“No H8″: Shooting One’s Self in the Foot

Allahpundit notes that Cindy McCain – wife of Senator John McCain – has made an ad for the “No H8″ campaign. “No H8″ stands for “no on California’s Proposition 8″, which had banned same-sex marriage. Its a clever slogan, but also about the most stupid thing you can do – it is not the way to win friends and influence people.

You see, the presumption of “No H8″ is that the people opposed to same-sex marriage or gays serving in the military are doing so out of hatred for gay people. Its an arrogant presumption of moral excellence on the part of the advocates of gay rights and an equally arrogant presumption of moral depravity on the part of those who dissent from it.

Let me clue everyone in on one thing: the opposition to gay marriage and gays in the military is not based, in whole or in part, upon hatred. To be sure, there are people opposed to gay marriage who, for whatever bizarre reason, hate gay people…but they are a tiny minority and don’t control anything. There are, in my view, more people on the pro-gay rights side of the argument who are motivated by hatred – hatred of Christians – than there are on the anti-gay rights side. The fundamental objection to gay marriage is upon the grounds that homosexual acts are inherently disordered and thus should not be accorded the same social approval as heterosexual acts. You are free to disagree with this proposition – to call it wrong – but you can only call it “hate” by lying.

If someone wishes to convince those who hold to the Christian view about homosexuality, then calling them haters is not the way to do it. In fact, all it does is make people dig in their heels…even I feel it. I’m well-disposed towards the idea of allowing openly gay people to serve in the military. But I’m far less well-disposed to act upon that view when people are slandering the side I agree with morally. It makes me want to dig in my heels and say, “nothing doing” until the “No H8″ campaign is dissolved, and all the gay rights groups issue written apologies for ever daring to use it.

We on the conservative, Christian side of the aisle will put up with a lot. After all, we’re commanded to do so by Our Lord. We’re supposed to put up with it in joy, but even if we can’t swing that we’re still to attempt it as a duty. But while we will put up with a lot, there is no command for us to do something we don’t need to do, just to please those who are lying about us.

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