Week #3 Threats to Marriage

This is written for the current college class I am taking. This week our discussion was on Threats to Marriage--the focus of this post is to declare my stance for traditional marriage, but to also acknowledge that not everyone will agree with me, but I would like to respect others' opinions and ask for that same respect.

In today's society, there are many different opinions on many different issues.  There have been controversial topics and issues that seem to create a line in the sand, where people determine friendships by which side of that line another person stands on. The recent presidential election clearly illustrated many choosing which side to stand on and attempting to convince others to cross the line and join them. As it got closer to the election, social media was inundated with numerous posts about getting others to see the error of their beliefs, and many friends were dis-friended or blocked for disagreeing.

The controversial issue of redefining marriage to include same-sex couples is a highly debated subject and many times mutual respect and acceptance of differing beliefs has been missing from discussions on this topic. 

This week for my college class, I read the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage in which they ruled in favor of requiring states to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. Though the document was long (100 pages), I found it beneficial to read it directly instead of just listening to other's sound bites. I appreciated seeing both sides of the issues—the majority's view and reading the separate views from the 4 dissenting judges. The four judges declared that the decision should not be determined by 9 non-elected judges, but should have been allowed to be decided by the democratic process. I remember my family moved to California shortly before the vote there to redefine marriage. It was an interesting time as were encouraged to declare our beliefs, though many were mocked and scorned for believing in traditional marriage, and yet when the vote was cast and the people had spoken--traditional marriage was upheld. Many were surprised at the outcome. It was gratifying to see the grass roots effort to stand up for what we believed make a difference. 

My decision of which side I stand on did not change in reading this document. Actually, I believe it helped me to more clearly define the reasons behind my stance. I believe in traditional marriage—a union between one man and one woman and that is the best environment in which to raise children. I believe that if you broaden the view on marriage, it loses it value. If it tries to become everything, it turns into nothing. As Ryan Anderson, who wrote the book What is Marriage? stated in front of the Indiana House Judiciary Committee on Jan 13, 2014, "If the biggest social problem we face right now in the US is absentee dads, how will we assist that dads are essential when the law redefines to make fathers optional?" 

That being said, I acknowledge that not all my friends will agree with that view and though I have picked the side I'm standing on, it is only a line, not a wall, that is between us. And I refuse to allow my views to create how I perceive, accept, or judge others. There is value in standing up for what you believe. There is value in allowing someone else that same right and there is value in accepting one another though our beliefs may differ.