Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A Secular Argument Against Homexual Marriage

Homosexual Marriage
            Nature and Creation have defined marriage as the union of man and woman for the purpose of conceiving children. With rare exception, life is perpetuated by man and woman. In the natural world there are a male and a female: while the female guard the clutch of eggs, the male is searching for food. This distinction between man’s masculinity and woman’s femininity extends beyond autonomy—they are equal as human beings but different as man and woman, each fulfilling their natural difference. This natural distinction makes man and woman complementary partners for the commitment involved in the structure of marriage. Traditional marriage presents the foundation to establishing the perfect family unit in the home.
The natural design has been questioned far too much in society today, the consequence of which has been a low estimate of marriage. For several reasons homosexual marriage contradicts the nature of marriage: it is not based on the complementary union of man and woman, and the purpose in a natural marriage cannot be achieved in a homosexual union.
             Our Founding Founders would never have supported same-sex marriage, Thomas Jefferson said that homosexuality “should be punished, if a man, by castration, if a woman, by cutting through the cartilage of her nose a hole of one-half inch in diameter at least.” As a secular argument, homosexual marriage has been a debate on equal rights rather than legal rights. Such a treatment is erroneous because state recognition of marriage is not a universal right. Homosexuals are not the only people denied the right to marry the person of their choosing. Roughly half the states prohibit first cousins from marrying, and in all states it is illegal to marry more than one person (Kolasinski, 2004). Homosexual relationships do nothing to serve the peoples interest of a stable and self-perpetuating propagating society. Homosexual couples cannot biologically conceive children, such a fact justifying the laws which forbid their marriages (Vermont House and Senate Judiciary, 2000.) Homosexual marriages would have to prove what state interest these marriages might serve if it were to be legalized (Kolasinski, 2004). So far, no proof has been met.
Many argue that homosexuals are capable of creating “artificial insemination,” so the state has declared interest in legalizing lesbian marriage. Even so, a homosexual union cannot supply both the male and female roles of mother and father which have been proven to be critical to the healthy development of a child (Adam, 2004). It is so essential for a child to be nurtured by both sexes if they are to learn to function in a society made of both sexes.
 The most harmful damage homosexual marriage presents is the legalization of sexual love. If the state must recognize the marriage between two men because they “love” each other, then the state could not logically deny the recognition of any other marital union. If, to the state, the primary purpose of marriage is reproduction, the question of legalizing homosexual marriage is answered. If sexual love is become the primary purpose, the restriction of marriage looses its logical base, leading to marital chaos.

Why is the Homeschool Movement Rising?

            Homeschooling is not a new idea—it is the restoration of an old and successful idea. It is not only a return to effective, parent-directed education—but for some it is part of a moral and spiritual reformation.
From the founding of this country by the Pilgrims in 1620 to the mid-1800’s, most of the early education provided took place at the home with the parents, pastor, or a tutor providing the instruction. In colonial America, home education provided a complete education of children, making them both literate and self-sufficient, and also prepared those who wanted to proceed to grammar schools or college (Klicka, 2002). As a result of home education and private grammar schools, the overall literacy in the first hundred years of our country was much higher than it is today. John Adams said “a native of America, especially of New England, who cannot read and write is as rare a Phenomenon [sic] as a comet” (Butterfield, 1961).
It wasn’t until the early 1900s when the public schools were formed and attendance laws were passed that homeschooling nearly died out (Klicka, 2002). Some believe this change to state education began a decline in American education.
However, homeschooling has grown significantly since the 1970’s in the USA. The modern homeschool movement is making an exodus from “conventional” or “standardized” schooling to return to the traditional, individualized home instruction. In the spring of 2007 1.5 million students were being homeschooled (National Home Education Research Institute, 2010). Since 2007 there has been a steady eight percent increase in the homeschool movement every year until there are now over two million homeschool students. Some possible reasons for the homeschool trend include religious/moral convictions of the parents, dissatisfaction with academic standards, and the school environment (U.S. Department of Education, 2008).
Many believe homeschooling is particularly attractive as an adjunct of spiritual and moral education where children are carefully trained in God’s Word to not only think but live as Christians. According to the U.S. Department of Education, a significant amount in the movement (eighty-three percent) educates at home for religious and moral reasons. The public schools have practically removed all references to religion and prayer, in effect removing traditional teaching and standards, substituting a “sanitized” secular education. When prayer was removed from the schools in 1962, the public schools experienced a terrible decline. Statistics from 1962 show SAT scores suddenly plummeting—teen pregnancies, teen suicides, teen alcohol and drug abuse, teen sexual diseases, use of pornography among students, and illiteracy rates suddenly increased between 200 and 300 percent (Barton, 1988).  This situation would certainly be a reason for parents with religious convictions not to use the public schools.
The academic failure in the public schools is also one of the reasons parents are not choosing the public school system. Most of the areas of academic decline have been in math, reading skills, logic, and the ability to draw inferences. The textbooks, used by the public schools, contain numerous errors and lack content. For example, Texas Board of Education was ready to receive new history textbooks when two individuals announced they had found two-hundred and thirty one obvious historical errors (Graves, 1991). While there are many fine public school teachers, many are incompetent and lack training. Teachers’ colleges and universities do not teach knowledge but rather four years of methods. Poor training is apparent in the low standards set by many states to be certified to teach. For instance, the educational exams used by some states require a score of only thirty-five percent for math certification (Klicka, 2002)—this type of score would cause a student to fail an exam who was studying this subject. According to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, public schools teachers are more likely to send their children to a private school than any other group (Doyle, 2004). On the other hand, modern American culture must take its share of the blame for the academic failure in the public schools.  Teachers cannot be expected to succeed where they are undermined by the system in which they work or the home environment of the student. The public school product is not prepared for college or the business world. Colleges have had to simplify their courses and standards in order to admit public school graduates.
Many choose homeschooling (eighty-eight percent) out of concern over the public school environment (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). In 1940 the top discipline offenses, according to educators, were: talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of turn in line, wearing improper clothing, and not putting paper in wastebaskets. By 1982 the top disciplinary offenses had become rape, assault, robbery, burglary, arson, bombings, murder, suicide, absenteeism, vandalism, extortion, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, gang warfare, pregnancies, abortions, and venereal diseases (USA Today, 1985). Parents wishing to provide a safe environment for children and youth may elect to homeschool rather than expose their children to the violence in the public schools.
As the schools continue to fail, parents are beginning to realize the dangers of sending their kids to public school. Homeschool parents are realizing that they can do a better job in educating their kids—and they are doing just that. Homeschooling is an option that is available to parents if they are seriously committed to educating and teaching their children in traditional, biblical values America was founded on. If kids are not taken out of the failing public school system, America is likely to loose a generation of children.

The Simmons Family

The Simmons Family