All Worked Up About Why, Part II

by J.T. Benjamin

I’ve spent the last five-plus years documenting the atrocities of what I’ve called the “War On Whoopie.” I’ve ranted about how the Holy Terrors, those religious fundamentalists who pull the strings of the Republican Party to impede our sexual freedoms to such an extent that they’ve tried to criminalize or shut down any form of sexual contact other than marital relations for the sole purpose of procreation. Gay sex, non-marital sex, non-genital sex, sex with toys, sex in literature, sex on DVDs, sex education, safer sex, smarter sex, fun sex, any type of sex other than that which fits within the Holy Terrors’ strict framework, namely that which is within the bonds of marriage, and only to produce babies.

This column has spent an inordinate amount of time discussing the “how” and the “who” of the Holy Terrors’ War on Whoopie, but very little time addressing the question of “why.” Last month, I took a stab at answering that question [see All Worked Up About Why, Part I], first laying out the tendencies of most fundamentalist ideologies worldwide, to explain why the Holy Terrors seem to insist that it’s not just their own sexual freedoms they wish to inhibit, but those of everyone else out there as well.

To recap, according to the University of Chicago’s “Fundamentalism Project,” most fundamentalist ideologies have five identical doctrines:

1. God’s rules, as interpreted by the Powers That Be, must be applied to everybody, in all areas of life, with no exceptions.

2. Men are in charge, period. Women are good only to be wives, mothers, and homemakers.

3. To ensure these rules and values are perpetuated, they must be continuously indoctrinated into the mindset of the next generation.

4. Things were better in the “good old days,” before modern corruptive influences led society astray. Once the “basic” core values of the past are restored, a new “golden age” will be implemented.

5. When a comfortable lie about the “good old days” conflicts with an ugly historical truth, believe the lie and ignore the truth.

So, to answer the first “why” question, “Why do the Holy Terrors feel the need to stick their noses into the bedrooms of everyone else,” the short answer is that they believe it’s “God’s Way or the Highway.” If everyone doesn’t toe the line and behave sexually the way our forebears did in the past, (or, more precisely, how they BELIEVE our forebears did), society will collapse and we’ll never return to the happy times of the “good old days.”

Next question: Why have the Holy Terrors decided that sex is one of those things they feel is within the purview of their authority?

To attempt to answer that question, let’s step into the WayBack Machine and take a look at “traditional” marriage both in the Bible and throughout European and American history.

Simply put, in “traditional” marriage, men have been property owners and their wives and children have been the property.

Going all the way back to Deuteronomy 5:21 which proclaims, “Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor’s wife, …thy neighbor’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor’s,” women and children throughout history have been considered the assets of their husbands and fathers, in the same way a man might own a piece of land or a farm animal or a slave. Under Biblical law, women could not inherit property from their husbands or fathers, (Deut. 21:16), men had the right to claim female captives as wives, (Deut. 21:11-14), a man could divorce his wife if she failed him in some way, (i.e. not bearing children), (Deut. 24), and a widow could be forced to be married to her dead husband’s brother (Deut. 25:5).

For children, the situation was actually worse. Rebellious sons could be stoned to death, (Deut. 21:13-21). If a father’s virginal daughter was raped, the rapist could be forced to pay a fee to the wronged father and then marry his victim, (Deut. 22:28-29). Even more horrifying than the prospect of a girl being forcibly married to her rapist is Deut. 22:13-21. If a new husband wasn’t satisfied that he’d married a virgin, he could demand her father provide proof of her virtue to the community. (Typically, the blood-stained sheets from the girl’s wedding night). If the father couldn’t provide such proof, the maiden was to be stoned to death.

Things didn’t get much better for women and children throughout most of western history since then. As is well documented in Stephanie Coontz’s excellent book, Marriage: A History, among other sources, people got married and had children to forge political alliances, to establish and secure property and inheritance rights, to guarantee sources of wealth, capital, and cheap labor, and for virtually any reason other than love and affection.

So, when it comes to “traditional marriage” the tradition has been to treat the institution as a necessary evil; it’s been a pragmatic, utilitarian, unromantic tool in the machinery of global socio-economic system.

“But,” you say, “J.T. It’s the twenty-first century. Old, antiquated perceptions of marriage no longer apply. Surely the advocates of ‘traditional marriage’ have more enlightened reasons for their positions.”

Maybe, maybe not. In February of last year, Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts was dropping out of the G.O.P.’s Presidential race, warning about the dangers to the U.S if the Republicans failed to win the White House, when he said something curious.

“Europe is facing a demographic disaster. That's the inevitable product of weakened faith in the Creator, failed families, disrespect for the sanctity of human life, and eroded morality.”

What was this demographic disaster of which the Governor was speaking? It took some time to do the research, but it seems that in conservative circles, both in the U.S. and Europe, there’s a movement warning of what’s called, among other things, “The Birth Dearth,” or the “Baby Bust.” It seems that while birthrates in most of the industrialized nations of Europe and North America are declining, they’re dropping more quickly in the white, Christian demographic than they are among non-white and/or non-Christian ethnic groups.

In other words, if things don’t change, white Christians are going to be outnumbered in their own countries. At least, this is according to several conservative writers, think-tanks and Christian-based foundations. These include George Wiegel, author of The Cube and The Cathedral, Pat Buchanan, author of Death of the West, The Family First Foundation, which produced a documentary called “Demographic Winter: The Decline of the American Family,” and quasi-religious groups such as the Sutherland Institute and the Howard Center. The belief in this “birth dearth” is so widespread in conservative circles that even the last two Catholic Popes have warned about declining birth rates among their flocks.

As usual, the facts hardly raise a cause for alarm. One analysis of French birth rates by Randy McDonald concluded that if the French Muslim population grew by an astonishing two percent per annum and the French non-Muslim population declined by a likewise astonishing half-percent per annum, the ratio of French Muslims to non-Muslims would be one in five, in no fewer than fifty years. Hardly the sort of demographic winter to make one quake in one’s Caucasian Christian boots.

And yet, that hasn’t stopped conservative groups from fanning the flames of panic, including the former governor of Massachusetts, who’s already angling for his party’s nomination for the Presidency in 2012.

It gets even more outlandish. Apparently, the only way to combat this “invasion” of brown-skinned, non-Christians is to get back to basics, to practice what the World Congress of Families calls a return to the “natural family,” wherein Christians produce families of as many children as possible or, as WCF head Allan Carlson calls “full quivers of children,” evoking Psalm 127. "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate."

There it is. It’s not talked about much in polite society, but deep within the caverns of the modern conservative movement lies the answer to why Americans need to eschew the notion of sex for fun, and instead get down to making as many children as possible. It’s a war; a war against non-white, non-Christians who threaten to overwhelm Europe and the U.S. with sheer numbers, and the only response to this “demographic disaster” is to have as many arrows as possible in our quivers.

And all this time, I thought we were talking about babies.

Silly me.

J.T. Benjamin
jtbenjamin.blogspot
March 2009

Get All Worked Up with J.T. Benjamin in ERWA 2009 Archive.

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"All Worked Up" © 2009 J.T. Benjamin. All rights reserved.

About the Author:  J.T.Benjamin says, "I'm a generalist. I write about what interests me, which is just about everything." His resume reflects the diversity of his interests. He's been a disk jockey, insurance salesman, private investigator, journalist, college professor, child advocate, political activist, truckdriver, thief,...doctor, lawyer, Indian Chief. He's currently trying to start a hippie commune in the Denver/Boulder area.
Email:  J.T. Benjamin

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