During Fall Break, I suffered the extraction of my wisdom teeth. Doped up on painkillers, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was having issues with my vision when I read the recent comments of an apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regarding the treatment of Mormons post-Proposition 8.
Giving a speech at BYU Idaho, Dallin Oaks, a high-ranking church official, compared the treatment of Mormons with that of the black population in the Jim Crow South. In his speech, Oaks uses the term “alleged civil rights” in reference to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement’s aim for marriage equality. Despite the faux pas of comparing the suffering of modern-day Mormons with that of blacks in the ’60s, Oaks committed yet another social blunder by condescending an entire movement of millions of individuals around the world.
The issue at hand is not about Mormons, or the LGBT community8212;it’s about tact, pure and simple. What happened to the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”? It seems that in the 21st century, fueled by personal bias and a winner-takes-all approach to life, we have come to the conclusion that we can say whatever we want to whomever we want without suffering the consequences.
The day before the break, I was standing at a bus stop when a truck whipped past, windows rolled down and all four boys inside screamed “faggot” in unison as they drove past. Really? In 2009, insecure teenage boys are still shouting expletives on the street to prove their masculinity and assert their superiority? Something is wrong here. It’s not only about making crude statements, it is about a society built on denying certain rights to certain people and the established hierarchy of superiority that ensues.
Mormons are and have historically been a group that people hold bias against. But I don’t see any organized bodies8212;at least none that are taken seriously8212;donating millions of dollars to stamp out the “atrocities” of temple marriages.
Do Mormons go to work every day in Sandy worried that if they disclose certain information, they could be fired just for being LDS? No. Do Mormons enjoy the luxury of a legal and religious marriage on their own terms, in their own private manner? Yes. It is the right of citizens to enact legislation against something they feel is morally incorrect8212;which the LDS Church did regarding Proposition 8. It is also the right of citizens to organize boycotts against groups they feel are morally incorrect8212;as the LGBT community mobilized against the LDS Church after Proposition 8 passed. So, who is right?
Bottom line: Lack of tact on both sides of the issue only leads to further tension and lack of resolve. No, my relationship with my boyfriend has nothing to do with my sister’s temple marriage, and her temple marriage has nothing to do with my relationship with my boyfriend. I don’t call her a polygamist, and she doesn’t call me a faggot. It’s not about being politically correct; it is thinking before you act in respect to the life choices of the 6 billion other people on this planet.
Let me be absolutely frank: Marriage equality has nothing to do with freedom of religious expression. Case in point, when did religious expression become equated with denying rights to groups of people because of someone else’s belief system? Ultimately, the debate boils down to one point: Sorry, Dallin Oaks, but my marriage has nothing to do with your church. It’s not about you. It’s not about me, either. You live your life, and I’ll live mine. What ever happened to the R-E-S-P-E-C-T?
