In his article Here Comes the Groom, Andrews Sullivan explains the need to have the gay marriages viewed through the same lens as are the conventional heterosexual marriages. In point of fact, the gay marriages, according to Sullivan are quite different from the informal gay relationships that have seen gay behavior treated as one among the worst vices in contemporary society. In the column, Sullivan, a liberal thinker, explains why the conservative thinkers ought to give a different dimension to same-sex marriages. Sullivan’s use of ethos is exceptionally calculated as he adopts different strategies and methods to explain the difference between the gay relationships or partnerships and gay marriages.
Worth of note is the reality that Sullivan prominently uses the method of rationalization – he uses the ideals to justify his ideas. For instance, Sullivan explains that by legally getting married, the gay couples will be entrusted with the same duties and obligations as straight couples. This means that, justifiably, gay couples will be in a position to raise children, access such rights as inheritance and property control. In using the rationalization method in furtherance of his ethos, Sullivan explains that gay couples, just like the straight or heterosexual couples are human beings with equal rights and identical needs with regard to emotions and commitment. For this reason, he says, the legal recognition of gay marriages is not a way to undermine the heterosexual couples, but rather a way of helping those forcefully engaging in heterosexual relationships to find a locus in their lives.
Sullivan, as a way of enhancing his use of pathos, explains that being gay does not make a person a lesser being than a straight person. In this light, he uses such approaches as equality to emphasize the fact that young gay people need mentors and role models just like the straight couples. He argues from the point that legal recognition of gay marriages will reduce the stigmatization associated with the vice significantly. As a matter of common knowledge, the audience of Sullivan is the rigid conservative lot that loathes the gay community on the grounds that bringing such same sex relationships to the same level as the straight ones is a violation of social norms. In addressing his audience, Sullivan uses the persuasion method.
Sullivan is quite persuasive in urging the conservatives to consider the actuality that legalizing and socially traditionalizing gay marriages is a plus and not a minus to both the gay community and the straight fraternity. What Sullivan says is that secluding the gay couples causes more harm than good, because in this ra of AIDS, monogamy is more than just a necessity. Reflectively, Sullivan’s use of ethos is exceptionally successful, especially considering that he poses tough questions for the conservatives. In my opinion, I buy Sullivan’s argument that traditionalizing gay marriages makes a lot of sense. The main reason why I elect to agree with him is the reality that the gay community is an inevitable minority. Its existence cannot be eliminated. The gay community, according to Badgett can only be integrated into the conventional social order through traditionalizing same sex marriages (77).
Summarily, the use of ethos gives Sullivan’s argument a strong ground because it strengthens his points and fact filled arguments. The use of various methods – persuasion, rationalization and equality-based points – Sullivan takes his opponents to task because he bases his propositions on legitimacy. Once the gay marriages have been traditionalized, they will become legitimate and this will create a place, for the people that have suffered too long in straight relationships, despite being innately gay.
Works Cited
Badgett, M V. L. When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage. New York: New York University Press, 2009. Print.
Sullivan, Andrews. Here Comes the Groom, New York times, 2014. Print
