Phil
Robertson said something.
The
details are irrelevant. The names have changed, but the rule is the
same: if you're not gay, you can't say anything less than positive
about gays without suffering consequences. Phil Robertson broke the rule.
Phil Robertson is suffering the consequences. Popularity aside,
there's nothing new here. Just a new application of the same rule.
It's a rule which requires division. What caused the division is beyond the scope of
this inspection.
But
the division is based on a lie. When you believe a lie,
you give it power. When you give it power, you're doing worse than
doing nothing (an act which many would term “isolationism”). When
you believe this lie, it encourages participation in a coercive and
destructive system. It gives sanction to evil. There
is no virtue to be gained in choosing sides when the sides are
defined by a lie. Don't participate! Show some pride, for
God's sake—walk away!
Such
lies require a very narrow focus in order to be maintained. In this
case, if you're anti-gay, you should fight against gay marriage and
gay rights in general based on “logic,” arguments of nature, and
religion. And if you're gay, you should marginalize those who defend
the outdated notions of marriage, family, and sin. You're on Phil
Robertson's side or you’re against him. These are your only choices,
but at least you can still get into squabbles over freedom of speech.
There
are differences between gay and straight people beyond being gay and
being straight. This isn't difficult to understand—in fact, no two
people are alike. Does that not make you question the motives behind
the distinction?
United
populations are difficult to rule, and that should really be all that needs to be said. Whether they be politicians,
corporations, or any other party which seeks to hold power over
others, division is the best friend of those who wish to rule. The
easiest way to cause division is to create a lie by picking at the
most obvious scabs available: gay vs. everyone else, white vs.
everyone else, poor vs. everyone else. Efforts to divide and conquer
have been in effect for centuries, and—as Phil Robertson has
demonstrated—the efforts have been effective.
Fortunately,
many lies fall apart if you zoom out in even the slightest way.
Whether
you agree with them or not, take a look at a few teachings of
Catholicism. For example, you can't be both Catholic and pro-choice.
There's a bumper sticker that says so.
Taking
the same division-seeking approach, it could be said that one can't
be Catholic and have an abortion, use contraceptives, masturbate, or
perform sexual acts of the oral or anal variety. Yet a lot of
Catholics use contraceptives, masturbate, have abortions, and get
pretty creative with sex.
In other
words, there's a lot of non-Catholics in the Catholic Church. Or
maybe there's just a lot of Catholic sinners (regardless of whether
or not the sinners see themselves as sinning). Such notions do not
matter. The proclamations of innocence from a sinner are just as much
of a delusion as those who ignore their own sins in order to enable
themselves to throw the first stone. Within the realm of Catholicism,
all sin. All fall short. Within the realm of Catholicism, sin is the
most universally uniting thing there is. So if you want to make a
difference in the world, choose to make a difference in your own life.
Stop seeking virtue by choosing sides. If you put your mind to the
details of your own business, you'll be far better off, and so will
those around you.
When someone seeks to herd you into one group or another in order to divide, simply decline. Walk away. Don't buy the lie that the divisions are more important than the allowance of liberty for all. If you want to see peace on earth, it begins and ends with you.
