I’d never heard of Andrew Sullivan until a friend recently sent me an article by him entitled “Gay Rights and the Limits of Liberalism.” In it, Sullivan—a political commentator and former gay rights activist who’s largely shunned by the LGBTQ community today—takes a systemic approach to the issue of gay and trans rights, something which is incredibly rare today when it comes to
I really appreciate this article! It articulates a lot of the "real" issues we face on a higher level. Separation of culture and state is an excellent approach to these thorny issues and "live and let live" has always been a good motto (we've forgotten the 'let live' part). We cannot be "live and force everyone else to live like us." Thank you and Andrew Sullivan.
You say it brilliantly! “Really what’s needed is to separate culture and state, just as we once separated church and state.” Many thanks. Been struggling with how to put this we-need-it-so- badly thought into words ... succinctly. 🙏
Thanks for picking up and commenting on this article by Andrew. Is there a reference for it? I would like to read it all. Or have you quoted the complete thing here?
I much appreciate and agree with most of your comments on it. I fully believe the only solution to the problems we face in Education here in NZ, and likely also in the US, is to hand the funding back to parents either by way of tax relief or by giving parents vouchers that can be taken to the school of their choice, or used to support home schooling, or something similar. This would return the decisions about the education of their children to where it belongs - with the parents.
I am concerned about your placing of abortion in the realm of freedom of choice along with choosing a religion or whether to have a certain medication. I do not agree that abortion is personal issue. Rather I see it belonging to the realm of rights along with all other areas where the conflicting rights of humans need legal regulation (eg contract law, property rights, freedom from physical abuse, the taking of life etc). At least the rights of the mother, the father, and the unborn child have to be considered and given legal protection. As regards the unborn child, if life begins at conception (clearly the new organism is living, not dead, or inorganic), and it is generally considered that no one has the right to take human life except in extreme circumstances (eg self defence, or if one had to choose between the life of an unborn child and its mother), then it is wrong in almost all circumstances to abort the child at any moment after conception (the unborn is clearly human and not some other species).
I recall from an earlier article that you do not consider that the unborn child should have the status of being legally a 'person', and thus is not protected by law, but my argument is not based on the law as it stands at present, but rather what I consider it should be.
I may have mischaracterized your view on this and I would be interested to hear your response.
Has Andrew Sullivan found the only way to end the culture wars around gay and trans rights?
I really appreciate this article! It articulates a lot of the "real" issues we face on a higher level. Separation of culture and state is an excellent approach to these thorny issues and "live and let live" has always been a good motto (we've forgotten the 'let live' part). We cannot be "live and force everyone else to live like us." Thank you and Andrew Sullivan.
You say it brilliantly! “Really what’s needed is to separate culture and state, just as we once separated church and state.” Many thanks. Been struggling with how to put this we-need-it-so- badly thought into words ... succinctly. 🙏
Thank you!!
Hi Seth
Thanks for picking up and commenting on this article by Andrew. Is there a reference for it? I would like to read it all. Or have you quoted the complete thing here?
I much appreciate and agree with most of your comments on it. I fully believe the only solution to the problems we face in Education here in NZ, and likely also in the US, is to hand the funding back to parents either by way of tax relief or by giving parents vouchers that can be taken to the school of their choice, or used to support home schooling, or something similar. This would return the decisions about the education of their children to where it belongs - with the parents.
I am concerned about your placing of abortion in the realm of freedom of choice along with choosing a religion or whether to have a certain medication. I do not agree that abortion is personal issue. Rather I see it belonging to the realm of rights along with all other areas where the conflicting rights of humans need legal regulation (eg contract law, property rights, freedom from physical abuse, the taking of life etc). At least the rights of the mother, the father, and the unborn child have to be considered and given legal protection. As regards the unborn child, if life begins at conception (clearly the new organism is living, not dead, or inorganic), and it is generally considered that no one has the right to take human life except in extreme circumstances (eg self defence, or if one had to choose between the life of an unborn child and its mother), then it is wrong in almost all circumstances to abort the child at any moment after conception (the unborn is clearly human and not some other species).
I recall from an earlier article that you do not consider that the unborn child should have the status of being legally a 'person', and thus is not protected by law, but my argument is not based on the law as it stands at present, but rather what I consider it should be.
I may have mischaracterized your view on this and I would be interested to hear your response.