One of the Reasons Some Muslims View America as the Great Satan

I'm not justifying the Muslim view of America or the Muslim view of marriage and women. I'm just pointing out that when some Muslim's view America, we are not the land of the free and the home of the brave, we are the land of the decadent and home of the corrupt. The Following article is from Kairos Journal.

Ubiquitous Insults to Marriage

Sometimes it takes a keen eye to spot evidence of a social trend. But in the case of insult to the sanctity of marriage in the United States, the manifestations are everywhere. Look, for instance, at the mainline American press of June 17, 2010. A Chicagoan visiting the newsstand was hit with the following:

Newsweek: An article, “ ‘I Don’t’: The Case Against Marriage,” declares, “Once upon a time, marriage made sense,” and “ . . . the permanence of marriage seems naïve, almost arrogant.”¹

New York Times: Guest columnist, Evergreen State College history professor (and author of Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage) Stephanie Coontz cheers a no-fault-divorce bill before the New York State Assembly.² In a related article, “reporter” William Glaberson quotes nine sources on the bill, all of them speaking in favor of it.³ The same issue of theTimes reports that former Solicitor General Ted Olson is saying that California’s ban on gay marriage is as unacceptable as a ban on interracial marriage.⁴ Then, in the Arts section, Scott Heller reviews Insignificant Others, a novel about gay infidelity: “We’re partners, but there’s room to wander, too.”⁵

Chicago Tribune: In its entertainment section, the paper honors an infidelity song, “A Quick One, While He’s Away,” by The Who; shows high-profile lesbian Ellen DeGeneres standing with four smiling Blackhawks holding the Stanley Cup; and announces a “special advance screening” of I Am Love, with adultery, lesbianism, and the acting of Tilda Swinton.⁶ (She is famous for her “nuanced gender-bending performance” in the movie Orlando.)⁷

A news article features lesbian “parents” Kelly and Charissa King-O’Brien, who are upset that their twins, Luna and Mia, were not both admitted to a magnet school.⁸ And over in Amy Dickinson’s advice column, a reader designated “Worried” asks what to do about the infidelities of her “boyfriend,” with whom she has lived for 20 years.⁹

Chicago Sun-Times: Columnist John W. Fountain bemoans the fact that in 2008, 72.3% of black children were born out of wedlock.¹⁰ Then there are reports that Al and Tipper Gore are divorcing after 40 years of marriage and that Harrison Ford and Callista Flockhart are getting married after eight years of cohabiting. In the “legal services” ad section, attorney George Lincoln offers $100 divorces.¹²

USA Today: Coverage of the Emmy nominees names a host of tawdry shows, including Desperate Housewives and Cougar Town.¹³

And everywhere are photos of celebrities with unseemly conjugal histories, whether Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, or Kobe Bryant. And lest it seem that June 17 was a bad day, one has only to open the June 18 Wall Street Journal to read that no fewer than three summer movies “offer a largely celebratory treatment of donor insemination”¹⁴ and that Marquette, a Catholic university, almost appointed a lesbian dean.¹⁵

Of course, there are rays of light in these periodicals, including a Sun-Times photo of Fritz and Barbara Bohn on their 50th wedding anniversary. And many instances of holy matrimony can be found throughout the nation. But there is no denying that the status of marriage is not what it once was in America, and the country is consequently at peril. Still, if the Church will enthusiastically and courageously proclaim and model this holy institution, resist its enemies, and denounce its counterfeits for what they are, then there is hope for a revival of strong, Christ-centered marriage, even in this day.

Footnotes:

1	Jessica Bennett and Jesse Ellison, “‘I Don’t’: The Case Against Marriage,” Newsweek Website, June 11, 2010, http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/11/i-don-t.html (accessed September 7, 2010). References are made to online versions (when available) rather than the print versions in order to facilitate access.
2	Stephanie Coontz, “Divorce, No-Fault Style,” The New York Times Website, June 17, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/opinion/17coontz.html (accessed September 7, 2010).
3	William Glaberson, “New Divorce Law May Mimic Old Quiz Show: ‘To Tell the Truth,’” The New York Times (June 17, 2010), A23.
4	Jesse McKinley, “Closing Arguments in Marriage Trial,” New York Times Website, June 17, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/us/17prop.html (accessed September 11, 2010).
5	Scott Heller, “Insignificant Others,” New York Times Website, June 16, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/books/17newly.html (accessed September 11, 2010).
6	“Noteworthy Pop Epics,” Chicago Tribune Website, June 17, 2010, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-17/entertainment/ct-live-0617-epic-songs-mgmt-20100617_1_song-band-new-album (accessed September 11, 2010); Chris Jones, “Ellen’s Wit Leads a Quick-Moving ‘Special,’”Chicago Tribune Website, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-16/entertainment/ct-live-0617-just-for-laughs-ellen-re20100616_1_aziz-ansari-ellen-degeneres-tv-success (accessed September 11, 2010); and ad for I Am Love, Chicago Tribune (June 17, 2010), 62.
7	Betsy Sharkey, “Movie Review: I Am Love,” Los Angeles Times Website, June 18, 2010, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/18/entertainment/la-et-i-am-love-20100618 (accessed September 11, 2010).
8	Jon Yates, “Twins Separated at Berth,” Chicago Tribune (June 17, 2010), 43.
9	“Ask Amy,” Chicago Tribune (June 17, 2010), 54.
10	John W. Fountain, “To Baby Daddies: Your Child Needs You,” Chicago Sun-Times (June 17, 2010), 30.
11	Bill Zwecker, “Al & Tipper . . . and Laurie?” and “Richardson Governs over N.M. Affair of the Heart,” Chicago Sun-Times (June 17, 2010), 33.
12	Chicago Sun-Times (June 17, 2010), 46.
13	Robert Bianco, “A Little Emmy Advice,” USA Today Website, June 17, 2010, http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20100617/emmy17_cv.art.htm (accessed September 11, 2010).
14	W. Bradford Wilcox, “Daddy Was Only a Donor,” The Wall Street Journal Website, June 18, 2010, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704324304575306851423563346.html (accessed September 11, 2010).
15	Anne Hendershott, “Another Catholic University Fails a Litmus Test,” The Wall Street Journal Website, June 18, 2010, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704324304575306812634791910.html (accessed September 11, 2010).