TOW #15 "Your God and My Dignity" - Written

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/opinion/sunday/frank-bruni-religious-liberty-bigotry-and-gays.html?src=mv&_r=0

In continuing the trend of social justice, I found an interesting article from the New York Times about the claims of religious liberty in acceptance of homophobic and bigoted views. It also seemed to fit the current focus on arguments, and I thought it was a relevant topic today. The author of the article is Frank Bruni, the first openly gay op-ed columnist of the New York Times. The idea of religious liberty has often been used to justify homophobia, that being any orientation other than straight is a sin according to some Christians. The author explains the use of religious liberty as an excuse and why this should not be considered a valid argument. The idea of protecting religious freedom seems to be extended only to Christians, according to the article, since aspects of other religions such as Islam are not protected, as people are prejudiced against for wearing traditional Muslim clothing. The author also questions why only certain types of "sinners" are singled out rather than everyone that is considered to have done something that goes against the religion.

The tone of the article was one of the main rhetorical strategies used, as the tone was somewhat informal in order to be more interesting to people as this is a topic that is very personal to people. It also wasn't phrased as an attack of anyone in particular; the author didn't claim that all Christians who have this belief are evil or that religious liberties should not be protected, but rather that religious liberty shouldn't be used as an excuse to avoid giving many people basic human rights. Near the end, the author even says that he respects people who practice religion, but the right to marriage and equality is something everyone should have. You can have any beliefs you want, but you have to accept people who don't share that belief. Religious institutions can be good, but what they want should not be put above some people being able to enjoy the same privileges others do. There was also humor used throughout the article, with the joke about the book's title and Chick-Fil-A, as well as the one about the hairdresser.