Freedom to Dissent is Our Common Ground

WORLD‘s Marvin Olasky makes an important point in his latest article about freedom to dissent. It should be common ground between those who oppose homosexual “marriage,” for example, and those who support it. The freedom to disagree with others and our government, without fear of confiscation, imprisonment, or death, is one of the hallmarks of this great country. Unpopular speech is the kind that needs protecting the most. Olasky writes:

“Many in the Obama administration seem to want to turn freedom of religion into freedom of worship. (Do what you want for an hour on Sunday, but not during the other 167 hours of the week.) Some on the left want freedom of speech and of the press to be no freedom for ‘hate speech’ that includes any criticism of Islam or gay power. We still have freedom of assembly, but one out of four is not great.”

God Himself created this union between one man and one woman, but one doesn’t have to believe what God says about it or homosexuality to agree that marriage, i.e., the family, is good, and provides the foundation upon which societies are built. Within this ancient institution, two people of the opposite sex procreate and make a family, the male-female complement providing the best possible balance (in a fallen world) for nurturing and rearing the next generations.

Regardless of which side of the aisle an individual sits or where he stands on important social issues like protecting unborn children, we should expect and be open to debate and discussion. Name-calling and slander shouldn’t be part of the equation. Calling someone a racist, sexist, bigot, fascist, feminazi, etc., shuts down the discussion. The worst offenders are those who lobby the government to outlaw dissent.

Olasky points to an article by Jonathan Rauch, a homosexual who writes for The Daily Beast. “Religion, unlike racism, is constitutionally protected, and opposition to gay marriage has deep religious roots,” Rauch writes. “You don’t expect thousands of years of unquestioned moral and social tradition to be relinquished overnight.” Rauch goes on the say he thinks his side needs time to make its case. Rauch is wrong on that point. What God calls a sin will never change, and no human argument will ever be sound enough to contradict it. Secularists make the attempt, but no Bible-believing Christian could ever call that which sent Christ to the cross good.

Light will never agree with darkness, but for the sake of every American’s liberty, we can and should protect the right to dissent.

Photo credit: chadstembridge (Creative Commons)