Published: March 24, 2008 03:56 pm         

What will doom America ?

One down, four to go.

My wife and I have four other weddings to attend or prepare for this year.

A week ago, our daughter was married. Next month, our news editor is getting married. In June, our features editor’s daughter is marrying, and two employees will marry each other. Then in August, our younger son is getting married.

Obviously, people believe in marriage.

I believe in marriage. I’ve been married 32 years, all of them to the same woman. It is a wonderful experience.

Some are sounding the alarm, though, that marriage is threatened by homosexuality, and not only marriage, but that homosexuality will ruin our nation.

In the past, these marriage advocates have proposed the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, preventing the extension of marriage rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.

Just before our daughter’s wedding, Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, made national news by declaring the homosexual agenda is akin to terrorism. Kern and her defenders say she wasn’t maligning homosexuals, nor calling them terrorists.

But they stand firm: America has more to fear from homosexuality than terrorists.

I’m not defending homosexuality, but let’s review our threats.

If marriage is endangered, it also has much to fear from the likes of former Democratic New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the self-righteous morality crusader, husband and father who spent some of his money on call girls.

If marriage is endangered, it also has much to fear from the single-parent and live-in movements and the love generation — which marriage advocates also have declared threats in the past.

Marriage, the biblical plan of one man for one woman, has survived, however. It survives because, very simply, it’s a great plan. I believe in it.

But as far as homosexuality leading to America’s imminent collapse, the last time I looked at the list of deadly sins, homosexuality wasn’t there. Pride, wrath, envy, gluttony, sloth, lust and greed were.

American greed has led to a $9 trillion debt. And let’s talk about the greed in our housing market that led to our present economic downslide.

Let’s talk about gluttony — 32 percent of Americans are obese and more than 66 percent overweight — which is overtaxing America’s health care system.

Of course, the seven deadly sins aren’t in the Bible. The Roman Catholic Church created the list centuries ago.

But Proverbs 6 lists seven things God hates, and you won’t find homosexuality there, either.

You will find, however, God hates a false witness and those who run to mischief.

I don’t suppose many Americans want to list Iraq as one of those sins even though the adventure was built on false claims and several of our closest allies pleaded with us not to rush into Iraq.

But it’s easier for some to blame homosexuality for America’s possible collapse than a rush to war that increased our national debt at least another $600 billion.

It’s easier for Kern to lambaste some Americans, many who serve this nation in the military and contribute positively to society, rather than reasonably address America’s ills.

By the way, final on the list of the things that God hates, yea, he sees as an abomination, is someone who soweth discord among brethren.

But I’m sure Kern will find someone else to blame for that, too.



David Gerard writes for Muskogee (Okla.) Phoenix. Reach Gerard at dgerard@muskogeephoenix.com.