Bill Maher, comedian and social critic, had this to say
on his most recent HBO show, Real Time With Bill Maher . . .
(The piece is called Bi-Definition and is referring to the
recent headline, "Bush Plans $1.5 Billion Drive For
Promotion of Marriage")
You can't claim you're the party of smaller government and then make
laws about love. On this Valentine's day, let's stop and ask
ourselves, "What business is it of the
state how consenting adults choose to pair off, share expenses, and
eventually stop having sex with each other?"
And why does the Bush administration want a constitutional amendment
about weddings? Hey, why stop at weddings? Birthdays are important;
let's put them in the great document. Let's make a law that gay
people can have birthdays, but straight people get more cake. You
know, to send the right message to kids.
Republicans are always saying we should privatize things like
schools, prisons, social security -- hey, how about we privatize
privacy! Because if the government forbids gay
men from tying the knot, what is their alternative? They can't all
marry Liza Minnelli.
You know, the Republicans used to be the party that opposed social
engineering, but now they push programs to outlaw marriage for some
people and encourage it for others. If you're straight, there's $1.5
billion in the budget to promote marriage, but gay marriage is
opposed because it threatens or mocks or does something to the
sanctity of marriage, as if anything you can do in Vegas drunk off
your ***** in front of an Elvis impersonator could be considered sacred.
Half the people who pledge eternal love are doing it because one of
them is either knocked up, rich or desperate. But in George Bush's
mind, marriage is only a beautiful lifetime bond of love and sharing,
kind of like what his dad has with the Saudis.
But at least the right wing aren't hypocrites on this issue. They
really believe that homosexuality is an abomination and a dysfunction
that's curable. They believe that if
a gay man just devotes his life to Jesus, he'll stop being gay,
because that worked out so well with the Catholic priests.
But I have to tell you that the greater shame in this story goes to
the Democrats because they don't believe homosexuality is an
abomination, and, therefore, their refusal to endorse gay marriage is
hypocrisy. Their position doesn't come from the Bible; it's ripped
right from the latest poll which says that most Americans are
against gay marriage.
Well, you know what? Sometimes most Americans are just wrong, and
where is the Democrat who will stand up and go beyond the
half-measures of civil union and
hate-the-sin-love-the-sinner and say loud and clear, "There is no
sin. It's not an abomination and no one can control how cupid aims
his arrows, and the ones
who pretend they can usually turn out to be the biggest freaks."
The law in this country should reflect that some people are just born
one-hundred-percent outrageously, fabulously, undeniably Fire-Island
gay. And they do
not need re-programming -- they need a man with a slow hand.
.. . Bill Maher
.
|
