Defense against stupidity act

Satire is a wonderful tool used by smart people to make close minded people angry and keep open minded people giggling. This is exactly the tool which Jon Marcotte is using to get people riled up about the parallel between gay marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act.

The Defense of Marriage Act allowed states to refuse recognition of a same sex marriage from other states. Jon Marcotte is attempting to ban divorce in California using this act.

Now, at first, I’m not happy about this prospect, as my parents are divorced and I wouldn’t want them to not have been able to get a divorce. However, after looking at what Marcotte is actually doing, it kind of makes me laugh.

Marcotte is mocking Proposition 8 by extending it just a bit further. It is the “logical extension of Proposition 8,” he said to CNN. Proposition 8 stated “Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” So, in order to protect this “traditional marriage ideal,” which is generally the backing for gay marriage ban arguments, Marcotte is petitioning to put this ban for divorce on California’s 2010 ballot.

His reasoning, and his PSA’s, made me giggle a bit, mostly because people are going to be quite upset at the prospect of banning divorce. But that’s his point. He wants to get people to say, “this is stupid” to make a point.

The only problem I can foresee with this is in the event it actually gets passed. Now, they can repeal it, just like they repealed Prop 8, but if it sticks, I might even be more upset. I can’t imagine my parents not being able to divorce when they had a good reason for doing so. They were drifting apart and just not happy. They never fought or had any problems like that; it just wasn’t working anymore. This is a fair reason for divorce, and I would not want people, like my parents, unhappy in a marriage just because they weren’t allowed to separate legally. 

True, they are already divorced, so this wouldn’t affect me personally, but it is the principle of the idea, as it was with them repealing Prop 8. It’s a bit stupid, but again, that’s his point. His point is for people to say this is stupid, so he can say, “see, this is why we thought your idea was stupid.”

Marcotte’s PSA’s are just meant to stir emotions, and he is being very (and I mean VERY) obviously satirical. However, these are serious claims which mirror those made about gay marriage, and if people think they are outrageous when talking about divorce, well that’s just hypocritical, and I hate hypocritical people.

He uses phrases like, “Hell is eternal, just like your marriage is supposed to be,” “Sure, Jesus still loves you if you get divorced, just not as much as before,” and “You said ‘til death do us part; you’re not dead yet.” 

These are pretty ridiculous, but similar outrageous claims are made for traditional marriage when arguing against gay marriage. It isn’t fair, and that is what Marcotte is trying to accomplish. I do think there are other ways to accomplish this, but this is probably the best way to get people’s blood to boil enough for something to happen.

But, before you start getting too upset and suffer from major tunnel vision by only listening to the part about banning divorce, remember he really doesn’t care if he bans divorce or not, he’s just making a point; point which I find a bit funny. Oh how I love satire in politics.