Quote of the Day
Leaders are made,
they are not born.
They are made by hard effort,
which is the price which all of us must pay
to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.
Vince Lombardi
The Rob Portman "Gay Marriage" Kerfuffle
I will give Ohio's junior senator kudos for having the testicular fortitude for publicly flipping on the issue of legalizing gay marriage in support of his gay son whom recently came out. He knew that he would be seen on both sides of the debate as unprincipled: social conservatives would see it as a betrayal, and gay activists would view it contemptuously: too little, too late, conservative hypocrisy as usual.
Let me say that where conservatives are losing the propaganda wars is in political posturing : the question is never about extending marriage to nontraditional relationships like gay or polygamous; it's phrased in terms of a ban on nontraditional marriages. This is NOT a case like (Alcohol) Prohibition, where consumers had traditionally had the liberty to purchase alcoholic beverages and it was taken away. But it's more like a mint julep. I've never tasted a mint julep; if I ever go to a Kentucky Derby I might try one, but on rare social drinking occasions, I order a different drink. Do I feel threatened because my drink preference is not the official drink of the Kentucky Derby? No. As long as people don't try to restrict me from drinking my preferred drink, I don't mind. I feel a similar way about relationships; as long as a third party doesn't keep a couple from pursuing their own happiness... Is gender an arbitrary restriction on marriage, e.g., like race, religion or ethnicity? Surely not: marriage is a social construct tied to family through procreation and society's sustainability. Procreation is functionally dependent on gender differences, not incidental characteristics.
My conservatism is not a Burkean resistance to change in the status quo. It has more to do with enduring institutions and values. I have absolutely no problem with stopping the madness of statist empire building run amok and pulling it out by the roots. I consider the Nanny State as stunting the moral and spiritual development of the individual. The Nanny State is basically a domestic form of tyranny, which sparked the American Revolution.
I am particularly wary of socially experimental policies, including those underlying marriage and the family. In fact, I'm wary of policies in general which go beyond core competencies of security and justice. I'm not impressed, as some libertarians are, by polls showing growing acceptance under cultural political correctness, where marriage traditionalists are stereotyped as narrow-minded. I wouldn't care if 99% of American would favor doing away with the Fourth Amendment protections: it's an issue of conscience. If I believed that the definition of marriage was arbitrary, I would support the legalization of gay marriage. But marriage is not arbitrary but an evolved institution over thousands of years. .
Personally, I don't object to marriage-like civil unions or domestic partnerships for gays with certain legal rights (e.g., visiting rights and inheritance). But I can honestly say that my position supporting traditional marriage (and I'm a never-married bachelor) would remain the same, even if all my beloved nephews and nieces were gay (and 5 are married with children). If any had significant others, I would be welcoming and even attend their commitment ceremonies if it was feasible, but it would not change my basic position.
As to Rob Portman, I admire his public proclamation of love and support for his gay son. I think families should be emotionally supportive of each other. I don't blame former VP Cheney for publicly supporting his lesbian daughter. But it's one thing to support a family member and another to flip one's position on public policy which should be based on principle. For example, if I had an adult child whom was charged with DUI, I would be at the trial to support my child. That does not mean I would support repealing laws against drunk driving. (No, I'm not comparing gay relationships to drunk driving. I'm distinguishing personal acceptance from public policy.) So for shame, Sen. Portman--not for loving your gay son and accepting his significant others, but for unduly subordinating public policy to personal considerations.
Given a country and culture where marriage and family stability has been under assault, the last thing we need to do is exacerbate bad unintended consequences with dubious socially experimental public policy. I'm not the only pro-marriage libertarian, e.g., see here, here, and here.
Don't Let the Government Cyprus Me....
For any reader unaware, Cyprus' bank depositors found themselves earlier this week taxed 6.75 to 9.9% of deposits as Cyprus' price for a 10B euro bailout. For understandable reasons, this triggered bank runs and protests on Cyprus, and yet another small European country (not Greece) has roiled global stock exchanges. Then I saw one of my financial emails actually using 'Cyprus' as a verb in a sentence. Strange--I haven't heard people 'Bernanke' this or 'Obama' that...
Don't let the the government Cyprus me
Once again they search me, I'm just like everyone else they see
I wonder what it's like in my life to wander free
But losing everything is like Cyprus' fate coming down on me
Google Glasses: Privacy Rights?
My inner geek thinks the technology is way cool (no, I don't own a pair). But the ability to record privileged information or private conversations or events without the knowledge or consent of other parties is a concern (say, e.g., a police officer recording a conversation without a suspect's attorney present).
More on SOPA And Intellectual Property
Political Humor
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Backstreet Boys, "Shape of My Heart".
