In recent weeks, this page has seen a deluge of letters so similar that they must have come from the same copy machine and that are part of an obviously orchestrated campaign to whip up public fear concerning gay marriage. Gay marriage is a bad idea. Gay marriage is a bogus political issue. It's all about a national political strategy by Republican operatives to stay in power in Washington, D.C., and in St. Paul.
If Republicans run on their sorry record of mis-governance, they will lose big time. So, how can the party of war and greed avoid this fate? They need to divert public attention away from the real issues to non-issues that capture political attention. Sex is the perfect diversion. If Republicans can make sex the great issue in the next election, they will be home free.
We in Willmar can expect to hear a lot more sex talk because Republicans have made Sen. Dean Johnson their No. 1 target and sex is their No. 1 issue. The local gay marriage hoopla has Republican fingerprints all over it, from Gov. Tim Pawlenty and House Speaker Steve Sviggum on down. Then, there are a few local religious entrepreneurs who seek entry into or expansion in a crowded and competitive local church market, and who seem to view all well-publicized denunciations of sexual behavior as providing a certain competitive edge.
Families and family values are under devastating attack, but not from gay marriage, which is illegal in Minnesota. The family, the community, and the nation cannot survive unless people are willing to sacrifice individual self-interest for the good of the family, the community and the nation. We Americans have adopted a popular value system based on radical individualism in which maximizing self-interest is the measure of all things, whether it is in business or in the family. These twisted values have corrupted all parts of American society, including its churches, but the most devastating consequences are visited on families, particularly on children.
Don't be taken in by phony family values campaigns about sex. The real family values issues require much more fundamental change.
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John Burns
Willmar
