Same-sex Marriage

As Americans, it seems as if we always need something, usually sexual, to get all worked up over. Last month it was the young lady who testified about the need to have contraceptives covered by medical insurance. It seems to me that if “ceptives” such as Viagra and Cialis are covered, it is only fair to cover their “contras.” It's fairly obvious that the healthcare law is written by men – women's needs are excluded.

But this month the concern is about same-sex marriage. Now I know that the Bible says that says that homosexuality is an abomination, but it also says the same thing about eating shellfish. So I would be more impressed by the Biblical argument if those who are fighting so adamantly against same-sex marriage were to campaign just as vigorously against the crab and lobster industry.

What about the argument that same-sex marriage will destroy conventional marriage? I doubt that I would love my wife any less if the couple next door to me turned out to be married lesbians. Nor would I care.

But of course, this is far more important than job losses, Israeli/Arab tensions, expansion of nuclear capabilities, climate change, the Presidential election, etc., isn't it?

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Comments

There Are Only Seven Jokes - Introduction

The statement “There are only seven jokes – all the rest are variations,” has been around for a long time, but no one ever seems to know what the original seven are. I think I have found the solution to the mystery. The answer is to be found in an article published in the New York Times on May 2, 1909. Entitled “New Jokes? There Are No New Jokes, There Is Only One Joke,” it goes on to say that all jokes are a distortion, and lists seven categories of distortion. Supposedly every joke will fit into one of the categories. I believe that repetition changed the seven categories into the seven jokes. Each of my next seven blogs will be devoted to exploring one of the categories. In addition, I shall attempt to give an example or two of jokes which I think fit the category. You must realize that this article appeared over one hundred years ago, so most of the jokes a...

By Today’s Standards Many of my Teachers Would be in Jail

I started school in a two-room building: grades 1 to 4 in one room; grades 5 to 8 in the other. One teacher in each room taught all four grades. I don’t remember first grade very well – the teacher left at the end of the year. I am pretty sure it was not my fault. Now keep in mind that reading the Bible every morning was the standard for all grades at that time. But my teacher in grades two to four went a little above and beyond the normal practice. As a member of a “plain” sect, she considered it her duty to lead the little heathens to Christianity. She offered a free Bible to all students who managed to memorize 20 verses. I memorized my verses – “Jesus saves” was my favorite because it was the shortest – and got my Bible with my twenty underlined in red. That would be illegal today (not the underlining), and rightly so. Teachers may not teach religion, although contrary to what many folks seem to think, students may bring their Bibles to school, read them, and pray their...

The First Snowfall of the Season

This morning the grass was covered in white – the first snowfall of the season. Actually it started as a rain/snow mixture late yesterday afternoon, and accumulated only an inch or two on the non-paved areas. Not too bad – it eases us gradually into winter. You may have guessed that I am not a big fan of cold weather. It may seem strange, but the first thing I think of when I see new-fallen snow is the Claude Thornhill recording of his theme , "Snowfall."Although I like his version, the Manhattan Transfer version is my favorite. I don’t know why, but for some reason, perhaps it’s the harmony, I tend to puddle up when I hear it. Somehow it brings back, not particular memories, but emotions of days long, long, lonnnggg ago. After the emotions, the memories flood in: sledding on the hill northwest of the farm where I lived with my grandparents, followed by putting my cold feet up on the warm part of the old coal stove; my first and only venture onto skis; the Christmas ev...

Thoughts Before The Alarm Sounds

Search This Blog