Re: On gay marriage, America's house may not stay divided for long
Fact: The OP cites a quote where Abraham Lincoln gives a landmark speech against slavery in 1858 where he makes this statement: "A house divided against itself cannot stand, I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free."
Fact: That speech was about slavery, the enslavement of blacks by whites and the division that practice threatened in this nation.
Fact: The IRS recently declared that married, homosexual couples could file joint income tax returns.
Fact: Some writer writes an article using the IRS ruling to equate the homosexual rights movement with the civil rights movement, citing Abraham Lincoln out-of-context.
Fact: That's using the the topic of slavery to bolster the topic of homosexual rights.
Fact: That's a form of racism - by applying any of a score of similar uses of the word by those who deem themselves racially discriminated against.
Now that's better but let's look at the end of the article, what the writer actually says:
"...same-sex couples face a patchwork of laws under which their marriages might go from recognized to unrecognized and back again simply by taking a road trip. But if your home state says you're married, and the federal government says you're married, can Mississippi really say that you are not?
"That is the question at the root of the impending showdown and sooner or later -- likely sooner -- it will go to the courts, probably all the way to the top. The Constitution saying what it says, the Defense of Marriage Act having been partly overturned, the tide of public acceptance being what it is, it is hard to imagine the answer will be favorable to the foes of marriage equality.
Once again, the hidebound elements in this country will be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the present. Once again, change will come. Once again -- as was the case with segregation, women's rights, workers' rights -- that change will be something that is imposed by the many upon the obstinate few.
That is regrettable. Change that is imposed is almost invariably change that is resented. And resentment brings challenges of its own. On the other hand, if those hidebound elements truly require dragging, kicking and screaming, last week's IRS ruling suggests the rest of the country stands ready to accommodate them.
Abraham Lincoln spoke a verity for the ages, one America would be well-advised to heed. Make no mistake: The showdown is inevitable.
A moment of decision is coming once again to this divided house."
What you see as "race", stealing the struggle of slaves to be free, is referenced only because the US is divided on gay marriage like we were on slavery and that question had to be solved because a house divided cannot stand. It obviously bothers you that homosexuals see their struggle for rights in the same manner as that of blacks but it could be cast just as easily for Catholics, Jews, Women, etc. It is a fight for rights and in the end the country will come together, some kicking and dragging and screaming is expected. In this case. that means you and people who think as you do for the course is clear, just as it was when we ended slavery. That's all there is.