Glacial Erratics

When all the other rationalizations are stripped away, what remains is only this: the President and all those who share his views merely maintain that their views mandate this conception of marriage. And their views in this area are inextricably bound up with their religious views, as they constantly remind us (those values instilled in us by "fundamental institutions, such as families, and schools, and religious congregations"). Believe them, and take them at their word. In essence, and in principle, this is the basis of theocracy -- the idea that government is properly utilized to force all men to live in accord withsome people's conception of their God and His commandments. I repeat: the issue at the heart of this debate, and the only issue of any consequence, is whether the state has the right to enforce a particular view of morality on an entire country,entirely apart from the issue of recognition of individual rights which properly ought to be enjoyed by all men. Moreover, the President does all this in large part to appease certain of his constituents -- most significantly, religious conservatives -- and thus hopes to help assure his own reelection.    (2IM)