The Institute for American Values has launched a "New Conversation on Marriage." I strongly endorse this conversation, and was honored to be asked to be among the original signatories.
The conversation has several parts. The one I am particularly moved by is this: "marriage is rapidly dividing along class lines, splitting the country that it used to unite."
I will share the further fruits of this conversation with you as they develop.
In the meantime, I urge you to check out the call.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I watched the Civil Conversations Project video with David Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rauch over the break. It was one of the most intelligent conversations I have seen on the subject of not just gay marriage, but marriage in general. Blankenhorn got quite a bit of flack from the media when he switched camps on the issue; from being a fervent supporter for Prop 8 to pro-gay marriage. One of things I like about him is that he seems more committed to the value of marriage than political grandstanding.
Stephanie: Agreed. I have known Blankenhorn through his work since the '80s, and remain impressed with his centrist commitment to marriage.
Funny how when someone moves to the left they are praised as centrist. A centrist view would be civil unions not same sex marriage...
The Call sounds like a good thing. Looks like an interesting mix of folk. I didn't recognize all the organizations but I didn't notice any National Organization for Marriage types nor their counterparts on the left. Perhaps that is the idea to have a conversation with other voices than the ones we see in the op-eds and on the talk shows.
I do want want to pick a nit with the part of the call that describes Boomers as leading the divorce revolution.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
Boomers were not running the show in state legislatures when divorce laws went "no-fault" circa 1970. Strauss and Howe's "Silent" were the ones making the changes.
And the 1st wave of "Latch-Key Kids" in the mid-70's were mostly the children of Silents not Boomers. The Silents embraced those new laws. Especially the Silent men.
And yes I realize this comment is a stereotypical Boomer sort of comment.
The Silents did lead the divorce revolution, but by the time the real divorce boom came in the late '70s and early '80s, most of those divorcing were Boomers.
Pat: a decade ago, civil unions for same-sex couples was the centrist position, as I have written before. However, I think Blankenhorn is right that now the tide of public opinion has shifted toward same-sex marriage as the legal norm. Centrists see, though, that there is a middle ground among those who accept same-sex marriage that includes both those who think it is in every way equivalent to opposite-sex marriage, and also those who think the two are not the same but that same-sex marriage is a good enough option.
The Call was the subject of a positive editorial in the Dallas Morning News today.
Post a Comment