We are witnessing some political behavior that is worthy of a serious conversation. Many of the most conservative political voices are digging their heels in deep on the subject of same sex marriage. Just yesterday morning I heard a piece on the radio in which Governor Mike Huckabee proclaimed that if the Republican Party didn’t stand up in opposition to same sex marriage he would leave the party and become an independent.
Let’s take a quick look at the First Amendment to our Constitution so that we are clear on what it says and what it does not say. The relevant portion reads as follows:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;……”
It is certainly the second portion of the protection that is in play here because the same sex marriage issue has nothing to do with establishing a new religion. Now, I’m sure the Governor is happy with his religious freedoms as a personal matter, but his stance on same sex marriage would oppose those freedoms for others. From my knothole in the fence, it looks like the Governor does not want others to impose their religious beliefs on him, but he does want to impose his religious beliefs on them. Doesn’t the Constitution of the United States apply to all of us equally? Aren’t we all prohibited from imposing our religious beliefs on others?
As the language of the First Amendment was being considered, there were certainly delegates in the room who wanted to show preference to one religion or another depending on their personal beliefs, but delegates with different beliefs stood in the way. It was in the true spirit of democracy that a compromise was eventually reached and the delegates all came to agree that in the absence of a preference for one religion there should be an absence of preference for all of them. This is why the First Amendment says what it does – we are all free to believe what we want when it comes to religion, but we are not free to impose our beliefs on others.
Again, looking through my knothole, I am forced to wonder if this current divisiveness might not split the Republican Party and, if it does, will we be looking at the birth of a new third political party? Should we expect the Tea Party to break away from the Republican Party? These are all interesting questions and we will need to be patient as we look for the answers because the ideologies are strong and unwavering on many of these issues.
The Sausage Grinder is broken; will you help to fix it?
Comment here or send an email: abrokensausagegrinder@comcast.net
More via Facebook: A Broken Sausage Grinder
More via Twitter: Hank Thomas
Watch on YouTube: A Broken Sausage Grinder