Monday
5/17/04
Rights and Privileges
As my two boys grow and mature, (Well, mostly just grow sometimes…) I find them constantly lobbying for more rights. The right to stay up later, the right to ride their bikes in the street, the right to play Halo even though Master Sergeant has this pesky habit of killing people with big guns, and so on.
Of course as a parent I see these things not as rights, but as privileges. And as they are privileges, I have the right and responsibility to approve or deny any and all requests, depending on how ridiculous they are.
Soon enough though, the lads will be adults and the tables will have turned. As adults they will in fact deserve a number of rights as United States citizens. The right to vote, the right to a trial by their peers (Unless you’re Jose Padilla, of course), and the right of free speech, among others.
And beginning today, same sex couples in Massachusetts have the right to be legally married. There are of course those who wring their hands and shriek about gay marriage bringing a plague of social chaos and disorder… but these are the same people that were sure that true civil rights for blacks would destroy our culture. (Well, then again I suppose the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did destroy an ugly culture of segregation and violence… but oh well.) And again these are the same people who were sure women’s suffrage would be a disaster; and yet each morning the sun continues to rise and life goes on.
Anyway, there aren’t very many things in life about which I’m completely certain, but three of them are that 1: gay marriage can’t possibly somehow "cheapen" my own marriage as some would insist, 2: It’s none of my damn business who marries who, and 3: the sight of my government actively trying to limit the rights of it’s citizens is an ugly sight indeed.
In short, the neocons and the religious right would have us believe that parenting and governing are analogous, and as such it’s their job to abridge or restrict our rights as they see fit. Not so. Just the opposite is true. In America it is we, the citizenry, who have not just the right but also an obligation to set limits on government.
And I sure don't want my boys growing up in an America that has forgotten that distinction.
Oh yeah… and congratulations to Julie and Hillary.
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Rights and Privileges
As my two boys grow and mature, (Well, mostly just grow sometimes…) I find them constantly lobbying for more rights. The right to stay up later, the right to ride their bikes in the street, the right to play Halo even though Master Sergeant has this pesky habit of killing people with big guns, and so on.
Of course as a parent I see these things not as rights, but as privileges. And as they are privileges, I have the right and responsibility to approve or deny any and all requests, depending on how ridiculous they are.
Soon enough though, the lads will be adults and the tables will have turned. As adults they will in fact deserve a number of rights as United States citizens. The right to vote, the right to a trial by their peers (Unless you’re Jose Padilla, of course), and the right of free speech, among others.
And beginning today, same sex couples in Massachusetts have the right to be legally married. There are of course those who wring their hands and shriek about gay marriage bringing a plague of social chaos and disorder… but these are the same people that were sure that true civil rights for blacks would destroy our culture. (Well, then again I suppose the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did destroy an ugly culture of segregation and violence… but oh well.) And again these are the same people who were sure women’s suffrage would be a disaster; and yet each morning the sun continues to rise and life goes on.
Anyway, there aren’t very many things in life about which I’m completely certain, but three of them are that 1: gay marriage can’t possibly somehow "cheapen" my own marriage as some would insist, 2: It’s none of my damn business who marries who, and 3: the sight of my government actively trying to limit the rights of it’s citizens is an ugly sight indeed.
In short, the neocons and the religious right would have us believe that parenting and governing are analogous, and as such it’s their job to abridge or restrict our rights as they see fit. Not so. Just the opposite is true. In America it is we, the citizenry, who have not just the right but also an obligation to set limits on government.
And I sure don't want my boys growing up in an America that has forgotten that distinction.
Oh yeah… and congratulations to Julie and Hillary.
