8.9.06

the pope vs canada

pope benedict has criticized canada for allowing same-sex marriage and abortion, saying that such laws are a result of "the exclusion of god from the public sphere."

i guess i'm a terrible person to comment on this because i'm an athiest (if i have to label myself). but personally, i like tolerance. i like freedom of choice. i like that women are able to have control over their bodies, especially in the cases of rape and incest. and i guess i've always seen marriage as a man-made institution, and not a religious one. and because i see it as such, i see marriage as something that can be changed, adapted, redefined, like any man-made institution. and i think ultimately it is up to the men and women involved in marriage to make it work, not god. god probably has better things to do.

the way i see it is, i'm not going to get cancer if two men decide to marry each other, so what do i care? i am convinced that homosexuality has been around since humans were in caves. somewhere, somehow, some caveman was fantasizing about his caveman hunting buddy. homosexuality is not something that can be fixed, it's just one aspect of human nature.

and this is what prime minister stephen harper thinks: has said he would revisit the issue and that members of parliament would be asked this fall whether they wish to reopen the debate.

that's fine, of course, debate is great. however, i have a feeling that with regards to the definition of marriage that is enshrined in the constitution, it will be very hard for opponents of gay marriage to get any definition of marriage that excludes same-sex couples. and i know that people say that the courts should not be making the laws, which they aren't; they are just doing what they're supposed to do, which is interpreting law, and they decided that the previous definition of marriage between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. any law that isn't constitutional or fair, or denies a person what is considered one of their rights, will probably be struck down. it should be struck down.

yes, the people are to decide what is law, but there is a thing called mob mentality. and frankly, most people are idiots. if the majority were to dictate what is right and what isn't, then there'd still be slaves, there wouldn't be equality of the sexes (actually, there probably still isn't true equality), etc. gay marriage is ultimately a civil rights issue.

pope benedict laments the exclusion of god from the public sphere. honestly, take a look at what is going on in the middle east and the rest of the world. i know that a lot of the religious extremists tend to pervert religion to their own needs, but i think more religion is the last thing this world needs. how about some logic, some reality, some sane discussion and less religious zeal?

bottom line with same sex marriage, is that the government is there to protect everyone, not just the heterosexual wasps. as jean chretien said in 2003 regarding any sort of referendum on same sex marriage:

"to have a referendum to decide on the fate of the minority, it's a problem. It's why we have constitutions - to protect the rights of the minority. It's why we have the charter of rights. so if it is always the majority vote by referendum, who will defend the minorities?"

i think that sums it up. it's definitely a better quote than his famous response regarding the pepper spraying of apec protesters in vancouver: "for me, pepper, i put it on my plate."

as for abortion, i find it interesting that a lot of the people who proclaim that abortion is murder and that all life is precious, particularly in the united states, have no problems with the iraq war, a war jumpstarted on lies and pretense. i guess all life is precious, so long as that life is christian.

(source 1) (source 2) (source 3)