Ignorance breeds fear. The reverse is also true: familiarity breeds empathy. Continuing our look at the contact hypothesis in action
Senator Rob Portman - conservative Republican, evangelical Christian, and 2016 contender - has reversed his position on gay marriage. Turns out his son is gay. Portman has known this for two years, but...better late than never:
Senator Rob Portman - conservative Republican, evangelical Christian, and 2016 contender - has reversed his position on gay marriage. Turns out his son is gay. Portman has known this for two years, but...better late than never:
I wrestled with how to reconcile my Christian faith with my desire for Will to have the same opportunities to pursue happiness and fulfillment as his brother and sister. Ultimately, it came down to the Bible’s overarching themes of love and compassion and my belief that we are all children of God. ...The Cloakroom asks the obvious:
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he supports allowing gay couples to marry because he is a conservative, not in spite of it. I feel the same way. We conservatives believe in personal liberty and minimal government interference in people’s lives. We also consider the family unit to be the fundamental building block of society. We should encourage people to make long-term commitments to each other and build families, so as to foster strong, stable communities and promote personal responsibility.
But it makes you wonder how different our political debates might be if more children of U.S. senators suddenly announced they were gay — or poor, or simply without the tremendous advantages of being the child of a powerful lawmaker.Tom Hanks' elegy for victims of AIDS and intolerance:
Every U.S. senator should take the time to look at the world through the eyes of not just their own children but of other people's children as well.
They finally rest in the warm embrace of the gracious creator of us all. A healing embrace that cools their fevers, that clears their skin [skip to the 2:15 mark]
