traditionalist Catholics" have become singularly rabid, accusing Bergolio (as they call him) of being an impostor-pope, claiming that St. Peter's Chair is vacant, a condition known as sedevacantism.
Specifically, traditionalist Catholics claim that Pope Francis is not a Catholic at all and therefore ineligible to be pope.
"The Thinking Housewife's Passion For Pope Paul IV Who Initiated European Ghettoes"
Traditionalist Catholics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditionalist_Catholic
Sedevacantism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedevacantism
"The Thinking Housewife" Slags Pope Francis As "Sloganeering Papal Impostor""
The tables have turned and many conservative Catholics are exiling themselves, at least from what we commonly call Catholicism.
No matter how you slice it, same-sex marriage is guaranteed by the "Equal Protection" clause of The Constitution. Simply put, there is no intellectually defensible way to claim otherwise.
As a result, conservatives -- both religious and secular -- are now obliged to identify themselves as revolutionaries who fundamentally oppose The Constitution of the United States.
"Republicans For Revolution: A Study In Anarchic Apocalypticism"
Back in the day when left-wingers opposed the Vietnam "conflict" -- and young people were taking refuge in Canada -- conservatives giddily wagged their fingers, demanding these traitors "love America or leave it."
Now, conservatives find themselves in an identical adversarial role. Although God knows its eventual impact on the conservative psyche, once an individual seriously "questions authority," the Rubicon has been crossed.
The upshot? Traditional conservatives are no longer authoritarian but anti-authoritarian.
Although full realization will dawn slowly, American conservatives have no alternative but to realize they are opposed to The Constitution of the United States, or, at least, to the "Equal Protection" clause which is fundamental to America's Body Politic.
The Equal Protection clause is the linchpin of American Democracy - the constitutional rubric that guarantees The Rule of Law and the "rights" of all citizens, not just a "chosen few."
The upshot? Traditional conservatives are no longer authoritarian but anti-authoritarian.
Although full realization will dawn slowly, American conservatives have no alternative but to realize they are opposed to The Constitution of the United States, or, at least, to the "Equal Protection" clause which is fundamental to America's Body Politic.
The Equal Protection clause is the linchpin of American Democracy - the constitutional rubric that guarantees The Rule of Law and the "rights" of all citizens, not just a "chosen few."
Personally, I believe the church is wrong to oppose same-sex marriage and that Yeshua wisely chose to remain silent on all matters relating to gay and lesbian morality.
http://www.christianbiblereference.org/faq_homosexuality.htm
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/13/1091305/-Wrong-Jesus-did-speak-about-homosexuality#
http://www.christianbiblereference.org/faq_homosexuality.htm
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/13/1091305/-Wrong-Jesus-did-speak-about-homosexuality#
Whether the church is right or wrong -- and, notably, Rome demoted the mortal sin of usury when Capitalism became Europe's modern economic system -- the separation of church and state is now coming into high relief.
Soon, conservative Catholics will either agree to the separation of church and state or they will separate themselves from the fundaments of American Democracy by taking refuge in theocracy, a form of governance which contrived three centuries of torturous, murderous Inquisition coupled with the nonsensical bloodlust of Crusade -- the same term George W. Bush used during his deceptive run-up to the invasion of Iraq.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsjgjM56HRw
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa
"Shallowness And The Thinking Housewife"
Soon, conservative Catholics will either agree to the separation of church and state or they will separate themselves from the fundaments of American Democracy by taking refuge in theocracy, a form of governance which contrived three centuries of torturous, murderous Inquisition coupled with the nonsensical bloodlust of Crusade -- the same term George W. Bush used during his deceptive run-up to the invasion of Iraq.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsjgjM56HRw
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa
"The terrible thing about our time is precisely the ease with which theories can be put into practice. The more perfect, the more idealistic the theories, the more dreadful is their realization. We are at last beginning to rediscover what perhaps men knew better in very ancient times, in primitive times before utopias were thought of: that liberty is bound up with imperfection, and that limitations, imperfections, errors are not only unavoidable but also salutary. The best is not the ideal. Where what is theoretically best is imposed on everyone as the norm, then there is no longer any room even to be good. The best, imposed as a norm, becomes evil.”
"Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander,” by Trappist monk, Father Thomas Merton
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Merton Quotations
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Merton Quotations
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Let's get together.
Love you
Alan
U.S. judge strikes down Pennsylvania law barring gay marriage
BY DAVID DEKOK
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania Tue May 20, 2014
1 OF 3. Gay rights supporters hold a rally on the Pennsylvania State Capital steps after a ruling struck down a ban on same sex marriage in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, May 20, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/MARK MAKELA
(Reuters) - A federal judge struck down Pennsylvania's ban on same-sex marriage on Tuesday in the latest court decision extending the rights of matrimony to gay and lesbian couples in the United States.
The decision came a day after another U.S. district judge declared a similar ban on gay marriage unconstitutional in Oregon, the 18th state to gain legal standing for same-sex nuptials.
"By virtue of this ruling, same-sex couples who seek to marry in Pennsylvania may do so, and already married same-sex couples will be recognized as such in the Commonwealth," U.S. District Judge John Jones III wrote in overturning Pennsylvania's 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.
Most recent federal court decisions lifting statewide prohibitions on gay marriage have come with a stay maintaining the status quo pending appeal, but Jones's ruling did not.
There is, however, a three-day waiting period for all weddings in Pennsylvania. The state has 30 days to decide whether to appeal Jones's ruling, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Later on Tuesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco extended its earlier stay of a judge's decision last week striking down Idaho's gay marriage ban and set an expedited schedule for an appeal by the state. Oral arguments for that appeal are planned for early September.
Still, gay rights activists have scored a string of legal victories on the marriage front in such states as Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia and Texas in a trend that has gained momentum since the Supreme Court ruled last June that legally married same-sex couples are eligible for federal benefits.
In his opinion in the Pennsylvania case, Judge Jones noted the issue of gay marriage "is a divisive one" that makes some people "deeply uncomfortable."
"However, that same-sex marriage causes discomfort in some does not make its prohibition constitutional," he wrote. "Nor can past tradition trump the bedrock constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection."
He compared Pennsylvania's ban on same-sex marriage with school segregation laws overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision.
The legal challenge to Pennsylvania's same-sex marriage ban was filed last July by several gay couples.
"This is a momentous day for our clients and all same-sex couples in Pennsylvania who want to have their love and commitment to each other recognized in the same way as that of other couples," ACLU executive director Reggie Shuford said.
The National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, called the ruling "brazen and unjust" and said voters should decide the issue.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has previously said she would not seek to defend the ban in court, prompting calls for impeachment by conservative legislators.
On Tuesday, Kane tweeted: "Today, in Pennsylvania, the Constitution prevailed. Inequality in any form is unacceptable and it has never stood the test of time."
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