I’ve been watching the developing conflict within the Cheney family with a growing sense of amusement. Yes, I’ll admit to enjoying a good case of Schadenfreude now and again, but this Shakespearean drama is serving a purpose few would have imagined. It’s pointing out the small-mindedness of those who oppose same-sex marriage.
By now you undoubtedly know that one Cheney daughter, Mary, is married to a woman. The other daughter, Liz, is a Far Right-wing troll who’s running for a Senate seat in Wyoming. Liz has evidently decided that her best chance at surviving the Republican primary is to appeal/pander to archConservatives and those who think homosexuality is an abomination before God. Liz, who’s said previously that she loves her sister and her family, is exposing her hypocrisy and willingness to do and/or say whatever it takes to win. As you might imagine, Mary and her spouse have taken umbrage at Liz’ rejection of their marriage and its legitimacy. Even better, Liz’ strategy is failing her; she’s trailing the incumbent, Mike Enzi, by something like 50 points.
Karma can be…well, you already know the answer to that one, right?
Their parents are caught in the middle, Conservative Republicans who’ve come out in support of same-sex marriage. Kinda hard not to when your daughter is married to a woman, right? They’ve also said that Liz has always believed in the “traditional” definition of marriage- you know, one penis & one vagina…just as God intended. Or so they tell me.
This set me to wondering what the “traditional” definition of marriage is? Whose tradition are we using to create that definition? And why is the unshakable belief that marriage should be limited to unions involving a man and a woman? If your “tradition” includes discrimination, oppression, and the narrow-minded willingness to force your beliefs on those who happen to think, love, live, and or believe differently, your tradition looks a lot like Liz Cheney.
If Republicans like Cheney are truly about freedom, liberty, and small government, then why should what consenting adults choose to do behind closed doors by anyone’s concern? Freedom is freedom; you don’t get to pick and choose which freedoms are acceptable.
I’m not about to argue that to be a good person, one must support same-sex marriage…but it would certainly help. It’s difficult to understand why so many are willing to force their fear, ignorance, and hatred upon all of us. Why is the idea of two people loving one another, in whatever form that might assume, so offensive to so many? How could the marriage of two people who love one another possibly pose a threat to anyone else’s marriage? If your own marriage is threatened by someone else’s, I’d submit that you have issues that go deeper than same-sex marriage.
It shouldn’t matter who and how we love. It should only matter that we DO love. One individual has no right to deny others the rights and benefits they take for granted to others simply because they find their lifestyle “icky.”
Love isn’t something that comes in a one-size-fits-all package. The heart wants what it wants, and in some cases what it wants turns out to be something considered offensive by some. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong, or unnatural, or against God’s law. It just makes it love, something we all want and need in our lives. Denying it to others simply because it doesn’t fit within a preconceived notion of what’s right or moral is as wrong as it is immoral.
Liz Cheney has the right to believe in her “traditional” definition of marriage, but that right ends with her. She doesn’t have the right to force others to live by that belief, particular since that includes her sister. You might think that Liz Cheney would recognize and understand that her position will cost her dearly with her sister. By believing that only “traditional” marriage is legitimate, Liz Cheney is denying the legitimacy of the love Mary Cheney has for her partner.
There’s a very simple solution available to Liz Cheney. If she doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage, she shouldn’t marry someone with a vagina. It’s a free country, and she’s free to live and love as she sees fit.
It’s just too bad that she would deny that same right to her sister.
