Political Issues

On Illegal Immigrants

Okay, so it's pretty clear we want illegal immigrants here.  And we want them here illegally, too; that's the whole point, because if they were legal, we'd have to pay them minimum wage.  And then everything, especially food, would cost more to produce and be more expensive for us to buy.

So if that's what we really want, it means we are exploiting their desperation.  In view of that, it seems we could at least provide them with some benefits after all.  I used to be dead set against this, because on the face of it, giving legal benefits to illegal aliens is outrageous.

But love has a different logic, doesn't it?

On Homosexuals in the Military

I grew up in an Army family, and I'm aware that homosexuals have always served in the military, and more or less openly, too.  They haven't usually spoken up, but as some of them were quite effeminate, everybody was aware of it.  It even provided fodder for good-natured banter and joking.  It never has seemed to lower morale or have any of the other dread effects people are predicting.  No doubt many homosexuals have served with valor and distinction, too.  So I'm not really appalled at the idea of homosexuals serving in the military.

What is wrong with the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, though, is the implication that we all ought to accept homosexuality as a perfectly valid alternative lifestyle.  It just isn't. 

And I'm not speaking in moral terms, either.  Homosexuals, as far as I can see, are not necessarily any more immoral than anyone else and I'm not qualified to cast the first stone, or even the second or the millionth.   In fact, there's no reason a homosexual can't become a saint.  Maybe some of the people we revere, whose icons we kiss, were handicapped by homosexual orientation at the beginning of their struggle for sanctity. All the more ought we to be in awe of them.

So homosexuality isn't a civil rights issue, as it has been portrayed; nor is it (in itself) a moral issue. 

It's a mental health issue.  Homosexuality is an emotional disorder, and a fairly severe one at that.  That's the sober truth, despite the massive propaganda to the contrary.  And to tell a sick person he is healthy isn't doing him any favor.  In fact, it's doing him a grave disservice, because that tends to dissuade him from seeking to get better.  (And there are effective, if difficult and long-term, treatments available today for those who want them.)  It's an emotional disorder and this is so no matter how much he implores you to say he's healthy, or calls you names or accuses you of bigotry or hatred if you don't.  You don't tell an alcoholic it's okay to drink, and you don't tell a homosexual his desire for same-sex intimacy is normal. 

It just isn't.