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December 1, 1999 Tom Barberi is the so-called "Voice of Reason" in Utah. He is more like the "Voice of Hate". Whenever you hear someone, in reference to a social issue, make reference to "this state" or "people around here", get out your blinders and put in your earplugs. You are now free to judge and hate at will. Of course, here in "this state" they are talking about the dominant religion. In fairness, they snipe at any other religion that disagrees with their slanted view of the world. This type of hate-filled and bigoted rhetoric plays well here in Utah. There is an ever-growing segment of the population that has a hatred for Mormons. Some people in "this state" are so mormophobic that they will embrace anyone or anything that thumbs the nose at the "dominant religion". (I have said before that this mormophobic population would elect the carcass of a dead racoon to public office if it meant giving the finger to the dominant religion.) The issue is homosexuality. "People in 'this state' are so homophobic" Tom Barberi pontificates. "What is it with the people in 'this state'?" asks his sidekick. Talk about phobic. Here is the line of logic they draw, "You disagree with me, therefore you hate me." Of course it is a one-sided argument. It has gone way beyond tolerance and understanding. We are expected to embrace actions and behaviors with which we disagree. The message is, "I am free to believe and behave the way I want. And you are free to believe and behave the way you want - as long as you agree with me. If you don't, you hate me. Hate is bad. Therefore, you are bad. Consequently, it is OK for me to hate you, because you hated me first." This really reduces people to the very worst that is their nature. To embrace this kind of hatred is demeaning to human beings. To say that, "I am born this way, therefore I must behave this way." is to say that I am less capable of humanity. We are not plants or minerals. We are animals - but with a difference. We can think and reason. We are capable of emotion. We can make creative decisions and choices. We make mistakes. We can learn from those mistakes and become better people. To say that, "I am born this way and because of it, I am forced by that nature to do the things that someone of that persuasion does. I can't help it." What a weak argument! We all have desires and passions. But that does not mean we can use them carelessly or indiscriminately. We don't just make this stuff up! There are actually those of us who believe that God himself has instructed that certain types of behavior are not acceptible. If you have a problem with religion, you really have a problem with God, not me. Do I hate people? Genuinely, no. Because I point out someone else's hatred, do I hate them? No. |