John Kasich, the sitting governor of Ohio and dismally trailing for the GOP presidential nomination, is, I guess, trying to sound statesmanlike in his interview. It doesn't go well:
Oh, man -- where to start?
No, there's not a "legitimate concern." There is an effort to assert the primacy of a particular religion over all other rights. There's a basic principle underlying the viability of any society that hopes to survive: all rights have limits. We know that one well: Free speech does not include yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater, the right to free assembly does not include a right to start a riot, and on down the line. Apparently, Kasich didn't get the memo.
We've established that balance, in the adoption of nondiscrimination laws aimed at providing an equal status to those groups that have been historically discriminated against. Once, again, rights have limits, and what those laws do is establish those limits in certain areas: your religious beliefs don't allow you to refuse service to a paying customer, refuse housing to a potential tenant, or fire an employee because they don't conform to your beliefs. It's worth noting that in every case of "Christian martyrdom" -- the two bakers, the florist, the photographer (and have you noticed it's always the same core group held up as examples of "Christians" being persecuted?) -- they have attempted to hold themselves exempt from nondiscrimination laws because of their religious beliefs -- bringing their personal beliefs into the marketplace, where the law has said they are inappropriate. (I could go on at length about these bigots, starting with the idea that baking a cake is somehow "participation" in a wedding ceremony, but I won't.)
Oh, right. Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Washington, Paine -- not to mention King, Ghandi, Mandela -- should all have just gotten over it -- it would have settled down.
I suppose this is all supposed to make Kasich sound reasonable, which, considering his competition, isn't all that difficult. Don't believe it for a minute -- he's just as bad as the others.
Oh, man -- where to start?
There is a legitimate concern for people being able to have their deeply held religious beliefs, religious liberty.
No, there's not a "legitimate concern." There is an effort to assert the primacy of a particular religion over all other rights. There's a basic principle underlying the viability of any society that hopes to survive: all rights have limits. We know that one well: Free speech does not include yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater, the right to free assembly does not include a right to start a riot, and on down the line. Apparently, Kasich didn't get the memo.
We need to have a balance.
We've established that balance, in the adoption of nondiscrimination laws aimed at providing an equal status to those groups that have been historically discriminated against. Once, again, rights have limits, and what those laws do is establish those limits in certain areas: your religious beliefs don't allow you to refuse service to a paying customer, refuse housing to a potential tenant, or fire an employee because they don't conform to your beliefs. It's worth noting that in every case of "Christian martyrdom" -- the two bakers, the florist, the photographer (and have you noticed it's always the same core group held up as examples of "Christians" being persecuted?) -- they have attempted to hold themselves exempt from nondiscrimination laws because of their religious beliefs -- bringing their personal beliefs into the marketplace, where the law has said they are inappropriate. (I could go on at length about these bigots, starting with the idea that baking a cake is somehow "participation" in a wedding ceremony, but I won't.)
And if you feel as though somebody is doing something wrong against you, can you just, for a second, get over it, you know, because this thing will settle down.
Oh, right. Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Washington, Paine -- not to mention King, Ghandi, Mandela -- should all have just gotten over it -- it would have settled down.
I suppose this is all supposed to make Kasich sound reasonable, which, considering his competition, isn't all that difficult. Don't believe it for a minute -- he's just as bad as the others.
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