Senator Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, once again made big news earlier this month while trying to persuade pastors at the Greater Freedom Rally in Spartanburg, that economic issues are moral issues. His “persuasions” included his talking about his anti-abortion stance and disproval of “non-traditional marriages.” He even went on to repeat a point, which he had mentioned in a 2004 Senate debate, that, “if someone is openly homosexual, they shouldn't be teaching in the classroom and he holds the same position on an unmarried woman who's sleeping with her boyfriend – she shouldn’t be in the classroom." After being reprimanded for the things he said at the Senate debate, by groups like the Log Cabin Republicans, he claimed that although people agreed with him, none of his supporters would publicly speak out.
Although Senator Jim DeMint is entitled to his own opinions, as all Americans are, his words are a symbol of the polarization of ideals and bigotry in this country. Despite his reasoning backing his beliefs, these principles are a microcosm for the beliefs of many, and, to me, the definition of intolerance. Regardless of a LGBT person’s qualification as teacher, or even a single mother’s qualification, Senator DeMint believes that they should not teach in schools. Why people think that an experienced or successful teacher will impose their personal beliefs onto students, instead of teaching them the material they are required to teach, is somewhat baffling to me. Additionally, those discriminations could be regarded as job or employment inequity. Hopefully, in the near future, all people will be able to put their prejudices aside and view people as people and not define them by their relationship status or sexuality.
Here is the article that discusses Senator DeMint’s comments.
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About Me
- Elaine
- From the foundation of our nation, Americans have identified our nation as one in which “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Yet, throughout the past and currently, there have been societal attitudes, actions, and laws that oppose this fundamental ideal completely. I created this blog to speak of this American hypocrisy, specifically dealing with rights of homosexuals. Both our current and past society have alienated homosexuals, depriving them of their “unalienable Rights” based on their sexual orientation. More often than not, people are judged and treated unequally due to their sexuality and are not viewed by their content of character. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the America we live in, yet through activism, discussion, and education, hopefully the future of our society will truly allow parity among all people.
2 comments:
When I was reading this post, I was literally disgusted with the comments made by Jim Dement. I do not understand how in this day and age, one can be such a bigot and make public comments like that. I thought we had moved past the era of such conservative stances. I agree that every American citizen should have the right to freedom of speech, however there has got to be a line somewhere. His reasons for believing unmarried or homosexual teachers should not teach are even biased and don't make sense. This guy just baffles me, and his closed-mindness is almost comical to me.
Undoubtedly, Senator DeMint doesn’t hold the opinion of the majority of Americans, but it sad to think that these ultra conservative ideas still exist. The thought that a popular politician preaches such ideas is also disconcerting, especially when he claims that he had private support of others. Hopefully, in time, this close mindedness will disappear.
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