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"On-line campaigning is OK, but if they want me to help them
get a job, at least they ought to come by for an interview!"
In search of political truth
In the election atmosphere
with one party blaming the
other for the ills of the world,
we as the voters must wonder
about the answer to the age
old question: "What is the
truth?"
The answer to this question
has been tossed about for cen
turies. Philosophers have dis
sected the word truth and
described it until we no longer
know what it is exactly.
People avoid the truth, side
step it, distort it beyond recog
nition, and misinterpret it.
With all the ways that
"truth" has been interpreted
and the politically correct
ways behind which repeating
the truth has been disguised, it
still remains a mystery for
some. And with all the infor
mation at our fingertips, each
day we are asking the same
question: "What is the truth?"
I have found over the years
that deception is not the truth.
Avoiding the answers does not
render the truth. Camouflag
ing a point of contention does
not lead to the truth and the
ugly monster of untruth can-
Ethics & Religion
Courts take lead role in pushing
for legalization of gay marriage
Last week an Oregon judge
gave advocates of gay marriage
an historic victory the
nation's first recognition of
same-sex marriages.
Multnomah County Circuit
Judge Frank Bearden told the
county to stop issuing licenses
for same-sex marriages. But
he ordered Oregon's legislature
to recognize the 3,022 mar
riage licenses issued since
March 3 to gay couples, and to
pass a new law legalizing
same-sex unions.
Does this sound familiar?
The Massachusetts Su
preme Judicial Court ruled in
November that gay couples
have the right to marry and
ordered the state legislature to
make same-sex marriages pos
sible within 180 days. The
magic day is May 17, when
Massachusetts is slated to
begin allowing gay marriage.
The legislature did not do
as it was told. It began the
process of passing a constitu
tional amendment limiting
marriage to the union of a man
and a woman. But the amend
ment would also legalize civil
same-sex unions, which is mar
riage by another name.
However, to be adopted, it
must re-pass the legislature in
2005 and then be approved by
the voters in a 2006 referen
dum. Gov. Mitt Romney asked
the state’s highest court to stay
its order, pending full
Massachusetts acceptance or
rejection of the amendment.
That’s unlikely. The state's
Attorney General, a Democrat,
supports the court decision,
while Romney is a Republican.
What's common to both
cases is fierce judicial activism,
in which a court orders the leg
islature to pass a law granting
same sex couples either the
right of marriage or civil union.
In studying American history, I
learned it is the job of elected
leaders to pass laws, and for
the courts to interpret them.
On this issue, however,
V J u " anne
* Boling
not be overcome nor can it be
unsaid.
What is truth and when do
we use it? Can the truth be
rearranged to suit any situa
tion? Is truth always recog
nized? Can truth be changed
and still be the truth? Can the
truth that we see be different
from the truth that other peo
ple see? Do we see it from our
ow n experience and our own
perspective and fail to realize
that our idea of the truth may
be different when seen
through the eyes of another
person?
Sometimes we cannot face
the truth in ourselves or in
other people. Many times we
have a tendency to turn our
backs on the truth, cover it up.
exploit it. hinder it, and
rearrange it for our own pur
poses.
We read with disbelief as
Mike ’ •* »*
elected leaders have also acted
illegally. San Francisco's
mayor ordered city clerks to
grant homosexual and lesbian
couples marriage licenses,
though Californians voted in a
referendum that marriage is
between a man and a woman.
One prescient man foresaw
these developments and devel
oped a long-shot answer —a
federal Marriage Amendment
that states "Marriage in the
United States shall consist only
of the union of a man and a
woman. Neither this Consti
tution nor the constitution of
any state shall be construed to
require that marriage or the
legal incidents thereof be con
ferred upon any union other
than the union of a man and a
woman.”
Matt Daniels is the man of
the hour. Although white, he
grew up in Spanish Harlem as
a son of a father who deserted
his mother when he was only
2.
“My growing up was miser
able.” he told USA Today. His
father was “a gifted and irre
sponsible aspiring writer.” His
mother was a secretary until
she was mugged and left dis
abled, depressed and on wel
fare. "Things would have been
different if my father had been
around.” Matt was also
attacked at knifepoint and gun
point.
No wonder Daniels says,
“Marriage is the key to reduc
ing the high levels of youth
crime and child poverty, caused
by the epidemic of fatherless
families in America.” Inspired
by his mother, he excelled at
school, won a scholarship to
Dartmouth and became a
lawyer.
our former president explained
the truth of his encounters in
the White House. We have
heard the accusations of
Democrats. Republicans and
the media about what is or is
not the truth about the wars,
now or in the past.
Deciphering what is really the
truthful situation has become
nearly impossible for voters
during an election year.
It is our responsibility as
citizens to try and determine
who is the most truthful in this
day of elaborate campaign
spending. It is our responsibil
ity to listen, read the opinions
of others, and to determine as
best we can what are the
issues and the answers.
It has been said by some
one. probably Will Rogers,
that the promising season ends
on Election Day. the same
night the alibi season begins
and lasts for four years. Look
for the truth in all situations,
not just during an election
year.
Cumming resident Julianne
Boling's column appears each
Sunday.
He created the Alliance for
Marriage to craft a Federal
Marriage Amendment several
years ago.
Anticipating the argument
that gay marriage is a civil
rights issue, he first won the
backing of the Rev. Walter
Fauntroy, a former aide to
Martin Luther King Jr. Black
denominations were his first
national supporters. He now
has the backing of (he U.S.
Conference of Catholic
Bishops and the National
Association of Evangelicals.
It was a brilliant strategy.
Today a higher percentage of
Hispanics and African-
Americans than whites say that
marriage is the union of a man
and a woman. And public sup
port for the federal Marriage
Amendment has grown from
55 percent last July to 64 per
cent.
Equally important. Pres
ident Bush has given his sup
port, as have 118 Members of
Congress and leading U.S.
Senators such as Majority
Leader Bill Frist.
However, the amendment is
opposed by such conservative
groups as Concerned Women
for America. Its president,
Janet Laßue, is concerned that
the amendment would allow
states “to create marriage in
another name, a phony mar
riage.” Vermont's law permit
ting same sex civil unions
would be untouched by the
amendment.
Finally, few Democrats in
the House or Senate co-sponsor
the amendment that must win
the support of two-thirds of
Congress.
So far, the public seems
apathetic. Few have called or
written Congress.
Gay marriage is not
inevitable, but it is likely unless
an aroused public demands the
constitutional protection of
marriage.
Mike McManus is a nation
ally syndicated columnist.
A word of encouragement
Sometimes it just happens.
A slump. My youngest
thought he had basketball fig
ured out last summer and by
the time the real season rolled
around, all that was going
right was now wrong.
There are a lot of reasons;
growth spurts, injuries and
much else that cascades
through a 15-year-old body
and mind. He has practiced
and worked reasonably hard,
but you could see the discour
agement setting in. He went
from a starter to a bench
warmer with little hope of
anything different.
High school basketball is
now a year round sport and
the competition is increasing
ly fierce. It is not an activity
that you undertake without
some commitment.
Last weekend, his spring
team participated in a tourna
ment. They were the young
guys playing older teams and
his chances of playing were
slim. He knew that, but duti
fully, he attended to keep his
spot on the bench warm. He
was surprised when the coach
put him in during a close
game. He hustled and played
good defense. He made some
shots and you could sense a
change.
The coach noted his effort
and he left the gym with a
smile and the desire to prac
tice when he arrived home.
I noticed something about
him that is part of me too. I
can get easily discouraged,
but with one bit of encour
agement. 1 come alive. A kind
word, a "thank you" note, or
a pat on the back and I am
good to go. I suppose that is
human nature.
Our country has been in a
slump of late. There are a lot
of reasons for that slump too.
War. a sluggish economy,
election year tactics and a
feeling that we are all waiting
for the next catastrophe.
It seemingly all piles on at
the same time. I look at a 911
Commission that struggles
for a purpose, but at the same
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Sunctoy, April 28,2004 -1
Phi"C*
Bettis
MM >
time becomes a platform for
careers and politics.
I see a nation divided by
political and socio-economic
lines. The Washington press
corps demands apologies
while ignoring the real reason
for war, Islamic extremists.
They struggle with political
correctness and liberalism to
the point of stupidity. They
should apologize.
In the midst of their
games, we are so divided and
uncommitted to any task that
takes longer than 30 days that
I am surprised our war effort
has gone as well as it has.
I suppose that all of that
could be discouraging, but I
am not discouraged.
I see good men and
women fighting for our coun
try. Yes, they die. Yes, they
are missed and there is
heartache, but their commit
ment to country and each
other is phenomenal. We are
blessed with a generation of
young men and women that
honor liberty and have pride
in themselves and our coun
try. That is not the country of
the defeatists, of a liberal,
accusatory press, of those
that would quit in the face of
adversity.
1 am encouraged to see
our president meet with Great
Britain’s Tony Blair, two men
on opposite sides of the polit
ical spectrum, but two men
that respect each other.
One can easily see the
warmth and regard between
those two as they reaffirm
their commitments to peace,
to victory, to ending the reign
of terrorists. They are an
example that politics need not
divide us. We can like each
other, work together and still
disagree.
I am encouraged with
warm spring days, blooming
dogwoods and kids. 1 am
encouraged by God, prayer
and family. I am encouraged
by our freedoms, many of
which are in jeopardy, but
they remain as inalienable as
they were at creation.
1 am encouraged that we
do not need the United
Nations, or France or
Germany to do what is right.
I am encouraged that we have
leaders that could care less
what those weenies think.
I was encouraged by the
lady that parked a junker car
in front of the development
that prohibited trucks, much
to the consternation of the
homeowner association
Nazis. There are still some of
us out there that will chal
lenge authority when it goes
out of control.
1 am encouraged when the
Braves win three straight,
when 1 spend an hour with
my high school senior and
actually talk, when my co
workers join me in finishing a
project.
I am encouraged that vot
ers do not buy all that is fed
to them. 1 am encouraged that
someday soon, we will find
Osami bin Ladin. That evil
coward can only hide in caves
so long. He will make a mis
take and we will get him.
I am encouraged that
peace will return to our land
some day. Peace has a great
price. It is paid for with blood
and tears and by those that
stay the course. Fortunately,
the benefits of peace are
shared among the content and
discontent, the fighters and
the quitters. Democrats and
Republicans.
My basketball player is
practicing a couple of hours a
day now. He has much to
learn and improve upon, but
that tiny bit of encourage
ment was all he needed. He
will be alright and we will be
too.
Cumming resident Phil I
Bettis writes an occassional
column.
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