The other night I saw another debate on the topic of gay marriage. The debate was between Robert Jeffress, an opponent, and Wayne Besen, an extremely gay activist. It was the kind of lame debate I’ve come to expect lately on the Fox News show The O’Reilly Factor. In fact, nothing interesting happened until the last few seconds of the six-minute segment when Besen characterized the debate’s first legitimate point as “crazy.”
Jeffress argued the point many opponents argue when he said that gay marriage could lead to polygamy and even to marriage between a man and his pet. When Besen reacted strongly with the interjection “that’s crazy” he was saying more than that polygamy and man-beast marriage will never happen. His strong emotional reaction indicated a belief that those two things should never happen.
Besen’s strong reaction showed that he and Jeffress agree on more than they realize. The point is best illustrated by listing the four forms of marriage mentioned on the Factor segment, which was hosted by Juan Williams:
1. A union between one man and one woman.
2. A union between one man and another man – or, alternately, between one woman and another woman.
3. A union between one man and two or more women – or, presumably, between one woman and two or more men.
4. A union between one man and an animal – or between one woman and an animal.
Jeffress and Besen actually agree on the proper legal status of three of these arrangements; namely, that #1 should remain legal while #3 and #4 should remain illegal. They only disagree on the legal status of arrangement #2. In other words, Besen is just trying to get Jeffress to accept one-half, rather than merely one-forth, of the above arrangements. Of course, we all know why Besen wants him to do this. It is because to do so would be an expression of “tolerance.”
While the casual observer may comprehend quickly the reason gay activists like Besen want to expand the definition of marriage, there is no real indication why they would not want to expand it further. And there is little understanding of why Besen would react so strongly to an even more inclusive definition of marriage. If one can be morally superior to another by being more tolerant why not be really morally superior by being really tolerant?
The problem with the segment was really that its moderator Juan Williams seemed overly sympathetic with Besen to the point where he could not ask rather obvious questions. Had he done his job, Williams could have gotten a decent explanation for Besen’s opposition to #4; namely, that no union between man and animal could be legitimate because the latter cannot offer voluntary consent. That’s simple enough.
But things get more complicated when the advocate of gay marriage tries to explain his moral superiority in relation to the polygamist. And this is good because it helps us pause and focus the debate on the current rift between members of the gay community and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons.
The real difference between the typical Mormon and the typical gay activist was on display when Besen challenged the notion that Pastor Rick Warren loves gay people. In disagreeing, Besen said that Warren only wanted to “pray away the gay.” And he said this in a tone dripping with sarcasm.
Anyone who rightly calls himself Christian recognizes that he has all manner of anti-social impulses – to attack others, to lie, or to steal – and he welcomes those who would offer prayers to attenuate these impulses. But the gay activist isn’t so welcoming. He just gets offended.
Today you never hear the phrase “assaulting American”, “lying American”, or “stealing American.” But the term “gay American” is commonplace. That is because most gays have no interest in curbing their impulses. They not only act upon them but allow their expression to become the principal basis of their identity.
When the Mormons were told in the 19th Century that they had no right to polygamy, they decided to modify their religious practices and curtail their sexual behavior. That is why today they are among our most valuable citizens. But gays in the 21th Century have responded to similar dictates by storming into churches and impeding the religious rights of their peaceful neighbors.
I don’t really care where gays get the impulses underlying their sexual identity. But I do ponder the origins of their smug moral condescension.
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Mike S. Adams was born in Columbus, Mississippi on October 30, 1964. While a student at Clear Lake High School in Houston, TX, his team won the state 5A soccer championship. Mike Adams graduated from C.L.H.S. in 1983 with a 1.8 GPA. Mike Adams was ranked 734 among a class of 740, largely as a result of flunking English all four years of high school. After obtaining an Associate's degree in psychology from San Jacinto College, Mike Adams moved on to Mississippi State University where he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. While living in the fraternity house, his GPA rose to 3.4, allowing him to finish his B.A., and then to pursue a Master's in Psychology. In 1990, Mike Adams turned down a chance to pursue a PhD in psychology from the University of Georgia, opting instead to remain at Mississippi State to study Sociology/Criminology. This decision was made entirely on the basis of his reluctance to quit his night job as member of a musical duo. Playing music in bars and at fraternity parties and weddings financed his education. Mike Adams also played for free beer.
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Upon getting his doctorate in 1993, Adams, then an atheist and a Democrat, was hired by UNC-Wilmington to teach in the criminal justice program. A few years later, Adams abandoned his atheism and also became a Republican. He also nearly abandoned teaching when he took a one-year leave of absence to study law at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1998. After returning to teach at UNC-Wilmington, Adams won the Faculty Member of the Year award (issued by the Office of the Dean of Students) for the second time in 2000.
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After his involvement in a well publicized free speech controversy in the wake of the 911 terror attacks, Adams became a vocal critic of the diversity movement in academia. After making appearances on shows like Hannity and Colmes, the O'Reilly Factor, and Scarborough Country, Adams was asked to write a column for Townhall.com.
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Today Mike Adams enjoys the privilege of expressing himself both as a teacher and a writer. Mike Adams is also an avid hunter and reader of classic literature. Mike Adams published his first book, Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel, in 2004. His second book, Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" On Campus, was published in 2008.
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