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Freedom suddenly important to some who once denied it to others
Gil Smart at Smart Remarks:
In general, religious conservatives seem to feel — and rightly so — that society’s momentum has shifted against them. And suddenly, too.
During the George W. Bush era, conservative evangelicals were hailed as a major electoral force — kingmakers. The belief was that their time in the sun as the dominant political and cultural players in this country had only just begun.
But that time is now over. And the ability of the religious right to influence politics and society has waned considerably.
A whole generation is now growing up with the belief that homosexuality, gay marriage and changing sexual mores in general is no big deal. That greatly upsets those to whom it’s a very big deal indeed.
Where once these changing mores might have prompted a full-scale rhetorical and electoral assault, the religious right now seems to be retreating back into its own enclaves. There’s a great deal of wailing about how conservative Christians are being wronged and marginalized for, say, their view that homosexuality is sinful. Rod Dreher, who writes for the American Conservative magazine, has written several pieces on this, concluding in early March: “The climate that now exists, and that will only grow in intensity, is one in which any dissent from the pro-gay consensus, no matter how nuanced or ironically stated, amounts to ‘hate’ that cannot be tolerated. ... American Christians are about to learn what it means to live in a country where being a faithful Christian is going to exact significant costs. It may not be persecution, but it’s still going to hurt, and in ways most Christians scarcely understand.”
But you see the irony here. A culture, a mindset — a faith — that for so long marginalized and sometimes actively persecuted homosexuality and homosexuals now itself feels marginalized due to its “outdated” views on homosexuality.
The hunter has become the hunted.
Those who once ruled the roost politically, socially and culturally are coming to know how it feels to be a marginalized minority.
They don’t like it, and who would? That was the point all along. Don’t discriminate, lest there come a day when you’re discriminated against.
During the George W. Bush era, conservative evangelicals were hailed as a major electoral force — kingmakers. The belief was that their time in the sun as the dominant political and cultural players in this country had only just begun.
But that time is now over. And the ability of the religious right to influence politics and society has waned considerably.
A whole generation is now growing up with the belief that homosexuality, gay marriage and changing sexual mores in general is no big deal. That greatly upsets those to whom it’s a very big deal indeed.
Where once these changing mores might have prompted a full-scale rhetorical and electoral assault, the religious right now seems to be retreating back into its own enclaves. There’s a great deal of wailing about how conservative Christians are being wronged and marginalized for, say, their view that homosexuality is sinful. Rod Dreher, who writes for the American Conservative magazine, has written several pieces on this, concluding in early March: “The climate that now exists, and that will only grow in intensity, is one in which any dissent from the pro-gay consensus, no matter how nuanced or ironically stated, amounts to ‘hate’ that cannot be tolerated. ... American Christians are about to learn what it means to live in a country where being a faithful Christian is going to exact significant costs. It may not be persecution, but it’s still going to hurt, and in ways most Christians scarcely understand.”
But you see the irony here. A culture, a mindset — a faith — that for so long marginalized and sometimes actively persecuted homosexuality and homosexuals now itself feels marginalized due to its “outdated” views on homosexuality.
The hunter has become the hunted.
Those who once ruled the roost politically, socially and culturally are coming to know how it feels to be a marginalized minority.
They don’t like it, and who would? That was the point all along. Don’t discriminate, lest there come a day when you’re discriminated against.
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