- the Idea of 'Gay Marriage' Is Idiotic

I was sitting in my daughter’s Karate class perusing my National Review, when I finally worked my way through to an article on Carrie Prejean written by Maggie Gallagher. You remember Carrie Prejean right? She was the beautiful young girl who incurred the wrath of the gay rights lobby by saying that she believed that marriage was between a man and a woman. What immediately followed was a rash of media venom and character assassination unmatched since Sarah Palin winked at America from the podium of the Republican convention.

She’s not really my type young Carrie Prejean. She’s beautiful of course, but for all I joke about it I actually married my wife for her wits. And in that regard I’m not so sure a tall blonde from California and I would be such a good fit (to say nothing of the 20+ year age difference.) Still, she seems a likable enough and Maggie Gallagher’s portrayal of her did nothing to convince me otherwise.

But getting back to the article, there are lots of good reasons to subscribe to National Review, and I’ve grown accustomed to finding entertaining and insightful essays in its pages. But there was something in particular about this piece by Maggie Gallagher which really struck me. In fact, when I stopped to read a bit of it to my wife next to me, I found myself misting up. What a story of courage this is:

A stunning young Christian beauty-pageant contestant was asked on National Television by a gay celebrity blogger (whatever that is) what she thought about gay marriage. Watch the video clip on youtube. You can see in her eyes that she knows: If she says what she thinks, she is not going to be Miss USA. She’s 21 years old. She’s worked very, very hard for that tiara. She comes from a modest family background. Money is tight, especially since she had to quit her job to prepare for the pageant.

The tiara means a luxury apartment. It means the possibility of a lucrative modeling career. You can see in her eyes that she realizes that all she has to do is … fudge. “I don’t like to watch that video” Carrie has told me. She doesn’t like it for the very reason I found it so powerfully moving: In the space of 30 seconds, you see a young woman first be tempted then decide that no, she cannot fudge, she has to tell the truth. “I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anyone out there.” You see her choose between the truth and the tiara. She never asked for this ordeal, but she was tested and triumphed.

It’s a powerful moment and I found myself just as moved by it as Maggie was. I can say without hesitation that my tendency toward ‘sticking to my beliefs’ has cost me in small ways through my life. But it was never the kind of price that Carrie Prejean had to face. And if I’m ever in such a situation I can only hope to be as true to my convictions as she was to hers.

She certainly didn’t deserve the treatment she got from the media from that point on. And it says something terrible about our media elite that they would let something like that happen to a young girl who was doing her best not to offend anyone, but couldn’t find a way top compromise her values. I cant’ tell you how much I admire her courage and dedication to the truth.

In her essay, Maggie goes on to relate the details of a political movement run by a very small but persuasive minority who is foisting their will on the majority, mostly though threats and intimidation directed at the elite. It’s their belief that if they can make it impossible to speak up against gay marriage in public then it will be impossible to stop it. She also relates many of the details of the movement that have probably escaped the public eye.

One particularly egregious example she relates was an incident where the Boston Law firm Ropes and Gray had to drop the Catholic Church as a client because of the church's opposition to gay marriage. They were told that if they did not, then they would be unwelcome to recruit for new staff at Harvard University. In my mind this incriminates both the gay rights mafia and Harvard University. But I’d have never hired a Harvard graduate anyway. (Many Areas of Wall Street have already figured out that they arent’ worth the hassle anymore.)

Maggie has also had trouble hiring legal help for the National Organization for Marriage” which she heads. Even conservative lawyers with deep connection to Republican and conservative causes have told her that there would be:

…too expensive- too much economic retaliation and potential interference with their ability to recruit top legal talent at Ivy League Universities.

Her appreciation of the battle being waged by her opponents is impressive; second only to the case she makes for her own view. Her position, eloquently argued in NR was that polling indicates that ‘gay marriage’ is not a terrible popular cause for Americans and if left to the people instead of ruling elite, it would be a dead issue. This view is supported by proposition 8 in California where the people resoundingly defeated a Gay Marriage law and made marriage legal only between “ a man and a woman”.

But the gay rights mafia has managed to achieve a level of small successes through a combination of legal battles in sympathetic jurisdictions, and through making it seem inevitable to everyone else. That inevitability managed to keep most people silent on the issue for fear of being branded ‘discriminatory”. They then would strong arm their ideas through the legal system and force the majority to accept them even though they would disapprove if it were left to them. It was an effective tactic. Effective, that is, until Carrie Prejean.

In a single sentence Carrie single handedly ended the media blackout of the issue. She raised it as a front page topic of discussion, and caused the polling in support of the issue to drop almost 10 full percentage points overnight. By being courageous and true to herself, Carrie Prejean made it OK to not be in favor of gay marriage in the urban centers where the elite dwell, and gave people who needed it the fortitude to stand up and declare their feelings on the issue.

Personally, I’ve never had much trouble discussing my political opinions in public. But to my knowledge the issue of gay marriage has only come up in conversation once. As usual, I was unafraid to declare it a stupid idea that misses the whole point of marriage.

“Marriage is about the children not the adults.” I said, “I’ve lived with women before and that’s most certainly not the same as getting married to them. And since that’s all gay people are doing, the idea of them getting ‘married’ is ridiculous.”

But then I thought about it a minute and said:

“Actually … it seems to me that gay people can get married the same as everyone else… but where a gay guy will find a woman willing to marry him is really beyond me, and what’s more… if he’s not going to have kids with her why would he want to bother? Then again, if he can convince her then it’s really none of my business.”

My opponent in the conversation was a not too terribly bright liberal, who was far outgunned. I think his response was “Well that means you’re against gay people.” or something equally as childish. If I remember correctly I laughed at him.

My point is that it’s never been a topic I was afraid of, and now that I’ve seen the kind of tactics being used against Carrie Prejean and others, you can better believe I’m going to go looking for fights on the issue. This isn’t going to be a conversation I avoid… it will be one I instigate… in public places and at high volume.

When I start chatting about how idiotic gay marriage is in places like DelFrisco’s and Pastice, I’m not going to be doing it in a way that makes anyone think I’m embarrassed by my opinion. I’m going to make sure everyone in the place is discussing it when they get home and that they aren’t afraid to object to it. And in my social circles talk like that will filter up to the media elite pretty quickly. I can't get it on the evening news. But maybe I can get the people who can... to feel less frightened of discussing it.

Most of the people who read this blog have never met me personally but I’m sure those that have will tell you that I’m not one to be cowed over politics. When I know I’m right I’ll say my piece and not give a damn how people will react to it. And in this case I figure if this little beauty pageant winner had the courage to speak up in public, then the very least I can do is have the courage to do the same…especially since unlike her, it’s not going to cost me a thing.

This quote from National Review was reproduced without getting clearance so do me (and yourself) a favor and go subscribe to it here to keep them off my back. It’s more than worth every penny.