When President Ronald Reagan spoke to the Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast in Dallas, Texas, on Aug. 23, 1984, he stressed the important role religion plays in the Church and in the state. And he warned against diminishing the former to increase the latter by suggesting "the city of man cannot long survive without the city of God."
That's what my teacher friend's plight makes me think of, as I watch the manufactured groundswell of public support for redefining marriage.
Childhood camping experiences taught me you don't want green wood when you're starting a fire. It creates too much smoke. Plenty of heat, too, but mostly smoke, of the kind that envelops you and leaves you too blind to see the marshmallows and hot dogs you're burning to a crisp.
Frequently, in the fights for life, marriage, and religious freedom, it's easy to get caught up in the moment, throw one's hands up in the air, and wonder if the struggle is worth it. And this is especially so when it seems court decision after court decision is going the wrong way…for a time.
Someday, historians will record the Senate\'s repeal last week of the imperfect \"Don\'t Ask, Don\'t Tell\" policy regarding homosexual behavior in the military as the loss of a battle.