Family Values? I've Gotcher Family Values

The ''Religious Right'' made a lot of noise about ''family values'' and sold the Republican agenda to 53% of the Americans who voted in the last election. Of what are they speaking when they talk about ''family values'' and ''morality''?

Is outlawing abortion a primary factor in the life of the average family? Do we all expect our daughters to become pregnant out of wedlock and to determine that abortion is the answer to her plight? Or is our concern only that someone else's daughter might do so? Is that really our problem or something that another family will have to worry about? What ever happened to the old principle of "minding your own business"? Our problem is rearing our own family to belive in our God and to live morally and it is a sufficient task without assuming the job of telling other families what their values should be. If you have done a sufficiently good job of educating your children on abstinence and/or birth control, you have nothing to worry about. In any event, if your child decides to have an abortion she will, with or without your consent and your only hope will be that she can find a real physician who will perform it in an antiseptic manner and not with a coat hanger in a filthy kitchen which could remove your daughter from you forever.

The other issue which appears to have divided our nation at this critical time is whether homosexuals should be allowed to participate in the rites of either marriage or "personal commitment contract". There are those who want to amend our precious Constitution to forbid it! Do we have a close relative who is gay or Lesbian? Do we have flaming faggots roaming our streets looking for young people to victimize? I think not! You may object to the flagrant, shocking behavior of the transvestites in the parades in New York City and, being ignorant of personal knowledge, decide that this behavior applies to all. Not so! Most gay people look just like you do and they go to work every day, moving among you without notice. The lucky ones will have already established a monogamous relationship which will last for at least as long as most marriages. The concept of "marriage" or "domestic contract" would merely allow them to provide their mate with the same protections that the rest of us provide for those we love. The idea of closing the Church doors to them and closing them off from a relationship with God, according to their consciences, is a thing that is abhorrent to those who truly love the Lord.

The amendments to State Constitutions as well as the one that is proposed to be added on the national level states that marriage shall be "limited to one man and one woman". Does this mean one at a time or one for life? This could be interpreted by some Conservative Supreme Court, at some time in the future, as being a prohibition against divorce and re-marriage. THAT could certainly limit the eligiblity of some politicians, now and in the future. Scratch President Reagan and about half the Congress!

When is the "religious right" going to realize that morality is not limited to sex and sexuality? War for no good reason is immoral! War for a lie is immoral! War for corporate profit and empire is immoral! War in the Name of God is immoral! Government law-makers who create "loopholes" in the law for the benefit of their cronies and campaign contributors are immoral! Executives who allow special interests to sway their actions by contibutions of money are behaving immorally! Furthemore, people who dress up "all spiffy" in silk suits and fancy ties, spout selected passages from the Word of God in order to convince you to send them your money or to vote for their choice of Presidential candidate are immoral!

God gave us the Bible for us to read and "rightly divide the Word of Truth" and He gave us the power to reason and to think for ourselves, deciding right and wrong according to our own judgement. We should all spend more time reading the Bible and less time listening to the charlatans who command the television camera and the pulpit as a means to control our thinking and, thus, to enslave us to their principles. It is time to throw off the lazy habit of assuming the good faith of any who claim to be preaching the Word of God and to look at their actions of self-aggrandizement a bit more closely. It is long past time for true Christians to think for themselves, to re-read the Gospels, (all of them as well as the Christmas story). and get back to the principles of Jesus, Himself, in caring for the poor, nurturing the children and loving our neighbor, leaving Caesar's business to Caesar and concentrating on the Kingdom of Heaven in our own household!

Mary Pitt is a septuagenarian Kansan who is self-employed and active in the political arena. Her concerns are her four-generation family and the continuance of the United States as a democracy with a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people". Comments and criticism may be addressed to mpitt@cox.net .

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