The Evidence, Yo

Ahem.

Tom, a faithful commenter and a good friend, asked for my sources on the tie between gay marriage and dissolution of the family in those nations that have legalized the former; he also wanted evidence that links legalization of gay marriage with weakening of families.  I can do both at once:  The indispensable Stanley Kurtz has done the research for us.

May 25, 2004: "Unhealthy Half-Truths"
May 31, 2004: "Going Dutch?"
June 3, 2004:  "No Explanation"
July 21, 2004: "Dutch Debate"
February 23, 2006: "Standing Out"

I do not, of course, mean for these to be definitive.  But at the very least, this evidence must give us pause.  Marriage is an indispensable element of a stable and civilized society.  It is certainly reasonable to believe that defining marriage down--from one man and one woman to any two people who love each other, from being inseparable from parenting to being independent of it--might weaken it as an institution.  And that is certainly no triviality.

Do some Christians oppose gay marriage because they oppose homosexuals themselves?  Of course, and that is wrong, and sad.  It gives proponents of gay marriage an opening to attack their opponents.  But those who seek to legalize gay marriage have also been irresponsible; instead of engaging in an honest debate, they have used the same tactics as the environmental movement, the welfare-state movement, and the race-baiting industry in impugning the motives of their opponents, calling them names, and shouting them down.  Sadly, in all likelihood, these tactics will work.  Then we can experience its effects on the institution of marriage for ourselves.

Your Tax Dollars At Work, Education Edition

(Hat tip: Michelle Malkin)

(Warning: The link is to a news article containing some vulgar language and sexual content.)

Ugh:

Parents in Deerfield, Ill., are upset that a local high school is using books in advanced English classes this spring that they say are laced with graphic sexual content, pervasive expletives and mockery of religion.

Worse, the books - "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (Parts 1 & 2)" - are required reading for advanced placement English students at Deerfield High School, but a parents' group wants them removed.

"Who would have ever thought that we would be handing out pornography in public schools?" asked Lora Sue Hauser, executive director of North Shore Student Advocacy, and a Deerfield parent.

Double ugh:

Hauser noted that this isn't the first time that Deerfield High School and the school district have come at cross-purposes to parents. The district ordered 14-year-old freshmen to take a seminar that amounted to homosexual indoctrination, she said, and had them sign a confidentiality agreement promising not to tell their parents.

The Left long ago realized that its best shot at winning the debate in America was to go after the children. Children are wonderfully impressionable, and they're a better investment in future voting cycles than people in their thirties and forties. Rush Limbaugh and others cite the the influence of Antonio Gramsci, an early 20th century Italian socialist who advocated for a gradual takeover of social institutions in order to advance the socialist agenda, and that's really where this has come from.

Homeschooling and private and charter schooling are not attempts by rich people to isolate their children from poor people or by religious people to isolate their children from reason. It's just an inevitable step in the culture war; what recourse do parents have if they don't want their children to be indoctrinated? Dinesh D'Souza's wonderful book What's So Great About Christianity documents the admission by several on the Left that turning students against their parents' beliefs is their avowed goal. Vigilance is terribly important at this time, so let us be thankful for groups like the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which keeps these people on their toes.