The Dogma of Yesterday

In the book, “The Walking Drum,” by Louis L’Amour, we find the author illustrates the idea that each civilization is always in a state of transition. After Kerbouchard leaves the progressive and intellectual environment of Muslim Cordoba and returns to his native Christian France, he finds his home to be an alien world that he is no longer a part. Kerbouchard declares to a young scholar of Paris, that the “radical ideas of today are often the conservative policies of tomorrow, and dogma is left protesting by the wayside.”(255) Today we are experiencing firsthand the decadence of our traditional family values with the legalization of same-sex marriages. Is the ideal of marriage between only a man and wife going to be the “dogma” that is left protesting by the wayside? Can we progress too far?

In the state of Massachusetts, gay marriages have recently been made legal. Because their state government deems same-sex marriage as being morally equal, they felt it was necessary to affirm these new ideals in the children’s minds through the public schools starting as young as kindergarten. This last January David and Tonia Parker, residents of Massachusetts, were shocked when their five-year-old brought home a diversity backpack that contained the book, “Who’s In a Family,” by Robert Skutch.

Same-sex relationships use to be deemed as “radical ideas,” but unfortunately they are becoming the “conservative polices” of today as declared by Robert Skutches own words, "The whole purpose of the book was to get the subject [of same-sex parent households] out into the minds and the awareness of children before they are old enough to have been convinced that there's another way of looking at life . . . It would be really nice if children were not subjected to the -- I don't want to use the word 'bigotry,' but that's what I want to say anyway -- of their parents and older people.” In their cry for tolerance of same-sex marriage to be deemed equal, they are ironically no longer tolerating traditional family values. Because I uphold that marriage is scared only between a man and women, I am being referred to as a “bigot.”’ This country is starting to feel like a world that I am an alien, and am on longer apart.

The Parkers also felt that this subject was not appropriate to be introduced at such a young age and asked the school’s administration for a parental notification in the future, so that their children could opt out when same sex relationships are being discussed. They felt like the policies were infringing upon their sacred parental duties to teach what they believed. David Parker stood his ground in his beliefs of traditional values and found himself shouting his dogma in jail.

Every great civilization of the world has risen, enjoyed prosperity that soon leads to decadence. Are we witnessing the transition of our society going too far? Kerbouchard declares, “The important thing is to know where you stand and what you believe, then be true to yourself in all things.” Even if you find yourself protesting your dogma by the wayside… I hope to protest until I am hoarse…