For a long time, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), a conservative, opposed gay marriage, along with the majority of his party. Two years ago, he discovered his son was gay, or his son revealed he was gay. Later, Portman had a change of heart about the issue. He has come out in favor of gay marriage.
His initial opinion was based on tradition, moral law, the proper conduct and foundation for men and women. His new take issue conflates issues that deserve scrutiny.
Sexuality, in itself, is a choice. Attraction is a response to what we are thinking. Our thinking, identity and actions should not be a response to what we are feeling. That Rob Portman, father, is accommodating rather than instructing or even informing his son of the poor consequences of his decision, is disconcerting.
On homosexuality, it is unfortunate that American culture is drifting toward accommodation instead of education. The boundary between childhood and maturity often rests on a growing reliance on truths, verities greater than ourselves, instead of acquiescing to our sentiments.
Feelings, the Wrong Scale to Weigh
Human beings who make massive life decisions based on feelings are dooming themselves to limited lives. They fence themselves inside the dilemma of appeasing their feelings or shifting their circumstances to acculturate themselves to comfort measures.
Homosexuality is a choice, a bad one. The high incidence of disease, dysfunction, and death create ample evidence to suggest that human beings would be wise to avoid such conduct. The larger number of people who engage in homosexual conduct, only to break away, settle down, marry and have children, all but refutes the notion that people are born gay.
Sex, too, is a choice. It is based on a proper understanding of ourselves and our bodies. The expanding consensus in some religious communities, however, indicates that instead of walking by faith, feelings and facts of the moment are dominant. Anyway, sexual conduct should not be determined by feelings alone. The consequences of unimpeded emotional leanings on sex have contributed to a rising number of women having children out of wedlock. The long-term consequences of raising children without a stable home, with a mother and a father, are staggering.
Returning to homosexuality, the argument that people are born gay has no validity in empirical, historical, anecdotal, or even sociological literature. Tammy Bruce, the openly gay talk show host, acknowledges that she chooses to be a lesbian.
The ancient Greeks, who celebrated homosexuality, in the end promoted marriage as the means for procreation and civic life. Other tribal societies that permit such conduct do not establish such relations as the final norm. The issue rises above law, tradition, even religion. The truth remains: homosexuality is a bad choice.
Why Are We Having This Debate?
What has created this turn of events that men and women accept the idea that people are born gay or straight? First, a manifest of “radical individualism” has taught people they are who they think they are. Unfortunately, the disparate opinions of individuals cannot carry a person. As a result, we are swayed by the opinions of men, the largeness of groups, and a massive conformity ensues. Sen. Portman is wrong to change his mind about the issue simply because his son says that he is gay when the notion of identifying by one's conduct is foolish. The poverty of identity in our world has led people to succumb to sexual urges as a defining element of who they are.
Further, a culture of shame and conformity, which has replaced a commitment to greater realities beyond ourselves and our sentiments, has created these attitudes. Rather than standing up for what people believe, an increasing number of people are accommodating the perverse choices of the few, with a quiet disdain now giving way to a raving refrain of bigotry, prejudice and discrimination for those who choose to speak the truth on the matter.
Sen. Portman is wrong to change his views because of his son. He joins the widening chorus embracing an aberrant lifestyle that teaches such conduct is normal even though a person's body resists these interactions in the first place.
Sen. Portman, a good father and a good country never would never despise a person for abusing his body. It would remind him/her of his innate dignity as a human being, contrasting this truth with the damage sure to ensue should he choose to practice homosexuality.
You are wrong, Sen. Portman. Gay is not good.
Arthur Christopher Schaper is a writer and blogger on issues both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A lifelong resident of Southern California, he currently lives in Torrance. He may be contacted at arthurschaper@hotmail.com, aschaper1.blogspot.com and at asheisministries.blogspot.com. Also see waxmanwatch.blogspot.com.
