No evidence of moral superiority

Published 12:01 am Thursday, March 31, 2011

In the Saturday letter, “Kids brainwashed into lower morals,” the writer proclaims the “high sense of morals” those defining marriage as only between a man and a woman possess.

Not being one to cast aspersions on others, I will only point out that, for whatever reasons, more than 40 percent of such marriages end in divorce. For those then proceeding to marriage No. 2, the divorce rate climbs to 60 percent, and for those who are still working on attaining their “perfect union,” try No. 3 ends badly for 73 percent of those involved.

Add in the rather dismal statistics on extra-marital affairs, and any assertion of “moral superiority” begs the question, “Superior to what?”

Clearly, same-sex marriages have not been around long enough or in great enough numbers to assess how well they will fare. But, given that they involve mere humans, we can safely conclude their success rate may be no greater. But how does this translate into any calculus of moral worth — much less charges of “brainwashing?”

If the writer is relying upon some guide to behavior as provided by their specific religious choice, I would offer two observations: 1) The United States is not a theocracy; and 2) Matthew 7:1-2.

Steve Guinn
Edmonds