By Jeremy Hooper of Good as You

It’s a nice enough sounding phrase, in and of itself.  Upon hearing it, a reader might think of any number of ideas that encourage respect for the lives that we humans collectively share on this spinning orb.  Perhaps an increased push for kindness and compassion might come to mind.  Or maybe your notion of “dignity” includes ensuring that all citizens are treated fairly, and your version of “sanctity of life” proponents greet the diversity that makes up life’s true spectrum with open arms.  The positive possibilities are positively endless.

However, for John McCain, it would seem that the throughly negative idea of keeping gays from marriage is exactly the sort of thing that he considers “sanctified” and “dignified.”  Why? Well on his official campaign website, the GOP White House hopeful has had the nerve to put his ideas for “protecting marriage” (i.e. stemming the tide of same-sex unions) under the deceptive, offensive category, Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life. And you know what? Just the mere fact that he and his staff would be so bold as to frame the matter in this speciously “humane” fashion should be a deal breaker for anyone seeking an inclusive world!

McCain’s “dignified” and “sanctified” marriage stance reads:

Protecting Marriage

As president, John McCain would nominate judges who understand that the role of the Court is not to subvert the rights of the people by legislating from the bench. Critical to Constitutional balance is ensuring that, where state and local governments do act to preserve the traditional family, the Courts must not overstep their authority and thwart the Constitutional right of the people to decide this question.

The family represents the foundation of Western Civilization and civil society and John McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It is only this definition that sufficiently recognizes the vital and unique role played by mothers and fathers in the raising of children, and the role of the family in shaping, stabilizing, and strengthening communities and our nation.

As with most issues vital to the preservation and health of civil society, the basic responsibility for preserving and strengthening the family should reside at the level of government closest to the people. In their wisdom, the Founding Fathers reserved for the States the authority and responsibility to protect and strengthen the vital institutions of our civil society. They did so to ensure that the voices of America’s families could not be ignored by an indifferent national government or suffocated through filibusters and clever legislative maneuvering in Congress.

Surprise, surprise — every argument that’s presented is based in the same sort of hyperbolic rhetoric that conservatives have been using for years to reframe this issue into one that puts their team on the right side of morality (denouncing activist judges, claiming to “preserve the traditional family,” etc.).  The ideas all pander to those who think the term “family” can only be defined in one narrow way, with their version of Webster’s leaving no room for gays or lesbians.  Also, while J-Mac doesn’t call for a federal marriage ban in his statement or support one at this time, he indicated at the recent “Faith Forum” that he’d absolutely get behind one if a federal court acted in a way that he considered out-of-line.  So everyday this “maverick’s” stance is becoming more and more like the same old tired, divisive rhetoric that’s already tarnished too much of the 21st century’s first decade.  Rather than emboldening the principles of freedom and respecting the dignity of LGBT lives, willful ignorance is still being fostered.  And rather than embracing the unique role that perfectly “sanctified” minority lives play within the spectrum of societal normalcy, biased outlooks are still being cultivated.

Now, these positions aren’t all that surprising for the presumptive Republican nominee, as most of us expected McCain to creep ever more rightward as the seasons crept towards fall.  And these positions would be far less eyebrow-raising if Team McCain were running them under the category: “One-sided, Antiquated Judeo-Christian Definitions of ‘Human Dignity’ and the ‘Sanctity of Heterosexism’.”  While we’d still disagree with the campaign about whether or not gay couples are fit to enter into a legal bond, at least we could respect the honesty that our suggested label would provide.  But “Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life”?!?  Perhaps I’ve just suffered the indignity of having to fight for the rights and benefits that my married heterosexual friends take for granted one time too often, but this queer writer has a tough time viewing attempts to discredit my life and love as anything less than shameful!

In stark contrast, Barack Obama is running the following quote on his official site:

While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It’s about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect.

Hopeful.  Encouraging.  Not positioned in a way that makes it sound as if LGBT people are the atom bombs who will destroy an Adam & Eve-centric world.  What Barack Obama expresses is a willingness to work with the millions of LGBT people for whom he hopes to serve, and to glean from us the unique set of needs that would ensure the preservation of our dignity.  Whereas McCain is coming to us like a strict but short-sighted teacher who will insist that there are only 48 states even if we hold a current American map in front of his face, Barack Obama is coming to us like an enterprising student who’s ready and even excited to shape his current way of thinking around the realm of actuality.  For those of us who will push until our last breath for a fully inclusive America, we see someone who will not only help us correct any errors that society has embraced, but who will also rectify any uninspired ideas that he, a product of said society, might have casually accepted.

In Barack Obama, there is a conversation and not a monologue.  In Barack Obama there is room for growth, which means there is room for hope.  And In Barack Obama, there is the sort of respect for human dignity and the sanctity of life that doesn’t need quotation marks or qualifiers, because it is an actual commitment to actual lives rather than a rhetorical commitment to fear-mongering politics as usual.

Vote with dignity.

Tags: Barack Obama, Democrats, John McCain, LGBT rights, Republicans

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Barack Obama, Democrats, John McCain, Republicans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.