The Highest Ideal of Marriage
All must be equal and love supersedes authority. Plus all adults should be able to marry who they love without religion or government telling them only some marriages count.
THE HIGHEST ideal of a family is where all are equal, where love has superseded authority, where each seeks the good of all, and where none obey; where no religion can sunder hearts, and with which no church can interfere.
Robert G. Ingersol
With the talk of the Senate voting on marriage equality and religious organizations like the Agudah Israel putting out repulsive statements as can be seen here.
Here is a portion of the text; I did the bolded sentences:
It is not our intention to impose our religious views on others. But American law is informed by many sources, including religious faith and tradition. Jewish law and values unequivocally reject homosexual conduct and same-sex marriage, both for Jews and for society at-large. Jewish law and values reject the notion that all people have a right to marry whomever they love, without restriction. This does not deny anyone’s humanity or dignity. This is based neither in bigotry nor invidious discrimination. This is what our Torah teaches and what Jews have faithfully adhered to for millennia.
It is not our intention to impose our religious views on others.
This is exactly what they are trying to do. There is no basis in Jewish law to restrict others in this way. In Judaism, there is a religious marriage ceremony; Judaism does not recognize civil marriages beyond what is required by the law. Nobody is forcing them to perform homosexual marriages, but they feel the need to speak out to limit the rights of others.
Any minority group in America should recognize that an attack on the liberty of one minority will lead to the restrictions of liberties to other groups. In addition, there are concepts in Judaism such as Tikkun Olam or repairing the world. We have the famous quote by the sage Hillel when asked if he could describe the whole Torah while standing on one foot:
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation of this—go and study it!"
Well, this would fall under hateful in they were told that their marriages wouldn’t be recognized anymore.
This does not deny anyone’s humanity or dignity. This is based neither in bigotry nor invidious discrimination.
This is just a lie. There is no other word for it. Putting a group of people in a separate caste because of who they choose to love does deny them humanity. When a marriage comes with significant legal, financial, and emotional connections, it does deny them elements of humanity.
The same-sex spouse who isn’t able to be with their partner on a deathbed as they aren’t a legal spouse would deny someone their humanity at a time when it is most critical. That heterosexual couples could be getting health insurance because of a spouse, and the homosexual couple cannot get that benefit would impact their dignity.
That they cannot marry, someone they love denies them humanity and dignity and is nothing but bigotry. Also, it is for those in the group targeted to determine what impacts their humanity and dignity. It isn’t for outsiders to try to gatekeep humanity for others.
Whenever one human being is denied a right solely because of a factor of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc., it does lower their humanity and dignity, and anyone telling them otherwise is trying to justify their actions.
The Torah has marriages that are between a man and multiple women. Man, woman, and some concubines. We have child brides being sold off by their fathers. We have multiple stories that show women being forced into marriage as a business transaction. I don’t think religious texts are the thing to show us how to live and especially not on this topic.
As I have quoted before from Baruch Spinoza:
I start from the natural rights of the individual, which are co-extensive with his desires and power, and from the fact that no one is bound to live as another pleases, but is the guardian of his own liberty and from the fact that no one is bound to live as another pleases but is the guardian of his own liberty that they best retain this right and secure safety to their state by allowing every man to think what he likes, and say what he thinks.
The failure to pass this law and ensure marriage equality for all would impact someone’s natural rights. While I respect the right for people to practice their religion, they have no right to impose their religion on the American people. The Constitution does not mention God, so even if they did exist, they are subordinate to the United States Constitution.
I urge all readers to contact their senators to encourage them to vote for this legislation. I have Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, so I know how useless the calls can sometimes feel but good for them to know where they are failing.
Thank you for reading, and I will be back on Thursday.