Not a Prediction, But An Observation; The Slippery Slope In Action
"Slippery Slope" arguments involve a bit of prediction. If A happens, B will happen next. It’s easy to dismiss these sorts of arguments are mere guesses. However, when initial predictions become true, it’s time to take the arguments more seriously.
David Warren charts the course down the slippery slope in Canada.
When same-sex marriage was legalized in 2005, I argued that polygamy would follow. This is now happening.
There is nothing much we can do about it — the Canadian Constitution has "evolved," so that the judges who interpret Pierre Trudeau’s Charter of Rights have the power not only to overturn Acts of Parliament, but to make new law from whole cloth, according to their whims and ideological commitments. "The people" — mere voters — need not be consulted.
A test case is already heading towards the Supreme Court, from Bountiful, B.C. Lawyers for the fundamentalist Mormon, Winston Blackmore, who has long been openly practising polygamy, will invoke the Charter. The old goat has actually boasted of his multiple teenaged brides: estimates run to more than 20 wives in total. (And you thought Brad Pitt was a chick magnet.)
That this test case will not only proceed, but succeed, almost goes without saying. Even the attorney general of British Columbia doubted his chances with the Charter, when he brought polygamy charges in January against Blackmore, and Jim Oler. This was after a delay of about half a century: for the polygamous cult has been established openly in Bountiful since the era of Peyton Place (the late 1950s). The very fact that the authorities had not found the guts to enforce Section 293 of the Criminal Code, in all this time, will now be counted against the law itself.
This is nothing very new, actually. Here are posts from 2007, 2005, May of 004, and January of 2004, and that’s just my noting of the arguments. Others have been warning of this for longer than that. Things have moved (slipped?) faster in Canada, but they have a more liberal mindset. If you think it can’t happen here, you’re just completely mistaken and/or you haven’t been paying attention.
Filed under: Culture • Doug • Homosexuality
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I agree that slippery slope arguments can be, well, slippery, but in this case it’s appropriate.
“Gay marriage” is about a lot of things, but marriage isn’t one of them. Nor is it about civil rights, despite the rhetoric.
No, it’s the hate-America and hate-Christianity crowd wanting to remake Western civilization. They’re not after toleration as properly understood, they want forced approval. If they have their way, they’ll prosecute all who disagree, in civil or criminal court.
The left is about a lot of things, but freedom of thought isn’t one of them.
Indeed, just ask eHarmony, who got sued because they didn’t serve same-sex couples. Unfortunately, they caved.
And it’s humorous in a sad sort of way that they think that this time the line they draw as to what marriage is will be inviolate. See here for an example. Talk about willful blindness.
“Gay marriage” is about a lot of things, but marriage isn’t one of them. Nor is it about civil rights, despite the rhetoric.
Huh. Imagine my and my friend’s surprise when we thought we were actually just advocating for marriage and for just treatment/civil rights. But according to Tom, here, we must have been mistaken. We THOUGHT that’s what we were doing, but I guess we were mistaken.
We also thought we loved our nation, but Tom knows best…
You didn’t sue eHarmony either. You didn’t bully Prop 8 supporters either. Yet they happened. Imagine that.
These things, plus the gay marriage thing, are all tied up in the “homosexuality as civil right” issue. There is a larger issue here, whether or not you want to acknowledge it or think you’re participating in it.
So, the reality that there are a minority of gay marriage supporters who would use offensive measures is proof that the majority of gay marriage supporters have some evil intent in seeking the simple joy of legal marriage?
Does that also mean that there are a minority of Christians who salute the KKK mean that we must reject all of Christendom as ugly racists?
If the KKK and those that think like them had one iota of the influence on the Right as those seeking to marginalize mainstream Christianity and Western civilization do on the Left, you might possibly begin to have a point.
But they don’t.
I repeat and clarify:
The bad behavior of a few does not negate the point of the many or the reality that we believe as we do for reasons of justice and mercy and Godliness (in some cases). To libel all those who support gay marriage as US-hating, immoral cretins is just that: Libel and that is morally wrong and works counter to your cause.