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Opinions of Friday, 3 July 2015

Columnist: Seshie, Stanley

Democracy and homosexuality:

DEMOCRACY AND HOMOSEXUALITY: USA IS RIGHT TO LEGALIZE IT, AND GHANA IS
ALSO RIGHT NOT TO LEGALIZE IT.

The tussling issue of legalizing homosexuality or not has everything
to do with the moral sensibility of a society or nation. Homosexuality
is a social, and not a biological construct. As such it unsupported
scientifically.

It enjoys only political support. There are people who are bent on
deceiving the public that homosexuality is as natural and moral as
heterosexuality. Also there are those who are planting the wrongful
notion that, that, the issue of recognition of homosexuality in Ghana
is a tug of war between the freethinkers/liberals/non-religious
against the religious and conservatist as done elsewhere. That was the
mistake done by the opponents of homosexuality legalization groups.
They erroneously believed that morality is inseparable from religious
dictates.

Meanwhile, the truth is religion has lost grip on society. And
anything that sticks to it is equally done away with in most
countries. The anti-homosexuality groups in Ghana must not repeat that
same mistake by leaving the fight and struggle against the
legalizations in the hands of the religious, especially Christianity.

The mention of deities of the bible, quran and other holy books no
longer puts fear in anyone in our generation. So citing such claims as
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as due to legalization of
homosexuality cannot restrain these groups, for the claim itself is
deceit.

Afterall what is this biblical deity waiting for in order to effect
the same destruction on these cities and nations that are recognizing
and legalizing homosexuality these days, if indeed the story of Sodom
and Gomorrah is true? Superstitious claims no longer keep anyone in
line except the religious sycophants. So it must be clear to all that
religion had been rightfully dethroned. Hence reason must fight
reason.

Religion can be dethroned but not morality. There can never be a
better time to hoist the flag of morality higher and higher than in a
generation where religion had been overthrown. We are of age to
separate religious dictates from moral dictates. Of course,
occasionally and expectedly that can overlap. Morality is not
superstition, that, we must do away with via the progress of science
as it is justifiably done to religion.

Morality is the rules and stamdards society uses to classify actions
as right or wrong. Man cannot live moral vacuum. And we never did. The
above "definition" of morality is not oblivious of the inherent
tendency of man to do what "pleases him and him only". The inordinate
desires of man, especially in areas of pleasure, compounds issues of
moral and ethical standards of society, and as such threatens to live
without boundaries. Some societies especially outside Africa, for
reasons best known to them, have accepted that.

Or at best have expanded the boundaries of their moral norms to
culturally accommodate homosexuality. And what is clear, in those
societies like USA, Ireland among others that accepted, recognized and
legalized homosexuality is the fact that they have CHOSEN to do that,
statistically via their leaders.

What of Ghana? Clearly we have CHOSEN NOT TO. We are clear in our
minds, like they were when choosing to, that we cannot expand our
moral boundaries to encompass homosexuality in order to become
culturally acceptable. Two Ghanaians families cannot come together to
marry away their same-sex children to each other. As a society, we
deemed that a moral retrogression and not progression.


Every soverign nation must have its cultural rules respected by
others, especially id such rules are not detrimental to the citizenry.
There is nothing harmful about not recognizing and not legalizing the
act in Ghana. It bothers on moral sensibility and sentivity, and we
won't dissolve our boundaries that glued the majority on the pleasure
plates of the few.

Let me be clear that I am not denying the occurence of such acts in
Ghana like other deviant behaviours. The main issue about
homosexuality is the not necessary the occurence, but they want
recognition and acceptance into mainstream cultural norms. That is
what this article sort to emphasize, that Ghana won't expand her moral
boundaries for inclusion of that act.

So, if due to democracy, the statistical majority in USA decides to
legalize homosexuality, then the statistical majority in Ghana is also
democratically right not to legalize it. USA is right. Ghana is right.
And more importantly Ghana is right to not legalize homosexuality.

SESHIE, STANLEY

Email: seshiehanku@gmail.com

Whatsapp: 0508951323