The Answer: People listen to both Celebrities and Apes.
Right now you are thinking something like, “What the? What are you going on
about Matt?” Well let me explain.
If you watch
news programs like Sunrise and
whatever Channel Nines version is called or follow left wing news websites like
Huffingtonpost.com, or follow many celebrities,
you will see that gay marriage is a big issue on many people’s minds. Or at
least it appears that way. In reality it is a big issue because celebrity power
is driving it to be such. This quote from Howard Bragman, a media expert and
vice chairmen of Reputation.com, is
telling, “Hollywood gets this is the civil rights issue of our time. They're
some of the people who helped make it that way” (in Elber 2014). To be accurate
he said this in relation to gay rights in general, but the point still stands,
as gay marriage comes under the umbrella of gay rights. Gay rights and
gay marriage are only a big issues because celebrities of many forms keep pushing
these issues out there (at the encouragement of the gay community of course).
Celebrities,
and Hollywood in general, have been pushing the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender)
agenda for some time now. Remember shows like Will and Grace, and Dawson’s
Creek, both these shows pushed the agenda of homosexuals in their own way.
For Will and Grace, it was simply a
matter of poking fun at all different kinds of relationships in a light hearted
way, indeed for the show homosexuality was just accepted as part of this world,
something normal and right. In Dawson’s
Creek we had the very handsome and tough letter-jacket-wearing footballer
Jack Mcphee come out as gay,, to everyone's surprise. And then we got to watch his family and his friends,
and indeed his girlfriend at the time Joey Potter (played by Katie Holmes) all
wrestle with the reality that Jack was gay, just deal with it, and move on with
life. This was the message: being gay is just the way some people are, accept
it and we will have a better world. Oh there are earlier versions of this
message being pushed too, the loveable cross-dressing character Klinger from
M.A.S.H. comes to mind here. But as I recall, it was really in the nineties
that this agenda started getting pushed aggressively. Now it seems every second
show that comes out, either has a gay main character or someone has a gay friend, and every
celebrity is taking their turn in the sun to either come out as gay or to
support the LGTB community, and gay marriage (cf. http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2013/06/39-more-celebs-who-are-super-p.html,
for example). Hollywood have created a civil rights issue out of the lifestyle
of a small percentage of humanity, and many of you did not even realize that a
big part of the reason you think homosexuality is normal and gay marriage is
ok, is because Hollywood and other media has convinced you that this is so.
I know this
offends some of you, you may be furious at me right now for questioning the
right of homosexuals to get married, or for implying that homosexuality is not
good, or right, but I don’t care. I am not writing this post to attack gay
people, or even the idea of gay marriage, there are far bigger issues facing
the world than these; one being the rate of divorce amongst western marriages
today. I do not think legalizing gay marriage will destroy society, I already
think society is in trouble from the breakdown of traditional families. I don’t
support gay marriage and will always vote against it, but I don’t hate gay
people either. No, the reason I am writing this blog is to figuratively grab you by the collar and lovingly slap you in the face and make you wake up to the foolishness of listening to
celebrities on social issues. I am not saying that they should not have a
voice, I am just challenging the status quo: what gives celebrities the
authority to make any comments on marriage or relationships in general and be
taken seriously? I mean come on people, wake up, celebrities are notorious for
sucking at relationships, and it’s no wonder, when their whole existence
circles around themselves and how much people love them. We should not be
surprised that they suck at the very thing which matters most: healthy,
selfless relationships.
Look at some
of the names of celebrities who speak out on behalf of homosexuality and gay
marriage:
Rhianna…Seriously.
People. I wouldn’t take relationship advice from her if there was no one else
left on earth to ask. Would you take advice on how to fix your car from a person who has trashed
more cars than a party house full of drunk teenagers? The mere fact that your
social and relationship views are in line with Rhianna should cause you to seriously evaluate
your ability to think rationally.
Madonna. We
are not getting any better here people.
Lady Gaga.
Hahaha, seriously? If I want any advice from Lady Gaga it will be on how to
keep a straight po-po-poker face.
Russel
Brand. If his marriage to Katy Perry is an example of his relational fortitude,
again why would anyone listen to him? I am not surprised that he supports gay
marriage, I would be shocked to find out he didn’t.
I could go
on with an endless list, but here is my point: just because someone is famous
does not mean their opinion on marriage is valid or worth hearing. None of
these people mentioned has set any good examples of how to stay in a healthy
committed long term marriage. And this is true for most celebrities who speak
out. You have to rack your brain for ages to even think of a celebrity who has
been in a lifelong, healthy marriage – the closest one which comes to mind for
me is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 25 year marriage to Maria Shriver, and even that
one came to an end recently, sadly. I am not surprised celebrities support gay
marriage, because marriage means nothing to most of them, this is evidenced by
all the celebrity divorces we hear about in the tabloids. These people are not
credible witnesses to the sanctity of marriage; they just don't hold it in high regard.
Now I know
there are probably some celebs out there that have good, stable, long term
relationships. Fair enough, but my point still stands. Being famous does not
make your position on who can get married more significant, I want to hear from
people who live normal lives, have been married for years, raised their
children successfully, and done the hard yards. I don't want to hear another celebrities view on marriage of any kind. Celebrities are only generally good
at building up their own image, making themselves appear good for camera, and
promoting themselves. You don’t ask a hairdresser advice on how to structure
complex economic systems. Why would we ask a person whose life revolves around
themselves what is good for society, it make no sense.
Now Apes,
how Matt, do people listen to apes? Well sadly in the same way many people go
to celebrities for insight into what is right for humans to do, they also go to
apes, specifically the Bonobos ape. Don’t believe me? Here is a quote from
Nigel Barber (2009) on the Psychology Today Blog, “Apart from ‘gay genes’ in
humans, the main evidence that homosexuality is naturally selected is the fact
that gay animals are so common.” He also states, “Bonobo antics provide a fairly compelling argument
against anyone who holds that homosexual behavior is ‘against nature.’” To be
fair, this argument is made for all kinds of sexual behaviour, not just
homosexuality.
Hence, the
advice from Cara Santa Maria, in her article, Bonobo Love:
Valentine's Advice From Christopher Ryan, on how we can learn from “these magnificent creatures”. So
what’s her advice? Well first she argues, more sex equals less conflict. I
agree with her in the context an exclusive marriage, more sex is great, relieves
tension and is a blessing. Only she does not mean in the context of an
exclusive marriage, she is referring to the Bonobos apes’ propensity to sexually
give themselves to whomever, whenever in their little societies; free sex in
the truly hippy sense. Only we know what actually resulted from the hippie
revolution: sexually transmitted infections in never before seen numbers, and a
mass breakdown in marriages. Wow, thanks for the great advice Cara.
Also she
says, “Jealousy isn't romantic. While Bonobos no-doubt experience unique
feelings for one another, they don't seem to worry much about controlling one
another's sex lives. Nor do Bonobos seem to gossip much...” I can tell you this
for a fact, if I even joked about being with someone other than my wife, this
would kill the romance of our marriage. Jealousy isn’t romantic? You tell me
girls out there: how many of you want your man to focus on you and you alone?
This is called positive jealousy. How many of you find this exclusivity to be the height of romance? Cara were
you drunk when writing these words?
Here’s
another little nugget of Cara’s ‘wisdom’: “There's promise in promiscuity. All
the casual sex among Bonobos is arguably a big part of what has made them among
the smartest of all primates.” In my experience it is the dumbest of people who
are promiscuous. We have all seen what results from this kind of behaviour. But
sure why not... let’s encourage all of our teenagers and uni-students to engage
in promiscuity. Oh wait, society already does encourage that and it causes
heart break after heart break: pre-mature pregnancies, STI transmissions in ever increasing numbers (cf. ABS statistics). Even just the heartbreak young
people, and older people, go through when sexual relationships breakdown should
be enough to tell us that this statement is crazy. There's promise in
promiscuity? You are drunk, right Cara, please tell me you are, because nothing
else explains the insanity of your statements.
It’s insane
to even consider basing our sexual behaviour, or social policy on the behaviour
of apes. What you don’t believe me that animal behaviour is consulted to inform
social policy? Well, “already, cases of animal homosexuality have been cited in
successful court cases brought against states like Texas, where gay sex was,
until recently, illegal” (Owen, 2004). The same author thankfully presents a
note of caution that animals do engage in behaviour humans find reprehensible.
But the point still stands, people go to apes, and other animals, notably a
couple of gay penguins in New York (Barber, 2009) for sexual advice and to see
what is normal and natural. This is crazy, ‘I saw an animal do it therefore it
is ok,’ is not how we should live our lives.
I know for
some people that this blog will seem to come from left field, but the fact that
a society as influential as the United States has rejected God and his Word as
an authority and turned to celebrities and Bonobos apes instead, is sad and
mind boggling. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, gay or straight, everyone is,
and it is my informed opinion that listening to celebrities and Bonobos apes on
sexual behaviour is crazy, especially in relation to marriage, as neither
celebrities nor Bonobos apes have shown us that they have anything of value to
offer in this category. Wake up people, please wake up, hear this challenge
from God’s Word and realize that he already told us how the world thinks and
what this leads to:
21 For although they knew God, they
neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became
futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be
wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for
images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and
reptiles.24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts
to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They
exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created
things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. (Rom. 1:21-25, NIV).
References:
- Elber, Lynn 2014, Russia's Gay Rights Debate Suddenly Lacking Star Quality, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/17/russia-gay-rights-debate-celebs_n_4803259.html
- Fusaro, Kim 2013, 39 More Celebs Who Are Super-Psyched About Marriage Equality. Brace Yourselves: There's a LOT of Awesome Up In Here, http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2013/06/39-more-celebs-who-are-super-p.html.
- Barber, Nigel 2009, The Human Beast: Why we do what we do, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/200906/gay-animals.
- Maria, Cara Santa 2012, Bonobo Love: Valentine's Advice From Christopher Ryan, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/bonobo-love_n_1275381.html.
- Owen, James 2004, Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate, http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2004/07/0722_040722_gayanimal_2.html.
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