Santorum’s social views prove divisive

I find it pathetic how much presidential candidates fret about social issues. The economy is still perilous and foreign relations are straining, but as far as people like Rick Santorum are concerned, if we can just get rid of all abortions and keep marriages heterosexual, everything would turn out fine.

I really don’t care what Santorum believes, and I’d say it to his face. Such a belief about homosexuality (and same-sex marriage) is not only wrong, but also immoral. The reason so many people still think homosexuality is evil is because God says so. When it comes to homosexuality it is certainly true, says the Bible, that it is an “abomination,” and the only prescription for that is stoning.

Now I don’t think even Santorum or anyone else would get away with the latter part, but it does show the slight hypocrisy. After all, if one picks a specific verse out of a tribal, superstitious book then you’d think that they’d take all of the verse as true. Such as how disobedient children should be killed; either be consistent or admit that God’s injunctions are immoral.

Most of the focus on homosexuality is rooted, of course, on the sexual aspect, ignoring the fact that sex makes up a tiny fraction of any kind of relationship. Conservatives like Santorum seem so fixated on sex. Stephen Fry once said to think of sex like food, and the only people who are obsessed with food are anorexics or people with bulimia. In sexual terms, this is Santorum and others’ view of sex in a nutshell.

As for his opposition to gay marriage, I see no reason why civil marriage must be denied to two people of the same sex. I have to put emphasis on the word “civil,” which means that it relates to the secular state, not a private church. But that’s not good enough for Santorum, who again is fixated on this and despite claims of wanting a small state, he wants a big state when it comes to individual lives of those he doesn’t approve of.

We often hear excuses from bogus studies (usually by some conservative “family” organization, as opposed to legitimate institutions of knowledge) that same-sex parents have detrimental effects on children. In fact, in instances when that is the case, it’s usually because the children are intimidated by people similar to Santorum, who say that their parents are an “abomination.”

And, of course, there’s always the other bogus excuse that just because same-sex couples aren’t “designed” to reproduce, they can’t be allowed to marry. “Designed?” Oh, they mean creationism, the junk science. It’s still a cheap argument to deny human happiness.
Now, I’ve written about my feelings on abortion before. A woman who is the victim of rape or incest, or has complications that may kill her, has the right to abort the fetus. Almost all abortions occur during the first trimester, and late-term abortions aren’t likely to be on a whim.

But to Santorum, humane values don’t apply. The well-being of the mother and her family is irrelevant without exception, as any fetus is already human. To say that a woman must always have a baby, whether she was raped or not, is immoral. It also demeans the potential child by essentially saying that having a baby is a punishment (rather than a blessing) for sexual behavior. How awful.

Santorum can believe what he wants, but despite his claims of piety and goodness modern humanism and intelligence is growing against him. As I said once before, thank God Santorum won’t be president.

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum has some very controversial views that have made him popular by some and despised by others. He is a self-proclaimed Christian and therefore his values should reflect the things he stands for. Two of his most controversial beliefs are those on homosexual marriage and abortion.

Santorum believes that traditional marriage should be a union between one man and one woman only. He believes the privilege of marriage should only be given to a couple that can benefit society through procreation. Because a homosexual couple cannot procreate they should not be given the privileges of married heterosexual couples.

I would hope Santorum holds to his Christian values and does not hate homosexuals. Santorum does not desire to punish homosexuals; he just believes the privileges of marriage should be given to only one man and one woman.

Next, is Santorum’s belief about abortion. If elected, he will attempt to make all abortions illegal including conceptions from rape and incest. In an age where so many politicians seem to twist their views to win the vote of the largest demographic, Santorum’s beliefs about abortion go off mainstream.

In both cases we must refer back to what he values. As I mentioned before, Santorum claims to be a Christian; so as a result, his views on gay marriage reflect his core values. The Bible clearly labels gay marriage as wrong. Anyone who claimed to be a Christian yet thought that gay marriage was right would be questionable in my eyes because they do not even understand their own beliefs.

In my opinion this is an argument that is impossible to resolve though. The amount of freedom in this country that has been created by the Constitution is immense. Someone has to decide what is right and wrong. So many of our freedoms are voted on by public opinion, and the core values of the public will reflect their choice. Where do we draw the line?

There must be one standard of right and wrong, but anyone can disagree. Arguments that a heterosexual couple make better parents than a homosexual couples and vice-versa are always backed up with statistics and studies. The only way to understand Santorum’s views is to look at them from his standards of right and wrong, and then you must decide whether or not his values are accurate. (I do not see abortion as such an impossible issue to resolve as gay marriage though.) Again, Santorum bases this belief from the Bible. In doing so he risks his campaign to take a stand for something that so many people support, but I respect him for that because he’s just in his view on abortion.

People can argue as much as they want over when life begins, but that does not change the fact that there is a potential human life created at conception. Killing a fetus is murdering a potential human being whether or not you believe there is human life from birth. Using an abortion as a solution for the mistakes made by the mother or father is completely selfish.

Some people agree with Santorum on senseless abortions, but they disagree with him for his stance against abortions from rape or incest. But does a rape make the life of that child less of a person? Does that child not deserve life? It is wrong for us to punish an innocent being for someone else’s wrong doing. We try to come up with excuses for doing the things we do, but the main reason is our own selfishness.

Santorum’s views reflect his beliefs and they are valid for the world today.