Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed his personal conviction that homosexual acts are immoral. Millions of Americans (probably billions of people world-wide) share his conviction. He has taken extreme criticism for his view from individuals and spokespersons of groups who do not agree with him. Having convictions about morals is not the issue; his critics have very strong convictions about morals. The issue is the right of people to disagree about such convictions and the freedom to express them- one of the principles for which Marines go into combat to secure and protect for all. The trend is toward P.C. control groups allowing only thoughts (moral judgments) that they approve and forbidding ones they do not. It is happening all the time on college campuses and even in church meetings, as well as in public forums. General Pace may have made a political blunder with his public comments, but he certainly has the right to the personal moral convictions he holds. That right must be respected and he must not be demonized. Of course, this right works both ways.
Those who support “Hate Crime” legislation [new groups who are allegedly being hated are constantly being added to lists of potential victims] better beware. Hate Crime requires judgment about personal intent prior to an act. Such judgment requires official Thought Police [in the Pace story, this would be advocates of “Gay Rights”] the scary scenario of futuristic sci-fi flicks like 1984. The emphasis there is on censorship and mind control. Remember the Pre-Crime Unit in Minority Report? The emphasis there is on getting into the minds of people to read what is already going on there, before any action or behavior occurs, using computers that can read and program thoughts. We do not want to go there!!
