I'm pretty harsh on my conservative compadres these days. Since the rise of the Tea Party, the concept of conservatism has been corrupted beyond recognition, and this has led to some bad thinking in the American conservative movement.
But I have some sympathy for those who oppose gay marriage. While supporting corporate personhood, promoting widespread drug testing, and denying anthropogenic global warming are examples of today's conservatives abandoning genuine conservative principles, in this one case they got it almost right.
Legalizing gay marriage is exactly the kind of thing conservatives should question. It's a big change to society, and big changes make us nervous. But there's more to it than that.
Conservatives can be found in all countries, all cultures, and all religions. Although they all share the fundamental conservative mission to preserve the good ideas of the past, the details vary.
We're American conservatives, and that puts us in a different category, because America is a country governed by a progressive document, the U.S. Constitution. When an American conservative seeks to preserve traditional American values, he's trying to preserve a nation that was founded as a break with the old ways of doing things. The idea of individual liberty was, and still is, a relatively new idea for humanity.
So today's conservative has a problem. On the one hand, we have a responsibility to question proposed changes. On the other hand, we're part of a nation with a tradition of making changes. So how should an American conservative feel about gay marriage?
To me, this isn't something that can be settled by broad principles. We have to look at this particular change and decide if it's a good idea or a bad idea. We have to identify any problems the change is likely to bring about. What is wrong with the intended results? We also have to consider what the unintended consequences might be.
When it comes to the intended consequences of gay marriage, I can't find any rational objections. There are lots of Americans who want to present themselves to the world as an official couple. They want to enjoy the benefits of marriage. Extending those benefits to non-criminal Americans seems to fit right in with American tradition. We began with the idea of liberty for some people, and we've been extending liberty to more and more people ever since.
What about the unintended consequences? I haven't heard any reasonable discussion of what those consequences might be. Sure, there are people who claim to tell us that God won't like it, but since none of those people can prove that they actually speak for God, I can't take their claims seriously. In fact, I can't take any religious objections to gay marriage seriously. In this nation, religion is a personal choice. You can't make choices for other people based on your religious opinions, at least not if you want to be respectful of American tradition.
Look at some of the problems facing America and ask yourself if legalized gay marriage will make any of them worse. We see capitalism being corrupted by unchecked greed, the possibility of terrorist attacks, and severe weather driven by global warming. How could gay marriage possibly exacerbate those problems?
We certainly see some moral decay in this country. Our politicians are leading that decay because they've largely abandoned honesty. They're joined in this endeavor by the marketing community. Will gay marriage make our politicians even less honest? Will it make the marketing community less honest?
Conservatives are supposed to preserve the good ideas of the past. We're supposed to examine new ideas to see if they have intended or unintended consequences that would be bad for the nation. To fulfill this role properly, we need to examine new ideas using evidence and reason.
I can't a find a rational, evidence-based reason to oppose gay marriage.
Gay marriage is a perfect example of the kind of change a conservative should oppose, and it's a perfect example of a case where an American conservative should withdraw his objections. When conservative reflexes clash with American tradition, tradition should win.
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