When things come too easy

As I listen to the discussion that surrounds the issue of gay marriage, a few things always come to mind.

It has long been obvious that straight people take their access to marriage for granted. Getting married is cheap, if you are marrying a member of the opposite sex. Also you can do it anywhere, because of this I feel that straight couples have become like Mormons who live near the temple. When there is a temple right in your city, it becomes so easy to forget how sacred and special a trip to the temple is. So people pop in for a quick session before picking up groceries. This would be great except that people who live to close to temples have started taking cell phones into endowment sessions. The special sacredness flies away when your texting in the celestial room. It is the very same with marriage, when you can have one cheaply and at any county clerks office the special sacredness of that act is dulled. My evidence is the number of marriages that end in divorce, also the rapidity with which some couples get married.

When a gay couple wants to get married, they have to pay three times the cost to change their names (if the state they live in does not recognize the marriage) They must put a great deal of thought into the marriage because in most cases they do not get any financial security. The idea that gay couples are less committed to each other is nonsense when you examine what they must endure to marry. A straight man who marries multiple times is not more committed to marriage, not necessarily, it's just far easier for him. In the same vein, a member of the Mormon church who takes her cell phone with her to the temple once a week, is not more devoted than the woman who drives 300 miles to visit the temple twice a year. When you have to traverse more obstacles in order to reach your goal, it is harder to take it for granted.

I believe that most religious people do not want to legalize gay marriage because they do not want to acknowledge that they have taken the sacred act of marriage for granted.

An unholy union

If a new law in Florida is not contested, all welfare recipients will be subjected to drug tests. The idea is to make sure that people on welfare are not buying drugs. This law is the direct result of statements by members of congress, such as Orin Hatch. Hatch said that all people on food stamps were drug addicts, he went on to say that there were plenty of jobs to be had. He said this mere months ago, when the unemployment rate was at 9.8%.
It is a long standing myth, that the majority of persons on welfare do not need to be there. this myth is easy to perpetuate because people in lower income brackets are arrested more often. Also many of us are people of color, or have a disability.
Ever since I was young, I was aware of the unholy marriage of money and morality. This union has collected some cache among groups like the Tea Party, who see wealth as a sign of moral character.
In the book "The secret" one of the lessons is about how God wants you to be rich, only when wealth is achieved should you turn your thoughts to the needs of others. This book spread like fire through the LDS community, in a matter of months it changed how lessons were taught. This book gave people further permission to judge those around them.
This thought has so corrupted religious thinking, that the LDS church is having trouble retaining converts.
So, how does this faulty reasoning manifest?
1. It perpetuates the belief that social programs are wrong.
People believe that money equals morality, so clearly those of us who benefit from social programs are of unrighteous character.
2. It frees landlords from the responsibilities of maintaining rental properties.
I heard a contractor who was working on our home say that if people wanted nice homes they should buy them. This belief that if we were better people we would live better is deeply entrenched in society.
3. It allows bishops to ask personal questions to people who need aid from the church.
My bishop was very upset to find that my job didn't pay enough for me to eat. He made it very clear to me that I needed to change my situation all on my own.

We simply cannot allow this to continue. The idea that a hard working person is not good enough. The idea that kindness, generosity, loving care, are not admirable qualities in and of themselves. The idea that the size of your home is equal to the strength of your character. These ideas have no place in the real world. It is up to us to do away with this way of thinking. If our religious leaders allow this to be taught as doctrine, it is time to find new ones.