There were a lot of good spoofs of the National Organization for Marriage’s video The Gathering Storm.  This one called a $#it Storm of Intolerance wins first runner up.  But again, the Colbert Report wins the prize.

What all of this means is best said by Frank Rich’s column in the Sunday New York Times

What gives the ad its symbolic significance is not just that it’s idiotic but that its release was the only loud protest anywhere in America to the news that same-sex marriage had been legalized in Iowa and Vermont. If it advances any message, it’s mainly that homophobic activism is ever more depopulated and isolated as well as brain-dead. 

It is interesting that this one issue is really what divides progressive and conservative Christians.  Even the most conservative Evangelical has seen the light (after years of feet dragging) of the inherent value in the helping of the poor although there is still considerable arguement about how that is best accomplished.  It is the gays that divide the camps now.  

The reasons are complex but one way of looking at it is that progressives listen to the people who are experiencing the effects of bigotry and oppression and believe that their testimonies count when gauging whether society and religion should reconsider policies or beliefs regarding these same people.  Conservatives undervalue these same voices in favor inherited narratives and traditions whose importance is weighted according to longevity.

I am a progressive because I believe that we are constantly learning and improving in the ways we understand and value human difference which includes race, gender, culture and sexual orientation.  I value these voices as testimonies of truth that have every bit as much weight as any person before them.  As gay people become fully accepted as human beings, society and eventually religions will change to reflect that new understanding.  May that day come quickly.