What Is Immoral?
I’ve been told by General Pace, the head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, that what I do is immoral.
How Does He Know?
mor·al
1 a: of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior : ethical (moral judgments) b: expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior (a moral poem) c: conforming to a standard of right behavior d: sanctioned by or operative on one’s conscience or ethical judgment (a moral obligation) e: capable of right and wrong action (a moral agent)
Deciding on what is moral and immoral is a very personal thing. I don’t ask General Pace to suck dick if he finds it wrong. And I would never consider declaring that sex between he and his wife was immoral.
So why does he not only feel it necessary to declare homo-sex as immoral, but also support a completely idiotic military policy, that requires homosexuals to lie about who they are? Isn’t lying immoral?
I honestly think that most men have an abject fear of being considered anything less than totally masculine. Especially military men. And what could be more emasculating than being penetrated by another man? And I believe that this is the main reason that folks like General Pace decide to label this kind of activity immoral. Terrifying?…maybe…immoral…no.
Current Knitting
I finished the sole and the “bumper” of the second felted slipper and I’ve started a third slipper in different colors (blue sole and black upper). So far, I’ve been able to finish the upper part. I’ll post progress pictures later in the week.
Flea Market Finds
The local flea market had a cache of books from a knitter and spinner. None of the knitting books appealed to me at all (quick, trendy, bulky, 1-hour project knitting books). And a couple of the spinning books, I already had.
But at fifty cents a piece, I still had to buy all the spinning books.
I already owned Spinning Designer Yarns
I also found this little gem.
Spinner’s Companion
What I Love About Joe:
The fact that he can follow this:
“And what could be more emasculating than being penetrated by another man? And I believe that this is the main reason that folks like General Pace decide to label this kind of activity immoral. Terrifying?…maybe…immoral…no.
with this:
“I finished the sole and the “bumper” of the second felted slipper and I’ve started a third slipper in different colors (blue sole and black upper).”
without skipping a beat.
It is a strange world when a man whose job it is (simplistically) to tell people to kill other people, can say out loud that any kind of love is immoral. SIGH!
General Pace is an ASS. Slate Magazine had an excellent analysis on the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” debacle and the fact that our military is losing some of its best members because of the policy, while at the same time admitting convicted felons because there are so few volunteers. How is having armed forces members who kill and rape moral??
Lucky you, finding those spinning books! The Spinner’s Companion is truly useful, I just bought my copy and have been very happy with all the knowledge inside.
Jos, mon panais doux, I know you to be a very moral person.
What scares me, though, is the possibility that you have three feet.
Gay rights are THE civil rights of this time. I am glad that people like you have a forum to show people who do not know any gay men or women just how moral, regular, and non-threatening homosexuality is. As always, thank-you….
PS Please do slam the Pope for his latest statements which lack compassion, love, etc….you know, all the stuff Jesus represented….
Ugh. What to say about people like Pace. People who espouse views like that make me viscerally ill. And hey, I thought judging others was also immoral.
And if you don’t already have someone in particular in mind for ‘In Sheep’s Clothing’, I’ve been eyeing it for a while. I’d even pay for it.
I am always so jealous of your flea market finds! One of the bad things about living in the boonies is there are very few good sales, and I almost always seem to miss them.
My daughter and I have been having some wonderful conversations about the military and their stupidity. Even before she came out to me she was not shy about expressing her opinions on the subject of rights (so why was she shocked that I was not surprised by her revelation? Silly girl!) She went through a semester of ROTC her freshman year, and even though she wasn’t out, she caught so much flak (from other students mostly, not the commander) that she decided that it wasn’t worth continuing.
I don’t think homosexuality is immoral, and I don’t care what consenting adults do in private. However, if you’re going to say that “deciding what is moral or immoral is a very personal thing,” do you not then have to grant General Pace the right to decide what he personally finds to be moral or immoral, on the basis of whatever code of morality he follows? And if he considers homosexuality to be immoral, wrong, a crime, whatever–doesn’t he have the obligation to try do something about it? I assume you believe that, for example, murder, molesting children, and stealing cars are immoral acts. If you knew that someone was committing murder, molesting children, or stealing cars, wouldn’t you feel compelled to voice your objections to it or do something to prevent it?
To Anonymous:
General Pace certainly has the right to decide his personal morality. He can certainly do whatever he wants to enforce HIS OWN morality. However, he does NOT have the right to inflict his moral beliefs on anyone else and certainly NOT in the capacity of a general in the military. You will find if you read the current news that he has apologized for precisely this reason. No one has the right to inflict their personal morals on anyone else.
Secondly, and more importantly, you are implying that homosexuality is equivalent to “committing murder, molesting chldren, or stealing cars…” all of which, I’d like to remind you, are CRIMES. Homosexuality is NOT A CRIME (despite the wishes of those who may find it immoral for whatever reason). Sexual acts between consensual persons of a legal age is not a crime, regardless of what manner it is undertaken. I resent the heck out of your implication as much as I resent those of low intelligence who claim that marriage between same sex partners will eventually lead to marriage with members of other species.
Thirdly, I also resent the heck out of the fact that you are too cowardly to provide a name or email address. If you are so moral and and righteous you should show some backbone and own up to your statements.
On a lighter note: I’m not sure I understand (or, perhaps, I’m being deliberately obtuse) but I don’t understand how “receiving” is any more emasculating than “taking” considering it would seem one would have to possess more trust, will power, strength, etc. to receive than take. Just thinkin’ out loud there.
Joe, I hope I didn’t abuse your hospitality with all of the above.
I in no way implied that *I* believe homosexuality is a crime or is equivalent to a crime, and I specifically said that I do not believe that homosexuality is immoral. All I said was that *the general* has a right to believe that it is immoral, and that he has a right, and perhaps even an obligation, to speak out against something that HE (not me) believes is immoral. What kind of person would NOT speak out against something he believes is immoral?
I am completely in favor of same sex marriage, openly gay people serving in the military, you name it. I’m a Birkenstock-wearing left-winger, as liberal as they come. You’re attacking the wrong person.
The military needs to worry about more important things than with whom people are sleeping. Isn’t there enough hate in the world already? It just gets old and I’m tired of it. If you would like to sell the Rare Wool book, I am interested. Loraine, a friend of Lars