Objectivism and Homosexuality
Posted by BalphEubank 12 years, 5 months ago to The Gulch: General
With Maine, Minnesota and Washington passing legislation supporting same sex gay marriage, I thought we should revisit what Ayn Rand had to say on the topic: "It involves psychological flaws, corruptions, errors, or unfortunate premises .... Therefore I regard it as immoral ... And more than that, if you want my really sincere opinion. It's disgusting."
What do you guys think?
What do you guys think?
Previous comments... You are currently on page 5.
Hmmm now I'm wondering about Frank... lol
this is the only sentence I understood. oh, and the Google thing- btw, google didn't come up with the internet. method of ranking search results. but I digress, can you sum all that up in a few sentences so us mortals can understand them? Since I don't buy that homosexuality is a belief system, I don't understand the basis of the discussion. I disagree with Rand on suggesting homosexuality is less than an ideal man. btw, I bet Frank was gay. I remember this interview with Charles and Mary talking about the closeness between Rand and OConner., but really all I got out of it was the closeness between OConner and Charles. This is just my theory. For me, it's the marriage deal. States changing laws that offer special provisos for some. My thing is call it something else. Marriage already has a definition. But I understand the importance of legal protections for couples and families.
AR said that she no longer considered homosexuality immoral. This is the reason that the above quote was left out of _Ayn Rand Answers_.
Dr. Mayhew and Dr. Peikoff wanted that book to reflect AR's most up-to-date and considered thinking. They wanted it to reflect views that AR held at the end of her life. Also, one must remember that AR was talking off of the top of her head. She wasn't giving a considered, written statement. AR thought that the spoken word and the written were in two different categories in regard to setting down one's beliefs.
(I know the above because of direct conversations I had with professors Mayhew, Peikoff, and Binswanger on exactly this issue.)
In the end, homosexuality is an issue of psychology not philosophy. And Objectivism has nothing to say in this regard. Thus, there is no conflict between the two.
As to marriage, in a free society it would be a private contract that the state had nothing to do with except to recognize the registered contract.
Sure you, me and Ayn Rand along with other individuals are entitled to have an opinion on if we think it's disgusting or awesome, like everyone is free to have an opinion on if surfing is disgusting or awesome, though in civil conversation it is usually better to keep matters of taste to yourself unless specifically asked. It only becomes a problem if some people start to think that their way is the only way and try to prevent others from doing something just because they don't happen to like it, usually using the government as enforcer.
As for gay marriage: Marriage is essentially a contract between two people. Again, it is not for the government or anyone else to concern themselves on what kind of contracts consenting adults choose to make.
The problem is that for some reason the government has decided to give special treatment to this one type of contract: taxation and certain social benefits work differently whether you happen to be married or not. This should not be, your relationship status should not really affect on how the government treats you.
However, as long as government gives special treatment to this one type of contract, then at least it should be equally available to everyone and people should be able to choose freely with whom they wish to make that contract, regardless of sex.
Let them do it. I don't live my life for them, or ask them to live theirs for me.
And since marriage is more of a religious sacrament than anything else, Government should stay the hell out of it. ALL of it. No forcing states to recognize gay marriage, no special rights/privileges for hetero marriage, Mormons should be free to practice polygamy if they want to go back to it -- all of the above.
But I'm not really concerned with what other people choose to do in the privacy of their own bedrooms--so long as all involved are consenting adults.
I do, however, remain skeptical as to the motivation behind wanting legal recognition of gay marriage though. It seems to me that if one's relationship is desperately in need of government affirmation, then perhaps one might do well to consider the basis of that relationship...
Regardless, this issue is a perfect example of application vs philosophy. Sexuality is not a philosophical primary, but an application. In this case, Ayn Rand's words are not part of the "cannon" of objectivism.
I indeed regard it as an abomination and a mental weakness.