Don's Tuesday column

             THE WAY I SEE IT   by Don Polson  Red Bluff Daily News   8/20/2013

From Russia to OR bakery—with love?

Before diving into the main topic, I am throwing my unqualified support to not only the rodeo clown at the Missouri State Fair for poking fun at our president with an Obama mask, but also to the throngs of rodeo spectators that roared their approval of the comic skit. To all of the naysayers and political figures, even Republicans in that state, offering real or phony outrage, (e.g. the NAACP “jumping the shark,” so to speak, by calling for a federal Justice Dept. investigation), I say the following: Good Lord, search your character, find the political courage and sense of humor to realize the obvious—presidents have been the butt of jokes, skits, mocking imitations and worse for as long as I can remember, throughout America’s history. Abraham Lincoln repeatedly drawn with a monkey-like face comes to mind.

I remember hearing, on 1960s recording technology—the black vinyl, 33 rpm, LP record—an impressionist (Rich Little?) ridiculing and making fun of President Kennedy, his family and administration. Kennedy wasn’t around long enough for the late-night routines to kick in, but there was none of the opprobrium, faux outrage and harrumphing we’ve seen from President Obama’s defenders and acolytes (with their apparent candle-lit devotionals to “Lightbearer” Obama) over this rodeo clown’s stunt.

Heck, there have been mocking, ridicule-filled skits, imitations, cartoons and, yes, caricature-masks of every recent man to hold the office. I can attest to the 8 long years of Bush Derangement Syndrome complete with “kill-Bush-themed” plays, books, college essay assignments and movies. The catalogue of such often-sick protest portrayals (drawing Bush’s decapitated head dripping blood from both neck and knife, or Bush-headed puppet with Hitler mustache) has been posted at my blog, DonPolson.blogspot.com, under the label “Bush Derangement Syndrome” going back to 2009.

Put this subject in perspective by going to that part of my blog to find 2 posts from January, 2011: “The progressive ‘climate of hate’; an illustrated primer, 2000-2010,” 1/10/2011, by Michelle Malkin, (categories include Bush-, Palin-, Tea Party-, border control-hate), linked to original post by Malkin. Also, for those aghast at the thought of people laughing at a bull chasing the Obama-masked clown, go to “Death threats against Bush at protests ignored for years,” 1/15/2011, with a link to the original post at “zombietime.com” from 8/19/2009.

When I heard a news report covered by radio talker and journalist, Lars Larson, on his regional show for Oregon and Washington (KBND, 1110 AM), about a bakery owned by an older married couple in Gresham County, I nearly wept angry tears over the injustice imposed upon them. You see, they are a devout, Christian couple and, while they will sell any of their bakery products to anyone with money, they disapprove of so-called same-sex-marriage and would not produce a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.

Predictably, rather than simply respecting the bakers’ conscience and checking with other bakeries, the couple have filed a complaint with some governmental agency seeking to inflict their will on the Christian bakers, or impose some appropriate sanction, fine or maybe consignment to a reeducation camp for “sensitivity training.” Bear in mind that Oregon’s constitution, as amended by the voters of that state, recognizes only traditional marriage between a man and a woman, so this lesbian couple are legally persecuting the bakery over a same sex union that is not even legal in that state. I hate no one in this matter but I hate the fact that people are not simply allowed, and acknowledged to have, the right to exercise their God-given conscience in matters of moral and ethical beliefs.

So, when I see the umbrage and objections to the laws of Russia that prohibit homosexual “propaganda,” and advocacy of homosexuality to children, I find myself thinking that there might be logical reasons for such positions by Russians and their leaders. If they feel that it is in their nation’s existential interest to place the weight of law behind the proposition that a civilization must produce children sufficient to assure its survival, and to honestly acknowledge that homosexuality undermines that imperative, they are within their national rights to discourage those activities.

It does not appear from what I’ve read that they are deprived of life, liberty, property or their pursuit of happiness, just that that happiness can’t include “gay pride” parades or pushing homosexuality upon children. That last one should be utterly uncontroversial to anyone, including gay men and lesbian women, who would have a hard time coming up with counter arguments favoring promoting it to children. Those opposing bans on “gay pride” parades will be unable to make their case unless the parade activities that can be seen on video and audio recording, accessible on the Internet, could be openly discussed in this, a family newspaper; they can not and for good reason.

In America, of course, such a right to “peaceably assemble” can and should not be abridged; there is, however, no right to promote homosexuality to children. I think Russia has it at least half right; those in America that support forcing people to violate their own conscience over accommodating same sex unions have it all wrong. If you think about it, there are quite a few ways in which the homosexual so-called “marriage” agenda relies on forcing people to do or say, or not do and not say, things they have every right to in a free country.