Why James Dobson Is on the Wrong Side of History

It was the middle of the afternoon and I was driving back to the office after visiting with a client. I turned on the radio and heard the familiar voice of James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. I got the impression that I was listening to history in the making. Dobson was giving a speech to a large crowed on how Homosexuality was going to destroy us as a nation. This was history in the making alright, because Dobson is going to find himself on the wrong side of history. Dobson will be remembered as one of the greatest bigots of our time. 

 

Here are a few of the points in paraphrase (out of necessity) that Dobson gave.

• Acknowledging homosexual unions will financially bankrupt this nation: Dobson said something to the effect of “do you know what will start happening if we have to acknowledge these unions between homosexuals? We’d have to start giving them benefits, health care, and social security. Where is all that money going to come from?”

Though my more conservative friends may grow weary of me paralleling the civil rights movement to the gay rights movement, consider applying similar homophobic rhetoric to any other ism (classism, racism, sexism, and so on) and see what the outcome is:

My Straw Man:

Could you imagine if we’d have to acknowledge the humanity and citizenship of African Americans? We’d have to start giving them the benefits due to people in this country!
Sounds ridiculous now, doesn't it? 

Another of Dobson’s arguments goes like this:

• Think about all the children in this country that homosexuality will destroy. In over 10,000 studies it has been shown that children with same sex parents are more likely to fall below the poverty level, be incarcerated, flunk out of school, use drugs…”

I again, immediately thought that the same statistics could be conjured up in a similar fashion against the underprivileged / people of color / ethnic groups in our country. Yet, we do not do this (THANK GOD!) Why not? Because most of us are aware that such statistics are not indicative of the plight of the people they concern. 

We live in a nation in which we are only five generations removed from one of the most grotesque forms of slavery the world has ever seen. Within the life time of my parents, parts of this country denied African Americans the right to vote. We live in a day where people refer to foreigners as “illegals”. No person is “illegal,” and to give such a label is racist rhetoric accepted by the masses. This demonstrates that so long as the majority agrees, the hatred is tolerable. Would we not consider such things before we would ever make such claims mentioned above against a minority group?

So when it comes to children with two parents of the same gender, how much bullying will that child endure? How much ridicule and stigma will be assigned to that child when they seek to participate in sports and other social activities? Shouldn't we consider the societal injustice perpetrated against children for having homosexual parents before we analyze these statistics to make such claims?

Ask a biracial couple how many times they’ve heard “don’t you know it’ll be hard on your children?” Is that the child’s problem? Or the parents? Or does it tell the story of societies hatred towards that which it does not understand, and therefore cannot accept? 

I am a “bible believing” Christian; I am deeply committed to Jesus Christ, my Lord; but I refuse to make arguments and use rhetoric in such a hateful fashion towards those whom I believe God loves. We are not talking about policy, we are not talking about politics, we are not talking about ideology, we are talking about people. I refuse to reduce a person to a problem.