Mormons and Gays Unite!
The high cost of cultural rent seeking
The title I chose is a bit deceiving. I direct this at all faiths whom actively oppose gay marriage through legislative means, as well as the GLBT community. I singled out the Mormon faith because I’m an active member of this sect and, as such, understand their perspective best.
With yesterday’s Supreme Court rulings, and subsequent reactions from either side, I was again reminded of the high costs of cultural rent seeking; a government and people so bogged down by non-political issues that they can’t see the forest for the trees. The religious right seems happy to martyr (alienate) themselves, only slowing the inevitable cultural shifts. While the gay community puts their faith in government’s supreme power to bestow inalienable rights. Ironically, it’s the very political system to which each appeals that pits them against each other for its own bloated interests; encouraging them to look beyond the mark instead of joining forces in the name of true personal freedom.
Our government was founded under Lockean principles, namely that consenting adults should be free to enter into contracts and that the legal system’s primary role should be the enforcement of said contracts. What, if not a simple contract, is a civil marriage in the state’s eyes? The fact that today’s Christian religions view this contract as anything more defies logic — “Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s” immediately comes to mind.
Irrationality isn’t monopolized by Conservatives, however. The Left kneels before Washington’s alter begging for endowments from on high. Of course this acknowledges that government has the authority to grant such gifts — it doesn’t, nor will it ever. “Man is born free” and government’s only power over that freedom is that which its subjects allow.
In my eyes, the solution is for both sides to recognize that the state is not church, and treat it thusly. With forces joined the religious right and the gay community could further the cause of freedom by relegating the government back to the business of enforcing contracts. These contracts can be called whatever society deems appropriate. No one person, group, religion, or government chooses what a word means. Language is emergent and fighting over it is infantile.
In this world the LDS church would have its own marriage, the Catholic its own, the Methodists theirs, and so on; with the right to refuse whomever they want, caring only for what their god thinks and not their government. They, along with everyone else, could then freely enter into a separate legal contract with the state, binding them in whatever earthly ways seen fit. The legal system would then enforce these contracts ensuring that everyone, gay, straight, or otherwise, had equal protection under the law.
The separation of church and state is a two way road. I believe this is the healthiest solution in that it removes religions’ protectionist incentives within the issue of marriage. Also, by removing the need for government to acknowledge these religious ceremonies the public at large is free to do as they please. One could imagine an entire industry spun up around creating terms for these contracts. As long as they’re between consenting adults, who’d really care what gender the parties were?
Sadly, I don’t anticipate the realization of my utopian vision any time soon. Politicians are more than happy to fuel the flames of each side’s fallacious hatred, increasing the divide . It may sound cynical, but what resonates as negativity to us, sounds like job security to them.
