Intolerance

by The Red Scare

I am outraged at the intolerance shown by Mr. Jason Connor. To call some homosexuality abhorrent is the biggest sign of intolerance. This not only insults people who are homosexual, but also those who believe they shouldn't called immoral, dirty, wrong, etc. I find the lack of respect in Mr. Connor's message very offensive.

Mr. Connor argues homosexuality is wrong because the Bible claims it is wrong. I am sorry, but not everyone is a Christian. Not every person believes it is wrong to be homosexual. In a country in which I have the right to choose my religion, imposing restrictions from another religion is not right. As Mr. Lohr also pointed out in his response, the Bible also claims it is wrong for a man to be taught by a woman. If you were to take the Bible literally, many a sins everyone has committed. The laws apply to everyone, but the Bible does not.

As his second argument, Mr. Connor states homosexuality is wrong because "Life says so." Is that true? Many studies note that homosexuality can be traced to a gene. Studies have also shown that several mammals also exhibit homosexual tendencies. If road map of life has a path toward homosexuality, then I guess "Life says so." But besides that, there is a flaw inherent in "Life says so." It is natural for a person to smoke marijuana. Life created marijuana, allows us to burn and inhale the fumes, so it is perfectly natural to smoke it, just because "Life says so." Now Life doesn't say we should completely corrupt the planet either. Many animals, plants, and other organisms are being destroyed by the second. All are creations of Life, and by our will, are being destroyed by our hands. Does Life say we should destroy everything on the planet? These examples may seem frivolous, but they hold to the "Life says so" logic.

Mr. Connor continues to insult Mr. Lohr by calling his morals corrupt, and his ideals misguided. He completely dismisses Mr. Lohr's statements because he believes his religion, his God, and his beliefs are right. First of all, I also feel insulted by the statements Mr. Connor has made toward Mr. Lohr because I happen to agree with Mr. Lohr. We live in a country where not everyone believes in God. The Constitution gives everyone the right not to believe in the same religion. And due to that right, every person who does not believe in Christianity should have their right to retain their beliefs, and not have restrictions of another religion placed upon them.

What this all boils down to is respect. Mr. Connor shows a large lack of respect to Mr. Lohr, and to people who are not Christian. He does not respect my right to not believe in God. He is not respecting the rights of those with different sexual orientations. He wants everyone to believe in Christianity, which is everyone's right. He doesn't respect the fact someone different should have the same rights as everyone else. I would have hoped that this society would become more tolerant, but apparently some people do not agree with me.

Original Editorial: A Rebuttal to Brad Lohr's comments in the Ask the Oracle column for March 10, 2000.