BY DAN
KENNEDY
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See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes (Rodale, October 2003),
click
here.
Friday, November 21, 2003
What did Mitt mean? We've got
answers! On Thursday, Media Log asked what Governor Mitt Romney
means when he says that same-sex marriage contradicts "3000 years of
recorded history." What paradigm-shattering event took place around
1000 BC?
The Media Log challenge attracted
an avalanche of e-mails. (Okay, five.) And I believe we have the
answer. But I'm saving that for the end.
First, we hear from J.B., who
writes: "It was the last time the Cubs and Red Sox were in the World
Series?" J.B., show some confidence. Lose the question mark! Indeed,
I thought maybe he was on to something. But it turns out that World
Series archeological records only go back to 500 BC, so scientists
can't say for sure. Still, this remains a real
possibility.
On a more serious note, J.R. sends
this along:
What don't you understand?
The human species started writing things down on parchment or
stone approximately 3000 years ago. Those are the earliest
writings we have. We have no way of knowing what happened before
that. Why are you assuming something happened in 1000 BC to change
our thoughts on marriage? What the hell does that have to do with
starting to write things down? Your question is ludicrous! What
are you ... 12?
To paraphrase Our Only President,
we will reveal our age at a time and place of our choosing. As for
the substance of J.R.'s e-mail, he is only off by a few thousand
years -- recorded history goes back to 3000-4000 BC. For more, check
this
out, from something called the Evolution
Encyclopedia.
It's safe to say that if J.B.
suffers from a self-confidence deficit, J.R. has a surplus. Perhaps
they should get together and trade.
Next up is M.P., who, judging from
his e-mail address, is a Harvard boy. Well, even Harvard types can
get it right occasionally, and it looks like he may have hit the nail
on the head. He writes:
is this a serious question
you're asking? because the answer seems obvious to me: the
reference is to the bible. what else in ancient history (and
certainly 3000 years ago, before classical greece and rome) are
people such as romney even aware of? the '3000' is merely his
rough estimate as to when the text was written or when it purports
to have occurred. of course, anyone familiar with the ancient near
east, for instance (this is my field) would know that we have
abundant records for marriages which stretch back much earlier.
[Media Log aside: Read it and weep, J.R.!]
of course, it's also true that
for the same '3000 years of recorded history' (at least in the
bible and subsequent judeo-christian tradition) homosexuality has
been considered a sin -- so romney's position on 'the necessary
civil rights and certain appropriate benefits' is itself a
'contradiction' of that history. so much for THAT tortured
logic.
In a similar vein, A.W. sends this
along:
My guess is that Gov.
Romney is referring to Biblical assertions regarding the age of
the earth, although I believe they usually declare the world is
6,000 years old, rather than three thousand.
Whenever I read or hear remarks
from people who oppose gay marriage on how it will destroy our
society, I'm always reminded of the movie "Ghostbusters".
The Mayor of New York asks the Ghostbusters what they mean
by a disaster of Biblical proportions, and they begin reeling off
the various disasters -- fire and brimstone, forty years of
darkness, the dead rising from the grave. At which point Bill
Murray declares in his most sarcastic Bill Murray voice, "Dogs and
cats, living together!"
Finally, K.S. offers
this:
I actually heard another
anti-same-sex-marriage commentator on CNN Tuesday say that the
ruling flew in the face of 5,000 years of marriage. It seems
arbitrary figures are being thrown around in an attempt to say,
"It's always been this way" in a more concrete fashion, and other
people are being far too lazy by just repeating the assertions.
The bad journalism of our times.
Bad journalism, but maybe bad
political rhetoric, too. In other words, maybe Romney talks about
"3000 years of recorded history" because it sounds good, and
because he and everyone is too lazy to think it through.
Thanksgiving hiatus. Media
Log will be on a holiday schedule until Monday, December 1. I might
post a couple of things, I might not. In any case, see you
then.
posted at 11:41 AM |
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
