Category Archives: free market

We Know Better, Part 10: Sex Education and Gender Ideology

September 7th, 2022 |

In such volatile times, prudence is a special virtue. The moment the words gender and sex are used, accusations start flying and anger overtakes reason. In this essay, I am going to share some principles for a new civil consensus on sex and gender issues, especially in public education and public square debates.

I am NOT advocating any kind of coercive ideological or religious conformity – just the opposite.  I am searching for principled compromise that will lower the temperature, restore toleration (as a virtue of living with our differences, not being forced to affirm ideas we reject), and offer a way forward for the common good. I think liberals and conservatives dedicated to the highest ideals of freedom of conscience can find some level of agreement. Radical activists will never be satisfied with anything other than cowing their opponents and compelling eternal penance from any who differ.

Principle One: We must acknowledge that we live in a pluralistic society and that freedom of conscience is a first freedom that establishes all others. Political and social majorities do not have the right to impose their beliefs on minorities. We can celebrate cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity, and the free market of ideas.

Principle Two: We want all people to being their highest selves to work and public service; therefore, we are not demanding that religious convictions be checked at the door. We are expecting maturity that affirms Principle One and works for principled consensus.

Principle Three: The family is the primary educator and purveyor of values and worldviews. The state does not have the right to compel belief or speech contrary to conscience. Expressing deeply held moral convictions is not hate speech or violence, provided our citizens learn to share them with respect. For example, my belief that sexual intimacy is reserved for lifelong, heterosexual, monogamous marriage is not intolerance, for I share these ideas with neighbors who see the universe differently and they have the same right to share their convictions.

Principle Four: Sex education in public schools should focus on biological changes and reproduction, leaving gender ideology to the family. There is no place for schools to secretly oppose family values or impose their ideas in or out of the classroom.

Principe Five: People with body dysphoria deserve love and compassion and good counsel. Any medical procedures, from drugs to surgery, should be reserved for adults and paid for by the persons seeking the changes. If a 10-year-old boy wants to be a girl, he/she can seek out specific treatments once they are 18 or 21, just like other adult activities. In most cases, experimentation with gender and identity finds its natural place eventually (as the brain matures in the early 20s), so serious interventions are premature, unproven, and even dangerous to long-term well-being.

Principle Six: We must restore toleration to its original meaning of living peaceably with our deepest differences. Toleration is not compelled agreement. No business or artist should be compelled to promote ideas that violate their conscience. It is interesting noting that activists never target Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist bakeries or businesses, only ones owned by Christians.

Principle Seven: The mostly binary nature of humankind and the animal kingdom is a scientific fact. Exceptions exist, but we have allowed exceptions to become the rule and distort obvious statements of fact. A woman is an adult biological female. She may be attracted to the opposite or same sex, but she is a female. A man is an adult biological male. The DNA and biology do not lie. This said, we are not demanding that adults who have crafted a particular identity be prohibited form living peaceably in our world. Those who disagree with these choices are not evil.

Principle Eight: Human beings are complicated and there should never be bullying, intimidation, or any kind of intolerance or violence toward people who see the world differently. This does not mean I celebrate ideas I differ with. This does mean that we must not reduce maleness and femaleness to time-bound idols, personality and interest types, or particular subcultural characteristics. We must desire that all people flourish and bring their gifts to our world.

It is impossible to address these issues without provoking reactions. Good! Reactions mean we care. The question is, will we move from reaction to true toleration? I live among neighbors who see the world very differently. I have family members with diverse worldviews. We argue, debate, and then have dinner. May we find the courage and compassion to do the same.

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The Real I%

July 31st, 2012 |

The Occupy Movement and the their accomplices in the media enjoy separating themselves from the “one percent” and identifying with the “99%” that represents “the people.” Progressive politicians and pundits gleefully pounce on any conservative gaffes. The academic, chattering, governmental and financial leaders benefitting from current policies congratulate themselves on their enlightened views. They throw charity balls and make public appearances in their Chevy Volts (after deplaning from their Gulfstreams). They celebrate Che Guevera, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, embrace Islamicist radicals, casually call Israel an arpartheid nation and subject the Chick-Fil-A company to merciless abuse. They are silent about the treatment of women in Islamicist states, mute about the impending destruction of American economic and political liberty and willfully ignorant about what it takes to run a small- or medium-sized business. They screamed for the closing of Guantanamo in 2008 – today there is deafening silence. They basked in their pride as the first biracial President came into office, but they marginalize any African-American that stands for traditional marriage. They love dismissing the Tea Party as homophobic, racist and out-of-touch, while never considering the Tea Party platform has nothing to say about marriage, race or other fashionable concerns. This group ignores the thousands of thefts, and hundreds of assaults and rapes that are part of Occupy events while conservative events are orderly. These self-syled revolutionaries ignore the violent anti-Semitic activities of the Muslim Student Associations on college campuses. Any call for voter ID is deemed repressive and citizenship is considered optional. They excoriate Catholics, Evangelicals and Mormons, but remain silent in the face of totalitarianism in China and Russia.

Who are the “one percent”? It is not the mechanic trying to keep his shop open or the veteran rercovering from wounds. It is not the investor who is risking life savings on an idea. It is not a beleaguered public school teacher that cannot get parents to care. It is not the Walmart greeter or the oil rig technician. The real one percent are not the busy pastors helping people find peace in tragedy or the dedicated volunteers that read for the blind.
Yes, there are global, multinational cabals that value only their wealth and power. Oddly enough, many of these folks are funding the radical causes listed above. It suits their purposes to destabilize nations and encourage anarchy so they can make a profit and install their puppets. 
The pagan-secular Left is the real 1%. They can mobilize the dependent and disaffected, appeal to class warfare, play the race card when convenient and position themselves as the interpreters of all language. Did you know that words like initiative and personal responsibility are actually code for oppression and racism? You see, we foolish folks that cling to our guns and religion are too stupid to understand the “systemic” ills that keep people from prosperity. The real enemies of progress are the free market, traditional moral values and the intransigence of Israel. If we would just yield control to their self-anointed, self-appointed intelligensia, all will be well. We will live in “planned” communities, drive “smart” cars, breed only “worthy” children and enjoy maximal personal pleasure while having all our basic needs met by our benevolent despots. After all, we cannot take care of ourselves, can we? While we are at it, let’s divide the USA into many nations, restore the mythical “Aztlan” in the southwest, give reparations ro all slave descendants and return all the land to the first nation tribes. Anyone of European origins can go live in…Kansas. 
This parody is fun…except that it is all true. The American Experiment in liberty based on virtue and truth is being exchanged for a subversive libertine-totalitarian vision where the bureaucrats and approved intellectuals and technocrats rule while the rest eat from the public trough (a trough without cetain ingredients or portions, of course.). 
The upcoming election is the most important since 1860, for it symbolizes a choice between living up to our founders’ ideals of self-regulating, truth-based liberty or a globalist-socialist future that will diminish human flourishing and restrict freedoms – all in the name of “fairness.”
But America’s future is not determined by the occupant of the White House. Our future rests on the active, comnpassionate and intelligent involvement of all our citizens. We must awaken from our moral and spiritual stupor and choose a better future through reverence for the Almighty, respect for our neighbor and responsible work. Let’s argue about policies while we cooperate on compassion. Let’s debate civilly while we rebuild our infrastructure with private-public partnerships of integrity and transparency. Let’s bring our troops home with dignity while deploying anti-terrorist forces effectively. Let’s honor the miracle of modern Israel while inviting Palestinians to foreswear violence and share in Mideast prosperity. Let’s celebrate marriage and permit other arrangements without rancor. Let’s welcome millions of immigrants – legally. And let’s vote and make sure only live citizens’ ballots count. Above all, let’s end the polarism and replace it with critical thinking grounded in love. At the end of the day, desiring the best for my neighbor and serving others with no thought of return will do more to change the world than any other affections or actions.
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