Fatuous logic

Dear Editor,

Your caveat Mr. Pochop. This is not a personal attack, merely a comment on your letter of June 8 ("Disparity healthy," Open Forum.

I'm trying to decide if I've ever seen a better example of specious, fatuous logic than your example of the colored water. Seems to me you miss the essential point.

Take water add color, flavoring, citric acid, caffeine some carbonation and it's Coke or Pepsi but still potable.

Even in your example the essential element; that is water is unchanged it's still H20 and even discolored but still potable. Extending to unsullied social institutions we once had in this democracy a pure form of suffrage in this country anyone was free to vote so long as you were male and white.

Now it's discolored, why we've allowed women and even ethnic and racial minorities that freedom and it's STILL democracy only perhaps more democratic.

You say you want the law to protect you from something you personally don't want. I wish the same thing. I wish the law to protect all people from the contraction of human rights desired by another segment of this society.People are free to marry whomever as long as their choice meets with your approval.

Sounds like Henry Ford and you could have any color Model T you desired so long as it was black. Even Henry eventually relented and Fords were still Fords, automobiles -- Fords, Chevys, whatever -- were still automobiles. Mr. Webster's opinion notwithstanding even with your agreement it's still just his opinion.

Until such time as it's unequivocally demonstrated that expanding the definition of marriage is degrading or contaminating of the whole I must respectfully reject your argument as merely your desire to project your vision of society upon us all.

Patrick L. Tolle

via e-mail