Ground.Has.Worms.

In this country we have experienced discrimination like the present before. It was called racism. Just because discrimination of gays is “accepted” in today’s society doesn’t justify this. In an article by John Lewis, this bigotry is compared to the past racism in this country. He calls on Americans to “come together and create one nation”, not another Mason-Dixon line.

Summary: He points out that the idea of letting gay couples marry and not calling it marriage is comparable to the “separate but equal” ruling. But we’ve learned that lesson, separate is not equal. Though this discrimination supposedly is in favor of Christianity, “cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred, and intolerance as racial discrimination.”

Commentary: I agree completely with John Lewis’s views on this subject. His approach is rational, respecting religion, yet stating that it is not more authoritative than the law when it comes to civil rights.

Analysis: This author is a renowned defender of civil rights in previous articles, so I assume he’s credible. He uses pathos, appealing to emotion, asking readers to “recognize that gay people living in our house [America] share the same hopes, troubles, and dreams.”

In an article written by James M. Wall, sexual harassment seems to be viewed as petty girls getting revenge at their professors for “inappropriate” subject matter. One case talks about a professor being suspended and sent to remedial therapy for reading aloud a story in the Talmud, a religious text that had sexual incidents therein. He was reading to compare the teachings of the Talmud to those of the Bible, a legitimate lesson, but was persecuted for the story’s, not his own, sexual overtones. The story stated that if a man were to fall on a woman and there was “accidental insertion” the man would be liable for pain inflicted and medical expenses, but not adultery because it did not count as a sin if it was not intentional. He was pointing out that it was this sort of story that led Jesus to point out:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart”
It is this sort of thing that leads people to think that sexual harassment is just a tool of revenge against men. It’s true that if a remark is made to a woman that is inappropriate, the teacher is at fault, but when no one is being mentioned, when, as in this case, it is merely a lesson with sexual overtones, no one is at fault, it’s merely a lesson. Isn’t there a difference between the professor hitting on someone, and the professor teaching, with a slight mention of sex? Yes, one is blatant harassment; the other is a lesson, nothing more. It is understandable, maybe, that the professor should stay away from lessons that happen to mention sex, but only out of fear for this sort of thing.

I am me,

no metaphor could explain this being.

I am me,

no object fits what you aren’t seeing.

I am me,

a short-tempered, immature girl.

I am me,green eyes, dyed red curls.

Behind the name, words, and expressions,

I am me, trying to forgive my transgressions.

Past the thougts and into the cold,

I am me, trying to heal my soul.

In the Boston Globe, there is an article that screams the message
America doesn’t want to hear: gay marriage is the least of our problems. With the war, the economy issues, terrorist threats, and health concerns, homosexuals getting married is grossly exaggerated as a “problem” in our society. As said in the article: “Gay couples are not masterminding terrorist bombing. They are not refining weapons-grade uranium nor are they running up federal budget deficits.” The author’s overall point in this article is that while there are so many other problems in today’s society, gay marriage is not an issue to worry about; also that there is no evidence to suggest that gay marriages hurt children or straight marriages. “Any serious defense of children has to include better physical and mental health care, stronger schools, increasing family incomes, and less exposure to crime and violence. Banning gay marriage would not accomplish any of these things.”

            I agree wholly with the message this article portrays, but I acknowledge its faults. While gay marriage isn’t the thing to worry about in today’s society, peoples’ discrepancies about it can’t be as easily dismissed as “we have bigger fish to fry.” These objections, however unfounded, need to be considered if any views are to truly change. I do appreciate, however, the arguments against the assertions that gay marriages hurt children, as seen above in quotations. On a different note, the outright discrimination of homosexuals to eh marry reminds one of the past injustice this country has seen based on race. There is no evidence to support such bigotry except that it is socially accepted due to society’s intolerance and xenophobia.

            This article was printed in the Boston Globe, the most widely circulated daily newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts and
New England; many of it’s authors have won Pulitzer Prizes. Sadly, the author of this particular article was not listed, so I am left to trust only the credibility of the newspaper itself, which, according to the praise it has received, I deem to be very high. This unnamed author is using logos to logically counteract arguments against gay marriage. While they do not present statistics exactly, they use common sense to invalidate these arguments.