The people have spoken, and the message is a menacing one. Contrary to what one might think, I'm not referring to the re-election of the president; in that regard, the voice of the people did not speak clearly enough to be truly disturbing.
I'm citing, rather, the approval by 11 states of referenda that support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Among the states which approved these proposals are Michigan, Utah and Ohio. In Mississippi, 85% of all voters approved the referendum.
This result underscores how important family values can be in an election year. A show I was listening to on NPR touched upon this point while attempting to discern where Kerry went wrong in his campaign. Talking Head X pointed out that one of the things Kerry had working against him was that President Bush had strongly defined himself as the candidate that stood for family values and religious morals. The consensus seemed to be that democrats failed to find a rallying point in the face of an incumbant party yielding these two key issues.
But what does family values mean? I've never heard anyone give this term an explicit definition. When I think of family values, the first thing that comes to mind is an idyllic childhood memory - my family and I enjoying a meal together. Other than that, I can only find general terms - trust, love, commitment - to describe family values.
Likewise with religious morals. The most important facets of religious faith - charity, responsibility, love for one's neighbor - are concepts that are beautiful and worthwhile by themselves - not because they are handed down to us by divine providence.
So when candidates for public office evoke the specter of family values, what does it really mean?
It means nothing. It means nothing because government, thankfully, cannot sit at our dinner tables, cannot make our meals, cannot even pass the peas. Families find their own values; and for all the display of tradtional values my family exhibited we weren't better off than anyone else. The veneer was easily shed to reveal a family that was deeply dysfunctional.
But the notions of family values and religious morals persist. They persist because most people simply don't want to be responsible for themselves, nor be challenged by the world around them. It is much easier to circle around the monoliths of religion and family values and beat their chests and scream.
"Gays shouln't marry because God said so."
I look forward to the day I see a gay couple leading a family that is happier than mine ever had the chance to be.
P.S. In no way do I mean to insult my friends who believe in God. They all tend to show a deeply pragmatic understanding of their faiths which sets them apart from the knee-jerk dogmatism described above. As usual, my friends have proven themselves to be exceptional (in a good way).
