Yes, I just wish that people would be more honest with exactly what they want. Maybe they are afraid that what they really want has no reasonable argument, so they wrap it in another argument.
For example, there are a good number of people in the Religious Right who believe that the US is a defacto theocracy, and should be run like one. However, they understand that that is not only contrary to the wishes of the founding fathers, but also would require a ripping up of the Constitution. So, instead, they hide their true goal behind code words like morality (apparently, a monopoly of the Christian religion).
Another example is gay marriage. Since they cannot find a reasonable argument against gay marriage that does not require a theocratical government, they use the 'domino' argument (which has to be one of the most fallacious arguments ever). Gay marriage will promote incest, child abuse, etc. Well, can't the dominos fall the other way? A law expressly forbidding gay marriage could be a domino to one that prevents interfaith and interrace marriages, given the same logic.
The founding fathers were wise indeed. Even though they were deeply religious, they knew that in order for a true democracy to flourish, there had to be a clear separation of their religious doctrine and the laws that protect free men. |
