by David Scott Robertson
If it had been in God's will and plan for my life to be a United States Senator instead of an ordained minister, I'll bet I would be one of America's most controversial politicians.
Let me give you just one scenario.
The big story in America as I write this is "same-sex marriages." While lawmakers continue to debate the issue, this particular weekend hundreds of homosexual and lesbian "couples" flocked to the city of San Francisco to obtain marriage licenses to sanction their gay union as legal. It remains uncertain whether or not the State of California will ratify the marriage licenses the city has issued. Our nation, once again, has found itself at a moral crossroad.
Now here's where I come in. The media contacts my office for an interview. I consent. The camera crew arrives. The red light comes on.
One question is asked and I give two separate responses.
"Senator Robertson, what do you think of the recent events in San Francisco involving hundreds of homosexuals and lesbians entering into gay marriage?"
Senator Robertson replies: "It's absurd. It's scandalous. It's tragic. It's an abomination. It's a perversion. It's unnatural. It's a direct attack on the American family and strikes at the very heart of our most basic core values, morals, and ethics. Make no mistake, I do not endorse, support, or even acknowledge the viability of same-sex marriage."
And the media takes it from there.
Wire services publish my quote in newspapers from sea to shining sea faster than you can say "right wing, dogmatic, narrow-minded, conservative Christian."
Over the next three days, my secretary walks in messages for me to return from the offices of Barbara Walters, Good Morning America, Larry King, David Letterman, and the O'Reilly Factor. Suddenly, a spot has opened up for me to appear on CNN, CBN, and TBN.
For the last two mornings, as millions of online subscribers logon to America Online to check their email, they see my picture posted on their splash page with the news story hyperlink reading: "Has Senator Robertson gone mad or is he just mad at the gay community?"
Comments begin to surface in various media from my fellow politicians:
Senator Smith, from the State of Confusion, comments while being interviewed in a Fox News exclusive story: "I cannot see eye-to-eye with Senator Robertson on this one. He has gone way over the edge and treats our civil liberties as if they were not important."
Senator Jones, representing the State of Lawlessness, appeared on Prime Time and remarked: "Senator Robertson's views are his own. He in no way represents my views, or indeed the views of the American people. This is why we hold public elections, so we can rid our country of constricting politicians like him."
Congressman Jane Doe, who serves her constituency in the State of Rebellion, in a hastily put together segment on 20/20, says: "I cannot believe Senator Robertson's intolerant viewpoint. It borders on bigotry. It's barbaric, antiquated, and obsolete. If he had his way he'd send us all back to the dark ages under the rule of a tyrant king with no personal freedoms of choice at all!"
Yes, many of my fellow political allies who told me privately that they were "behind me all the way" in my stand to allow the Bible to formulate our moral code on political issues are now publicly so far behind me that I need binoculars to see them!
The emotions and response in America concerning me range from love to hate, from support to threatened violence from radical feminist and gay organizations, from a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union to an offer to defend me in court from the America Center for Law and Justice. A comedy skit portraying me as a blithering idiot appears on Saturday Night Live the following weekend. The monologue writers have a field day with me as Jay Leno brings down the house.
What gets me is that how the media downplayed my second quote to their single question.
"You ask me what I think, but you know, what's more important is what God thinks. God loves the gay person but hates their sin. Jesus Christ, God's Son, died on a cross to free gay people from bondage to sin and prevent the scourge of AIDS from prematurely destroying many of their lives. It was God who invented marriage as the union of one man with one woman in holy matrimony enjoying the security, health, and blessings of a loving, monogamous relationship. To go against God's revealed will and original design is to invite disaster and destruction to a family and a nation."
I guess it was perhaps my third quote that I gave responding to the reporter's final question that got me labeled as one of "America's Most Controversial Politicians."
While the camera rolled, the reporter asked: "Senator Robertson, where do you stand on the topic of abortion?"
DSR
2/14/04