This may or not be brief in lieu of the fact that we're in the middle of a move, but I wanted to expound on this idea that has become so central to the general popular debate. As a caveat let me put out a warning that one or two ideas may not be popular amongst more conservative minds so please don't show up at my new door with torches and pitchforks.

When most people have heard the term "legislating morality" it has flowed from the frothy mouths and frantic fingers of liberals reacting to conservative desires such as the criminalization of abortion and gay marriage. The rants are often passionately flavorful, peppered with an "advanced" vocabulary, but when I try to envision the people behind the words I always digress to an image of a thesaurus warehouse full to the rafters with monkeys tearing into the product, literally throwing big words around. But the simians aren't altogether wrong, you see. I think they're partially right in that morality shouldn't be legislated. Should we act morally? Yes, of course. Should we follow the good path and shun the bad? Absolutely. Does making statements in the form of question/answer sets make me cringe to the brink of implosion? I'm not answering the question because I'm on the brink of implosion.


Legislating morality is arrogant, at best and devastating at worst. It is arrogant because it is imposing the personal philosophy of one or many on another or others. It is the intellectual telling the rough neck that he is backwards and his ways are unevolved so the rough neck must be made to be progressive, evolved, sophisticated. It is the deeply religious zealot telling the liberal progressive that his ways are immoral and ungodly so the progressive must be made to conform to what the spiritual deem morally acceptable. There are as many more examples as there are ideologies, beliefs, opinions and tastes.


I will give an example and here I will get straight to the unpopular opinion. I do not agree with gay marriage. I don't agree with homosexuality, period. According to my beliefs it is a moral incongruity. In the words of our dear, dear president, let me be clear. I do not hate, or even dislike homosexuals, I only disagree with homosexuality. I disagree only with the actions, not the [mostly] wonderful people. However, it is also against my beliefs to deny anyone the right to choose. Homosexual marriage does violate what I believe to be the sanctity of marriage, but it doesn't violate the sanctity of my marriage nor anyone elses'. Live and let live, I say.

Long story short, it is the arrogance of our leaders that has lead them to assume they must follow this course. They assume that we need them. They assume that without them the very fabric of our society would come apart at the seams. We don't need to be told to be charitable and forcing us to do so will make us resentful and belligerent and those we're forced to help dependent and corrupt. There is no other logical end. W. Cleon Skousen wrote that the great human secret is this: A man will compel himself to go ever so much farther than he will allow someone else to compel him to go. How ironic that these "progressives" are creating the very atmosphere that can only lead to digression, even our doom.