04.02.18a. Gay Marriage and Confucius's Rectification of Names; Dogs, Houses, Grandmothers, Everybody. I find it hard to take the gay marriage debate seriously. Calling a legal arrangement that imposes certain restrictions on the property ownership of two men "marriage" doesn't make it marriage. Like the word "gay" itself, this is perversion. Confucius had it right in the chapter on "The Rectification of Names" in The Analects (Jimmer Endres translation):


Tsze-lu asked, 
    "If the Duke of Wei made you an advisor,
     what would you address as the very first priority?"

Confucius replied,
    "The most important thing
     is to use the correct words."
                                    "What?" Tsze-lu replied.
    "That's your first priority?  The right words?"

Confucius said,
    "You really are simple, Yu.
     The Sage keeps his mouth shut
     when he doesn't know what he's talking about!

    "If we don't use the correct words,
        we live public lies.
     If we live public lies,
          the political system is a sham.

    "When the political system is a sham,
          civil order and refinement deteriorate.
     When civil order and refinement deteriorate,
          injustice multiplies.
       As injustice multiplies,
                    eventually the electorate is paralyzed
                    by public lawlessness.

    "So the Sage takes for granted that he use the appropriate words,
       and follow through on his promises with the appropriate deeds.

    "The Sage must simply never speak lies."

We could, of course, say that two men can be married. But why not, then, say that a man can marry his dog? After all, the dog does get sick, and why shouldn't the man's employer pay the vet bills, just as he pays for other employee's wife's bills?

And why can't I marry my grandmother? Marriage is not about children, in the modern view, and it has never been just about romance. I promise not to commit incest--- we are talking about marital status here, something separate from sexual activity.

Better yet, why can't I marry my house? I love it dearly. And the poor darling has frequent and large expenses that really ought to be covered by my employer's health plan.

Or, finally, why can't I have a group marriage, with my dog, my grandmother, and my house? If marriage is not between a man and a woman, it is hard to say why it should be restricted to two items.

A few minutes later: an email from the Battery Expert:

> Hey, Dr. E.!
>
> I doubt that Mark Twain read a lot of Confucius, but
> you will recall his comment about dogs:
>
> Q: If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a dog
> have?
>
> A: Four, because calling a tail a leg doesn't make it
> a leg.

[in full at 04.02.18a.htm . Erasmusen@yahoo.com. ]

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