Live And Let Die

In Portland, Oregon (pop: 580,000+), a bakery declined to make a wedding cake for a gay marriage. The owners cited their religious beliefs which defined marriage based on reproductive biology, one man-one woman. They were sued and a judge not only fined them $135,000, a sum sufficient to wipe out their small business, but placed a gag order on them so they could not talk about their beliefs on marriage within their store.

As a flint-hearted conservative, I'm used to the accusations that I am a social Darwinist, happy to watch the less fortunate die living in cardboard boxes under freeway overpasses*. As someone who believes in objective morality, I'm supposed to be closed-minded and judgmental, insisting that everyone live my way.

Progressives are supposed to be different. That's the whole selling point of the thing. They're all live and let live sorts, happy to prance about, handing flowers to everyone, their cars festooned with "Coexist" and "Arms are for hugging" bumper stickers.

I'm beginning to think that was all a lot of nonsense. When they use the legal system as a Gestapo to track down and destroy anyone who thinks differently from them, it seems that live and let live isn't exactly their motto. When the aggrieved gays chose to attack rather than go to any one of a large number of other bakeries in the Portland region, I'd say they're more the live and let die sort.

How very caring of them.

* - or even over freeway underpasses. I'm not picky.