The Standard of Liberty Voice
For God,Religion,Family,Freedom
A publication of The Standard of Liberty Foundation
www.standardofliberty.org
December 5, 2005, #15

Of Vice and Men

(Please note that in this piece I am not condemning individuals or in any way comparing people to vermin. I greatly value human beings and do my best to engender only good will for all. What I am doing here is claiming my freedom to share the belief that the idea of homosexuality in desire and deed is contrary to the best interests of individuals and society. I use the word vice in reference not to people whom I do not judge, but to bad ideas and bad behavior which, if I care at all about my fellow man, it is my obligation to judge.)

It sneaks up on us, quietly, like a mouse.

I had seen signs – telltale droppings in my kitchen drawer among the linens. I should have done something then. But it was not until it became unmistakably intrusive that I finally kicked myself into action. On the day the bold rodent strolled confidently across my kitchen floor in broad daylight as if he owned the place, I took stock of the situation (after screaming and jumping on a chair). We definitely had mice, well, at least one, and where there is one there are probably more. Besides being unsanitary and creepy, mice could spread deadly disease–it had been on the news lately. There were small children in the house. Something had to be done, and quickly. That very day we went to the SPCA and picked out a nice, full-grown cat, paid what was a lot of money for us at the time, and brought her home to rid ourselves once and for all of the vermin. "Calico" did her unpleasant job well and with dignity. Sure, she was a nuisance sometimes, clawing at the furniture and filling up the litter box, but we figured the inconvenience was worth it. We kept her for 18 mice-free years until she developed old-age cat leukemia and we had to have her put to sleep. Her long-established presence alone kept mice away for an additional decade.

Everybody agrees–at least it's a widely-held cultural standard–that we shouldn't allow wild mice to co-habit our homes. So we buy mousetraps or set out poison or call the exterminator or get a cat. But vice is worse than mice, much more difficult to get rid of. What people do in private is one thing -- that's their business unless they break the law. But what people push in public, as in public education, public entertainment, public policies and laws, etc. is another. I'm referring to homosexual behavior and all its relatives. My 80-year-old dad rightly calls it an acquired vice. He says anyone can be one, nobody has to be one. Right. But in public, homosexuality has taken to wearing clever disguises so as to distract us from its abnormal and harmful attitudes and behaviors and deceive people into thinking it is unchangeable, normal and harmless. Many decent, orthodox people know it for what it is but wink at it, hoping it will go away on its own. These are some of the ways it has intruded itself into our culture until we are so used to it we not only allow it but are intimidated and conditioned into celebrating it.

My question today is, when will the American people in our states, in our cities, in our towns, see that a disguised-as-harmless vice is taking over society as if it owns the place? Will we respectfully do what needs to be done to stop its spread for the sake of our children and grandchildren?

Alexander Pope's words ring in my ears. "Vice is a monster of so frightful mein, As, to be hated, needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace." It is sadly inherent in human nature to take the easy road: allow the little, relatively seldom-seen though potentially dangerous mouse to set up housekeeping rather than take upon ourselves the responsibility to go out and purchase a cat that must be fed and cared for in order to wipe out the unwanted condition once and for all.

Perhaps where America went most wrong was in Pope's pity stage. It was because we have been slowly and steadily conditioned into pitying this vice out of what we thought was the goodness of our hearts toward suffering individuals that it has encroached upon us and multiplied. It has advanced from the bath houses and gay bars of our big city coasts to parades on our capitol city streets, to daytime talk shows, prime time TV, and movies. It has invaded our courtrooms and churches and newspapers and bookstores disguised as "diversity," "equal rights," "tolerance," "compassion," and "free expression." And now it strolls down the halls of our public schools as if it owns the place.

As a result of a high school in the next town allowing a GSA club, our daughter was assigned to write an article in her high school newspaper against "gay" clubs, another student wrote an article for "gay" clubs. Not surprisingly, the "pro" article turned out to be all about accepting homosexuality itself. Well, advocacy of homosexuality in schools is against the law in Utah. So we set up a meeting with our daughter's journalism teacher. It's a long story, but the scary thing is this: he didn't care. He didn't care that an assignment he gave resulted in blatant homosexual propaganda being printed in the school newspaper for every student ages 14-18 to read and perhaps believe. The teacher refused to see, or admit, the potential harm to vulnerable teenagers and to our culture. He would not even consider that the printed material advocated homosexuality. (We found out later that it's also against the law to ask students' opinions on sexuality without parental permission. Even giving the assignment was illegal.)

He gave us permission to record the 50-minute meeting. Once at home I listened to the conversation and learned something about myself. Much as I tried to smile and be of good cheer and reign myself in, I often interrupted. I was emotional. I was insistent. But was this so bad? I am a mother and grandmother. I was outraged. And the more the young teacher shrugged his shoulders the more outraged I became, at least inside. Shouldn't we all be outraged? Our world is crawling with vice and people in charge don't seem to care.

It's enough to make right-thinking people want to stand on a chair and scream.

-Stephen & Janice Graham


Copyright 2005 by Standard of Liberty Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.

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