Staggering to the Land of the Unfree

Put the issue to the side.  The structure of government is important.  The process by which people make the government do what they believe is the right thing is important.

Progressives’ situational ethics are threatening Americans’ freedom in a very deep, very dangerous way.

By “situational ethics,” I mean the principle that worthwhile ends can justify any means.  If — by revelation, quiet conscience, or (most likely) cultural conditioning and manipulation — one feels that something is right, just about any methods that might make it happen are perfectly fine.

With the issue of same-sex marriage this principle is bringing about a complete reversal of the role of government in society and, moreover, a reversal in the civic structure that protects Americans’ liberty. Consider:

On September 4, a court in Pennsylvania will consider whether a county registrar of wills may issue marriage licenses to same sex couples in contravention of state law because he has decided that law is unconstitutional. This official has now issued over 100 such licenses and other public officials (mayors) have used them to perform same sex wedding ceremonies. The legal challenge by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which has overall responsibility for marriage laws and licensing, is loaded with constitutional, legal, social, and marital consequences, all of which deserve careful consideration.

At the same time, the Governor and Attorney General of Pennsylvania have exchanged political blows over whether that state law banning same sex marriage should be defended in court and, if so, who has the responsibility to do that. The attorney general says Pennsylvania’s 1996 law stating that marriage is between a man and a woman is “wholly unconstitutional” and she will not defend it, even though the recent Supreme Court decision in Windsor v. United States said states were free to make their own decisions about gay marriage.

This follows on the heels of President Obama’s and Attorney General Holder’s decision to not to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the years prior to the recent determination by the U.S. Supreme Court that the law is unconstitutional. And similar questions arose in the recent California Proposition 8 case when that state’s governor and attorney general declined to defend the law because they felt it was unconstitutional, with the remarkable result, handed down by the Supreme Court, that no one had standing to defend that part of the California Constitution in court.

As the writer, David Davenport, suggests, there is a process within the Constitution and the law that public employees are tasked to uphold and a process to change what it is.  Increasingly, those employees are insisting that, if they really, really believe a particular position to be correct, they can take a short cut.  They can not do the job that they were hired, appointed, or elected to do.  They can short circuit the process to make it very difficult for those who disagree with them to have a fair hearing and to have a fair opportunity to shape the law in accordance with their right to self governance.

But that is only one side of the coin.  Here’s the other:

After [bakery] owner Aaron Klein declined to bake a cake for a same-sex couple in January because of his Christian faith, LGBT activists “badgered and harassed” the bakery with protests and boycotts, as well as any other businesses that Sweet Cakes by Melissa collaborated with; Klein said he and his family also received death threats.

The lesbian couple that originally asked for the cake also filed a discrimination complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Last month, the bureau announced it would investigate the complaint.

Or if the government’s role in that drama is a bit too indistinct, try this:

Today the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that Christian photographers cannot decline to participate in gay-marriage commitment ceremonies, even though that state does not have gay marriage and the court acknowledged that providing services for the ceremony violated the Christian’s sincerely-held, traditional religious beliefs. …

The New Mexico Supreme Court has now affirmed the lower courts, holding that Elane Photography is a “public accommodation,” and because they photograph wedding ceremonies they cannot refuse a gay-commitment ceremony (even if it is not a legal wedding).

So, on the one hand, government agents don’t have to apply the law evenly (that is, in accordance with the law) if their beliefs tell them it isn’t right, while on the other, ordinary citizens are, in their private-sector occupations, offering “public accommodations” and are therefore forbidden from acting according to their beliefs.

This is completely backwards.

Perhaps those who support this flip of America’s civic culture believe it to be fine because (obviously) it’ll only be used for good ends.  But what’s the process for deciding on what’s “good”?  That’s precisely what the structures of our government that are being corrupted are supposed to facilitate.

Or maybe they believe that their side has so mastered the political system that they need never worry that the tyrannical power will never wind up in the wrong hands (i.e., those of people who disagree with them).  The president’s little Syria adventure (on top of his administration’s domestic spying and political use of the IRS) shows the folly of such assumptions.

Again, if we discard the process that enabled us to make these decisions in a civilized, democratic manner, we write ourselves out of future decisions that powerful people make.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in The Ocean State Current, including text, graphics, images, and information are solely those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the views and opinions of The Current, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity, or its members or staff. The Current cannot be held responsible for information posted or provided by third-party sources. Readers are encouraged to fact check any information on this web site with other sources.

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