Common Language, Competing Visions: Two Tracks of Marital Logic

   Have you ever been in an argument with someone about same-sex "marriage" and feel as though you're simply speaking past each other? Whether we realize it or not, we sometimes use the same words as the person with whom we disagree, while meaning two entirely different things.
   The disagreement about the meaning of marriage is likely only the latest manifestation of a fundamental difference in the way we view the world. Understanding those with whom we disagree sometimes involve taking a closer look at the competing visions that color the way we use particular words. As the brilliant philosophr Inigo Montoya once said, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
   I've done my best to chart below the two tracks of logic that invariably lead to competing visions of marriage. We make a fundamental mistake if we dismiss as irrational those who share a different vision of marriage. Often times, their vision of marriage, like ours, flows quite rationally from particular presuppositions and premises about human nature, the meaning of truth, and the freedom we desire.