Values...
Decency...
Respect.
What has become of our society?
"The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that members of a fundamentalist church have a free-speech right to hold anti-gay protests at military funerals to promote their view that God hates America for tolerating homosexuality."
A family was trying to bury their dead son, a fallen marine, and were joined by protesters holding signs that said hateful comments such as "God hates you" and "Thank God for dead soldiers." When they sued for damages, the Supreme Court sided with the protesters! The protesters were expressing their personal religious views that God is killing people's loved ones because The Lord is angry that our society is exercising tolerance towards homosexuality. While my liberal views are probably better saved for another entry, I personally find their course of action to be a contradiction within itself. AND they should be ashamed of themselves.
According to the Bible that these protesters claim to follow, God loves ALL of His children. I understand that the morality of homosexuality upsets a lot of people, but what justifies being mean and hateful about expressing your point? If you approach me with hostility, I'm not likely to consider learning to share your viewpoint. So if you viciously cause emotional harm to someone at one of their lowest points, in what way will that persuade them to listen to you? In what way does that teach people to love the Lord? In what way does that teach people that the Lord loves them?
"In the court's opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said the church's beliefs and its signs related to issues of public importance, including political and moral conduct in the United States."
Moral conduct. Hmm. Who out there knows what it's like to lose a loved one? The pain and shock and regret. A funeral is a quiet time for goodbyes, for respect of both the dead and the ones left behind. In what way does giving people the right to violate someone else's mourning to express a political point on a personal matter? Especially when the point doubles or triples the pain of the mourning? I am a steadfast supporter of the freedom of speech. I believe it is equally our most important as well as our most powerful freedom as Americans. However, I believe there is a time and place for everything. I believe that limiting our country's freedom of speech just so slightly that it could protect people in their darkest hour, that limiting certain behaviors for the 2, 3 hours it takes for a family to say goodbye...that's not unconstitutional. I believe the pain of loss can be felt across a multitude of religions. I think sparing the funeral protests for another day is a small freedom we can all justifiably afford to lose.
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