One of the Greatest Cruelties
by Ron Beatty
bearfreeliberty@yahoo.com

Special to The Libertarian Enterprise

I am becoming more and more disgusted with the so-called Moral Majority and the Christian Right. These people are so wrapped up in their 'morality' that they are willing to leave kids to suffer and feel unloved to fuel their hate and fear of homosexuals. In Arkansas, the state supreme court recently over-turned a ban forbidding gay parents to adopt or foster children. Not only the current governor, a so-called 'born-again' christian, but both leading candidates for the position in 2007, decried the ruling. To me, this doesn't make sense. In every state that I know of, adoptive parents must undergo a pretty thorough background check. They must be free of felonies, have no history of violent or abusive behavior, and no convictions for child abuse or pederasty. Even the slightest of allegations of tendencies toward such behavior is enough to derail the adoption process, in most cases.

So what we have is adults in a stable, loving relationship, wanting children. We have children in foster care who want and need to be loved and raised in a stable, loving relationship. Seems simple, doesn't it? Both sides have a need. Each side can supply the need of the other party. BUT! Someone on the outside, wishing to impose their own moral values on someone else is screwing up the whole process.

Let me reiterate this: a couple in a stable and loving relationship, with no convictions or even allegations of any type of wrong-doing, wants to adopt children. By all objective standards, they are financially and socially responsible enough to raise children. There are children wanting and needing to be adopted, wanting and needing to be loved, wanting and needing to be raised in a stable and loving home environment. Because of the prejudices, fear and hate of an outside party, both sides of the process are denied what they want and need. Where is the morality in this? Where is the 'right' in this? Where is the christianity in this? I don't see it.

What is even worse, is that the child who is being considered to be adopted knows that someone wants them. They get their hopes built up to the skies, then find them dashed to the pits, because of someone else's 'moral' judgments! Who is being cruel here? Is it the prospective adoptive parents? I don't think so. They've jumped through bureaucratic hoops for months or years to 'prove' their fitness to raise kids. They've spent hundreds or thousands of dollars complying with various regulations and making their homes 'fit' for children. They've done everything that any other prospective adoptive parent would do to prove their fitness and love for a child. Is it the child? Again, I don't think so. Many of these children are taken from abusive homes. Many were abandoned. Some had birth parents who were simply unable to care for them properly, and gave them up to give them the chance for a better life. Now, when they have the chance for something better, some third party is denying them this, simply because of their own prejudices, fears, and hates.

Ladies and gentlemen, is is time and way past time, to get rid of prejudice, to get rid of fear of those who are 'different,' to get rid of hate for those who have chosen a different path in life.

It is time to make an effort to understand those who are homosexual, to understand those who have a different lifestyle. It is time to accept that there are those who, while they have different values, are just as 'moral' in their outlook as we are, even if it is in a different way.

If a family consists of homosexual adults, are they loyal and faithful to their partner(s)? If a family consists of a polyamorous group, is the group stable and loving? Do the group members support and love one another? Are they faithful within the structure of the covenant they've agreed to live by? In any case, if the consenting adults of any family grouping, of whatever structure, have committed no other crime or offense, why are they suddenly unfit to raise children, simply because they love in a manner different from what you are accustomed to?

I have said this many times in this publication: I don't understand homosexuality. I like women way too much. However, this doesn't mean that I suddenly have the right to condemn others, just because they're different. I'm not god. I don't have the wisdom to take on that job. Neither do you! Get over it. If someone is in a stable and loving relationship, of whatever type, be happy for them! There isn't enough love or happiness in this world that any of us can afford to condemn those who have found what they need. It is even worse when you use your own narrow moral views to deny happiness to others, especially to children. That is one of the greatest cruelties there is.

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