Friday, March 29, 2013

Ben Carson - Some Thoughts

It would seem the medical students at Johns Hopkins, where Dr. Carson is a professor of neurosurgery among other subjects, no longer want him to be their commencement speaker.

He is being accused of tying the LGBT community to the likes of those who believe in bestiality and  NAMBLA.  What the heck is NAMBLA?  North American Man/Boy Love Association. I didn't even know there was such a thing but it certainly goes to show that deviations from the 'norm' cover a lot of variables!

I've been watching just about every show I can where he is a guest in an attempt to find out just who he is and what he represents and I watched him on Hannity when he made the offending comment:
My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It's a well-established fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn't matter what they are, they don't get to change the definition.
The point he was making is he doesn't believe anyone has the right change what has long been considered one of the fundamentals of our society no matter who they are.  His choice of examples can be criticized but what would you use as a substitute?  I must admit, however, that I've not heard of people demanding marriage rights between men and boys or people and animals.  But then, in my naivety, I hadn't heard of NAMBLA either.

From reading his most recent book, America the Beautiful, I find that Dr. Carson is a man steeped in his religion.  It resonated when he said, "God doesn't change, man changes." It's rather like Catholics wanting priests to marry, women to become priests, and birth control blessed.  Those people while clinging to Catholicism, have change; the church as protector of God's teachings, has not.  Nor do I expect that it will.

Because of religious beliefs there will always be a divide.  There are those who devoutly follow those teachings and those who have strayed from them to varying degrees for a variety of reasons.  I do not condemn either.

I admire Dr. Carson.  Much of what he has to say is truth to common sense.  I do not, however, have to agree with everything and I don't.  He is a good man with an incredible story.  You can read what you want into his words but remember there are those who will find no fault with the other outliers he mentioned.

I look at it as he meant it.  Does any one group have the right to demand change of our most basic principles and values?  If you look at our government today you know that there are many who think they do.

2 comments:

Betty said...

Did blacks have the right to demand equal rights? Did women have the right to demand the vote? I think any group being discriminated against has the right to demand change.

Mari Meehan said...

Betty, I actually agree with you but it does open doors other than legitimate ones. The question is which is versus which isn't and the depending on what you consider legitimate. I'd say leave it to the people, the many. rather than the few - the justices. But then they are only supposed to determine the constitutionality of what is asked. The Bible talks about homosexuality, the Constitution does not and therein should lie the answer. If only it were that simple. I think Dr. Carson is wrong on this issue but then I don't adhear to the Bible as much as he does. There are many that do. So now what?