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Right of Way
Commentary by Scott
Shelby
A local pastor I know recently
wrote an important message in the church newsletter. He recounted
the story of his refusal to pay a nominal fee to register at the
county courthouse to “allow” him to perform marriages in the
county where his church at the time was located. His position was
that what God has given may not be regulated by humans and human
institutions.
He went on to say that the question
of whether homosexual marriage is permissible is a question for
God, and not humans to decide. The apostle Paul was certainly not
in favor of homosexual relationships, but he was also no great fan
of heterosexual divorce and remarriage, nor, for that matter, the
emancipation of slaves. My friend the pastor has decided that he
will honor the commitments between any two consenting adults who
have completed marriage counseling and let God decide whether the
marriage should stand.
The question of the regulation of
the payment of benefits to married employees and the disposition
of property following the dissolution of marriage are the points
when the state becomes most intimately involved with the sacred
institution. This is a legacy of the patriarchal culture of a
time when marriage was viewed primarily a business relationship
with only marginal spiritual and interpersonal dimensions.
The fundamental political question
is: “Who gets what how?” Over two centuries in this country,
many injustices have been identified, a combination of political
and social forces exerted pressure for change, and the injustice
was reduced or eliminated. An injustice in our society based on
prejudice has been identified, and the pressure for change is
building.
To permanently deny equal
protection under the law to approximately 10% of the population
indefinitely because of a morally flawed tradition is
unconscionable. To assert that equal rights for homosexuals is
not a question of human rights is to assert that homosexuals
either are not human or do not have rights. A free society is
only as free as the least free of its members, and homosexuals
have long been targeted for hatred with impunity because of
pseudo-religious prejudice. The arguments against homosexual
marriage are based entirely on this prejudice, and primarily
because of the cost of paying benefits to everyone who would
otherwise legitimately qualify.
Our society has the highest divorce
rate in human history, and serial re-marriage is not uncommon, but
the principal argument raised against homosexual marriage is that
it will endanger heterosexual marriage. The threat to the
institution that poses the greatest danger is not homosexual
marriage, but instead the combination of greed, materialism, and
the twisted ideals generated by the entertainment and advertising
industries.
If the most technologically
advanced society in the world cannot progress beyond the limits
set by centuries of rigorously enforced conformity, we will
condemn a group of people defined only by whom they love to a
second-class citizenship. If our political and social progress
lags behind our technological progress we fail the ideals on which
our nation was founded.
DEFENDING LIBERTY
Students form Campus Chapter of the
ACLU
By Grace Sweatt
Students of the UIS Social Work
Program recently spent several weeks preparing for the inaugural
meeting of the UIS Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU). In preparation for the meeting, members of Dr. Sandra
Mills Social Work Practice III class watched and discussed an ACLU
video which focused attention on the erosion of civil liberties
post-9/11. On separate evenings, Bridgette Leahy, of the
Springfield ACLU Steering Committee visited the class to discuss
cases currently being defended by the ACLU, especially as they
relate to reproductive rights, and Phil Milsk, a civil rights
lobbyist, provided guidance on the mechanics of forming a student
organization. Students also familiarized themselves with the
organization by writing a short research paper on the founder of
the ACLU, social reformer Roger Baldwin.
On April 6,
more than 45 students joined Mary Dixon, ACLU-IL. Legislative
Director, and Mary Jo Potter, facilitator of the Springfield
Chapter of the ACLU, Faculty Advisors Allan Cook & Sandy Mills,
and Student Moderator Grace Sweatt in PAC-G to learn more about
the work of the ACLU on a local and national level. Panelists from
the Springfield chapter discussed the reasons they became active
in the ACLU.
The ACLU is a
national organization formed in 1920 and dedicated to the legal
defense of Constitutional rights in the United States. Currently,
the organization is involved with cases that address the post-9/11
imprisonment of U.S. citizens designated as enemy combatants and
is challenging the government’s “no-fly” list. Other issues of
concern to the ACLU include racial equality, religious liberty,
free speech, disability rights, rights of the poor, student rights
and voting rights.
The next
meeting of the UIS Chapter of the ACLU will be held on Monday,
April 19, 2004 at 6:30 p.m. in BRK 374. The campus chapter will be
developing its leadership team for fall semester. We hope to see
you there!
Help improve the
Brookens Library web pages & win a prize
Last summer the library and educational technology staff revised
many of the Brookens Library web pages. You probably noticed the
new URL, colors, layout and other features when you went to look
for “Brookens Bridge” or to find a book or video. Now you have a
chance to help improve the library web pages! Please either go to
http://library.uis.edu/survey or stop the Information Desk to
participate in a usability study of the library web pages. The
first twenty in-person participants will get a free coffee mug
from UIS Brookens Library. All who complete the usability
test will also be entered in a raffle for a $25 gift certificate
to UIS campus bookstore.
Usability testing evaluates the ease of use and effectiveness of
web pages by asking typical users to perform basic tasks. Our
overall goal is to improve the new library web pages. The
usability test will measure the functionality and effectiveness of
the web pages as well as how simple they are to learn. For
instance, one question from the usability test asks “How could you
tell if “American Economic Review” is full text online in any of
the library databases?”
We also want to know how satisfied users are with the new design.
We will collect data until April 9, 2004. After analyzing and
summarizing all the comments we will recommend changes to the
library web designers to enhance the Brookens web site.
Please participate in the Brookens Library Web pages Usability
Testing either online or in person. Contact me, Denise D. Green,
206-6633,
green.denise@uis.edu for more information or stop by the
Information Desk on level 2 to complete the test in person.
-Denise Green, Brookens Library |
