Same-Sex marriage not a measure of civilization

A hammer fell in the Malawian court sounding a harsh verdict that went quite so well with the majority of the Malawian population. It was a jail term for a gay couple that had committed an offense against the written law of the land. As a result, donors have been seen and heard saying this and that and issuing threats as evidence that they’ve been rattled by the verdict. But, away from the argument whether same-sex marriage is a human right issue or a human behavior, it was the remark of the British foreign office minister Henry Bellingham that forced me to express my view here. He was a member of the Liberal club way back in Cambridge University, but now Henry Bellingham is a conservative politician- it tells us something about this diplomat. Well, put that aside.

The top diplomat was heard on BBC news saying, “…it is against the law of civilized countries” in reference to the Malawian judgment, which was also reported on BBC as follows:
“We are sitting here to represent the Malawi society, which I do not believe is ready at this point in time to see its sons getting married to other sons or conducting engagement ceremonies,”

Well, I do not think that Malawi is an uncivilized country, but a country whose civilization is based on culture and religion. And such civilization has to be as reliable as its source. Look here, in India, the world’s largest democracy, Israeli couple was fined for “committing an act of indecency” after kissing during their wedding in 2005.
“We want the government to ensure that tourists visiting Pushkar must respect Indian culture” said the president of the priests and pilgrimage society, prior to the ruling.

In a separate incidence in the gulf Arab Emirate, a British couple was arrested for having sex in the beach. But, wait a minute; it wasn’t the sex in the beach that warranted such arrest, for couple was charged with having sex before marriage. Another British woman lost her appeal on the similar charge and was jailed. There were, neither threats from Britain nor finger-pointing. Instead, the British government advised her citizens to observe the stipulated laws of their visiting countries.
And, not long ago, the Swiss population held a national referendum and banned the towering mosque minarets in their country.
Just because the Minarets were not erected against any written Swiss Law, Someone had to draft a bill and later a referendum question as a superhighway to getting such Islamic culture out of Switzerland. This was, agreeably, against the freedom of the Swiss minority. But the reason given for doing it was, “to protect the Swiss culture”
In the same speed, Burqas were banned in Belgium, and France is on the final stages towards borrowing a leaf from the Belgian government and “protect” the French culture.

It is very unfortunate that poorer nations are prune to pressure to change or even lose their culture, in toto. And in many occasions they have been prevented from spreading their own culture abroad, in richer nations. It is your individual freedom and none of anyone’s business if you kiss your spouse in Paris, London, New York and in many places including Nairobi and Johannesburg. But the same becomes as a strange behavior or an act of indecency in Dubai, Tehran and other places.

Perhaps it was democracy (via a national referendum) that banned the Swiss minarets? Do you think same sex marriage can survive in any free popular vote or national referendum in your home state or country? It was voted down in Maine in the 2009 referendum after being passed by the legislature and signed by Governor John Baldacci (D). But this never meant that the people of Maine were uncivilized as the British diplomat would love to put it. And if same-sex marriage is a human right then the gay Malawians should have gone to court and challenge the legislation first rather than breaking it first and hopping for mercy. In California, such bill was voted down but, just like in other states where same-sex marriage is acceptable, the gay Californians and gay activists achieved it as a result of court ruling- not popular vote, or rather democracy.

Unless, I misunderstood the British diplomat, same sex marriage is far from being the standard measure of civilization. If an African man say, Jacob Zuma, marries more than one wife, they say he is uncivilized. If he becomes gay they say he is …civilized?
If a Muslim or Arab woman is in Burqa you say she is a cultural prisoner. But what do you call the skimpily clad whores in the edges of Italy’s major cities at a freezing temperature? …Liberal business women?

Let us agree that we are all members of the human race but without a cultural uniformity. And that no major religion advocates for same-sex marriage -therefore, any nation with strong religious links, like Saudi Arabia or Qatar, can justify the banning of such unions. And that a secular state has got a strong reason to legislate same-sex marriage but no reason to bully another state with deep religious and cultural links on account of constitutional differences. Especially the differences in this thing called gay marriage.
Let us also agree that the defense of the marriage act in the federal constitution of the United State precludes the federal government from bequeathing recognition to gays. And that the gay couples in the US have only achieved recognition as a result of court rulings. In this regard, let us agree that gays in Baghdad, Kabul Mogadishu or San Francisco can still willingly drive to court before marrying rather than being unwillingly driven to court after marriage.
With that, we can as well agree that gay marriage is far from being a standard measure of civilization. This practically means that the top British diplomat Mr. Henry Bellingham’s statement on Malawi and civilization was a go-to-hell recklessly worded one that conferred an aura of diplomatic incredibility.

The world is home to funny leaders and people; they can deliver powerful speeches in Brandenburg gate in Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall while the wall in US-Mexican border is still intact. They can ban Burqas in their countries and still talk of individual freedom in Malawi. They can tell Nigeria to divide itself between Muslim-North and Christian-South while they talk of a United State of Africa. They can talk of hating America while they queue for their Visas or eagerly wait for their green-card lottery results. They can... It is just a matter of changing definitions to suit their egos.

Do you agree, or agree to intellectually disagree?

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