A reader writes:
Wow, thanks for reminding me what marriage is all about. As someone who has been married for almost 32 years and sometimes wonders if it’s all inertia, your convictions expressed so wonderfully in this discussion brought me back to the true meaning of that commitment.In this throw away world it is a wonderful gift to have someone who is willing to be with you through all the uglies of life. It is one of the things that makes life worth living.
I'll be posting segments of the talk over the next few days. The first is a discussion of the natural law prohibitionist view of gay rights; the second a critique of queer liberationism; the third a discussion of moderate conservatism's incoherence on the topic and the last an objection to conventional liberal views, especially hate crimes laws and a defense of free speech for bigots. In other words: Virtually Normal as performance art fifteen years later. If you want to listen to it on the radio or iPod, the podcast of the whole thing is available here. The entire speech can also be viewed on Princeton's website here. At some point, CSPAN has said they will broadcast it. But I thought segments on the Dish would be easier if you do not have the time.
Another reader writes:
I am not a Catholic although my father was Jesuit-educated and I was brought up in great respect of it. That said, I am so in awe of what you said to that young man I can hardly find words.
I am put very much in mind of Lord Acton when he found himself so very much in opposition to Papal Infallibility, and hoping very strongly that you do not get similarly disillusioned because, because, in my humble mind at least, you stood there expressing the very best of the two millennia history and tradition of that incredible institution.