If you've heard of situation ethics, allow me to add a slight twist: Situation morality. That occurs when a member of one's family is the decisive element in shaping the moral code of, say, a prominent politician against the restrictive social universe of conservatism. As in same-sex marriage.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer, for example, a Republican, has nothing good to say about the state's ban on same-sex nuptials. Oh? Well, he has a lesbian daughter who, with her partner, have two children. In an interview with the Associated Press, Pfeifer clearly explained the dilemma imposed on his daughter and all others by his party, asserting:
"Gay and lesbian couples who sit down, plan to take on the awesome responsibility of having or adopting children, go see a lawyer and draft up all of the documents you can think of, they still don't establish parenthood and they can't because of the constitutional prohibition."
He's the second Ohio Republican, where most social guidelines are defined for political convenience. You have to take a deep breath in the false hope that the party still is tolerant enough to forgive an apostate or two.
Sen. Rob Portman, who describes his ideology as "constructive conservatism," has broken faith with his party on same-sex-marriage, explaining that he has a gay son. Good for Dad!
Interesting don't you think, when so-called moral choices come down to the personal level of familial concerns? Situation morality?
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And even as self-interested as these new positions may be in both cases, they are still being targeted by the rabid homophobic right, who seek to make examples of them and thus dissuade future GOP "moderates" (read: standard-issue, old school GOP conservatives) from straying from the Party's extremist positions. Portman's ability to survive a GOP presidential primary is undoubtedly significantly hurt, even as his new-found tolerance for gays would be an asset in the general. Thus the dilemma of modern Republicanism: If you're not John Bircher enough, you probably don't stand a chance at the national level, let alone the local.
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