"Another one bites the dust...and another one's gone, another one bites the dust." I wonder how Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., would feel about a Freddy Mercury soundtrack to the end of his political career. My guess is he would be none too pleased.
Santorum, who is No. 3 in the GOP Senate leadership food chain, hit a political pothole on Monday. And by pothole I mean yawning chasm of doom.
He drew the ire of gay rights groups in his home state of Pennsylvania and across the country after commenting on a Supreme Court case involving a controversial anti-sodomy law in Texas. The case challenges the law on the basis that an anti-sodomy statute constitutes discrimination and an invasion of privacy.
Santorum revealed his feelings about the case in a recent interview: "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything."
A spokeswoman for the senator has said that his remarks "were specific to the Supreme Court case."
What? Is this or is this not a case regarding a law that seeks to place legal restrictions on the private actions of homosexual citizens of the United States? Any comments about this case are comments about homosexuals. Nice try.
The sad thing is, despite my exceedingly clever opening line, the senator likely will not bite the dust. Instead, he will duck and cover behind the time-honored shield of family values, and once the tempest dies down, he will continue to represent the people of Pennsylvania and protect the American family from all of the immoral evils of the world.
But the issue of equal rights has become all the more important in light of the current state of affairs in this country. America seems to be paranoid now more than ever that the very foundations of its society will be undermined and crumble away if the government does not maintain a tight rein.
Has anyone ever stopped to think about what has happened? More than two years ago we had an election. Its outcome was in doubt for a month. Then, about nine months after taking office, the rookie faced a catastrophe of epic proportions.
The fact that you are sitting and reading this paper is itself a testament to the longevity and perseverance of the American people. The key word is "people."
"People" is a wonderful word because it is neutral concerning gender, color and sexual orientation. Straight, white, two-parent, Protestant families with 2.5 kids, an SUV, a dog and a white picket fence can only see the world in so many different ways. I should know - except the fences at my house are stucco.
The way to preserve everything America holds dear is not to attempt to stamp out all that makes you afraid. Guess what? The Sikh family down the street and the two gay guys around the corner have lived through the same three years everyone else has. They're not going to blow up your house or come on to your kids.
If the longevity of America as an institution is your top priority, then start thinking about what kind of America it is that you want to live in and what true democracy and diversity entail. That is what will ensure our survival.
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Chris Kotterman is a political science and journalism senior. Reach him at christopher.kotterman@asu.edu.
