A mathematician once told me this fable about a dog Goldie (a Golden Retriever), and a cat Persi (Persian). Goldie's master Gordon, and Persi's owner Perry, were neighbours, each claiming that their pet was superior to the other. Each pet had accumulated many Blue Ribbons in "show" competitions, and each had been written up in the local newspapers. However to settle the issue, Gordon decided to make the supreme sacrifice- Goldie would be trained to become a seeing-eye dog for some person whose eyesight was failing. What could be more noble! The newspaper proclaimed the news praising Gordon and Goldie for the contribution they were making to the community.
Perry, his nose out of joint, inquired as to whether his cat Persi could be trained to be a "seeing-eye cat", perhaps the first ever. But the trainers replied that they trained only dogs for "seeing-eye" work. Perry thought this was so unfair. After all, he reasoned, all dogs have four legs, and equally his cat had four legs; thus there was an "equality issue" here. So he took his argument to the "equality" tribunal. The tribunal agreed that there was discrimination going on and ordered the trainers to train Persi to be a "seeing-eye" cat, and to be ready to train other cats as well, or pay some hefty fines until they complied.
So the trainers worked on Persi as best they could. The day came when Persi was assigned to Granny McMurt. That day she decided to take a walk up and down the street, to finish at home. The second house they came to was the home of Granny McGuin. It was surrounded by a 6 ft wooden fence, and had a bird-feeder in the backyard. Persi, hearing the bird chatter on the other side of the fence, sprang to the top of the fence, ran along the top for a few strides and leaped down among the pigeons who scattered and saved themselves. Now Granny McMurt was lithe and agile when she was young, and still spry enough to get around most places, but she injured her knee and ankle going over the 6 ft fence. Persi caught a glimpse of a squirrel through a crack in the backyard fence, and so sprang to the top and leaped down into the yard behind Granny McGuin's house, looking for the squirrel, Granny McMurt in tow. Unfortunately, Persi had landed in a yard where a barking dog was loose. The dog chased Persi up the tree in the middle of the yard, and Persi would not come down, no matter how hard Granny McMurt would pull on the leash. So the Fire Department was called to rescue Persi and to return Persi and Granny McMurt to their home. Certain fines had to be paid, for trespassing, and for time wasted by the Fire Department. In time the pains would heal.
Granny McMurt sent Persi back to Perry, with the intention of waiting for a seeing-eye dog to be made available. But the training school had to end its business because it couldn't pay the fines. It's unknown to this day if Granny McMurt ever ventured out of her house again.
Logical flaw
Because two members of a set are "equal in regard to one characteristic (such as having four legs)", is no reason to infer that they are "equal" in other respects. One could say "having four legs may be necessary to be trained for seeing-eye work, but not sufficient". Seeing-eye work has a history, which points out that it is working dogs who are suited for it.
Analogy
This fable sheds light on a topical issue- can two persons of the same sex be married to one another? It's true that two adults of the same sex, or a male-female twosome, may share the characteristic of being capable of exciting each other sexually; but in other respects, the same-sex twosomes are deficient. Marriage has a history. An ideal marriage of one man with one woman committed to each other for their lifetimes, and to their children for their lifetimes, and for the lifetimes of their grandchildren etc., is a structure which benefits society. These are deep roots. As an ideal "mini-society" the family members learn how males and females should interact, how parents and children should interact, and how older children should interact with their younger siblings, learning responsibility and self-denial. These supportive lessons learned, extended horizontally to uncles and aunts and cousins are priceless in moving society forward, ensuring its future, and are a primary component of the "Common Good".
Governments should realize that beyond a duty to fiscal responsibility, they have a primary duty to stabilize and advance the "Common Good". This requires proposing and promoting the ideal of strong marriages, and a profound respect for human life and the dignity of personhood. They can hardly do this if they have compromised their position by allowing the promotion of same-sex twosomes, blindly seeing no harm in that, at least until the next election.
The numbers from the 2006 census point to a desolate future. Canada's fertility rate has slipped to 1.53 children per woman. It takes a long time for a number like this to emerge, and it will take a long time to bring it back to around 2.1 for a nearly stable society, or a little higher to promote some growth. As it is right now, we are heading for a shrinking society, shrinking demand, shrinking production, shrinking investment opportunities and returns.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta is associated with the phrase (paraphrased) "The society that kills its young has no future!" Pope John-Paul II echoed the same sentiments. We can add to that: "the society that suffers increasingly from troubled families, will endure a troubled future."
