Senator Rick Santorum doesn't get it

This morning, on an interview on NPR, Senator Rick Santorum was commenting on those who speak out against his ultra Christian stance on abortion, gay marriage, women working outside the home, etc (all as found in his recent book "It Takes A Family"), and he commented that Christian ideology was out of favor with the media, and so tended to be attacked.

He read off a long list of things he's been called recently, and then (in that smug, superior, holier-than-thou tone of voice we hear so much of out of our leaders these days) commented that he respects opposing viewpoints and doesn't call those who hold them names, and doesn't understand why people don't respect HIS opinions.

But here's the key: It isn't about respect for his opinions.

If Rick Santorum went to church every day and donated half of his salary to his church, married a woman who felt like he did who would stay home and tend the house while he went off to work, I'd have no problem with that. If he raised his children in like fashion, instilling in them the belief that they should marry and settle down, that the boys should grow to be men who support their families and the girls should grow to be women who run the home, that's perfectly fine. If Rick Santorum and his wife went to counselling any time they had problems and stayed together for the sake of the family even when their marriage had degraded to the point that it really wasn't worth keeping, I would applaud him.

But... Rick Santorum is a United States Senator. He has the power to enact laws forcing his views on other people, and has advocated doing just that. To me, that is not showing respect for opposing opinion. Put another way, it's easy to be quiet and respectful of those who disagree when you hold the power to make the final decision.

Rick Santorum, I applaud your strong moral code. If you follow it as well as you preach it (something I find lacking in a lot of religious-right-pandering pols these days), you have my respect. But don't try to impose your morality on others where there is no victim involved. Stop trying to pass amendments to ban homosexual marriage. Your way may be the only way for you, but it is not the only way that exists. By trying to codify your way as law, you infringe on the freedoms and rights of those who disagree with you, to nobody's detriment except possibly their own.

Liam.