Raphael G. Kazmann - professor emeritus, Louisiana State University; author, The American Revolution Resurgent; member, Philadelphia Society; former chairman, Society of Mining Engineers; life member, American Association of Science and American Geophysical Union.

 Introduction

We live in an age best characterized by the phrase Asecular humanism. "Although a majority of the population is religious and conservative, the dominant forces are secular humanist in philosophy. Some have called secular humanism the official religion of the twentieth century. Secular humanism permeates the educational institutions, the mainstream media, the federal government and bureaucracy, and the courts, to name just a few. The 1994 elections notwithstanding, the secular humanists have the "high ground" in public discourse and in setting the national agenda. The extent of control of public policy by secular humanists can be judged by asking the question: "Who controls the publicly funded schools?" Do parents or local taxpayers? Maybe they should, but secular humanists do. To illustrate: the Ten Commandments may not be posted in classrooms (or anywhere else on the school property) because this would violate the "constitutional principle" of the separation of church and state! Now and then local people attempt to reverse this dictum, but the attempts have failed.

An overwhelming majority of secular humanists believe that moral principles are mere religious prejudices or fantasies and are not subject to objective evaluation. This viewpoint was best expressed by professor Henry David Akin in an article entitled "The New Morals" (Harpers Magazine, Feb. 1968, p.60):...modern ethical theory has brought many "enlightened" people to a certain presumption about the nature of morality: unlike the objectively verifiable theories of science, moral judgements and principles are merely expressions and incitements of emotion...moral experience is something wholly real -- but its reality is wholly personal.

To illustrate the problems posed to the conservative community that respects traditional values in a secular humanist milieu, we have the present furor created by the homosexual community in the quest for public acceptance.

The homosexual community has presented secular arguments to the dominant secular culture. The objections of people who base their arguments on religion and long-accepted practice are almost automatically shunted aside. The current argument in Hawaii, now being pondered by that state's supreme court, is whether or not to recognize single-sex marriages. The U.S. Supreme Court's May, 1996, ruling negated Colorado's constitutional amendment that would have prohibited the classification of homosexuals as a group entitled to special protections similar to that enjoyed by African-Americans and other ethnic minorities.

So the active homosexual lobby is well on its way to achieving legal status for activities that had heretofore been considered to be illegal and harmful.

What has been lacking is a vigorous, objective exposition which analyzes secular humanist beliefs and puts the gay-rights movement in proper secular perspective. Thus, a short digression to lay the groundwork for why such an engineering analysis is needed. Only then will it be possible to present the impact of homosexuality on homosexuals themselves and on the larger society that presently is trending to legitimize this "life-style".

 

Values and Morality

Following the lead of Ayn Rand in her essay, "The Objectivist Ethics" (in a collection of essays entitled, The Virtue of Selfishness, 1964, New American Library, pp. 15-18), there is only one fundamental alternative in the universe, and it pertains to a single class of entities: living organisms. Inanimate matter exists unconditionally -- it may change in form or be transformed into energy, but it exists. Living matter, organisms of one sort or another, cannot continue to live without obtaining food, fighting the elements and predations of other organisms, and reproducing. If an organism fails at any one of these endeavors, it ceases to exist as a living organism and reverts to its chemical elements. Thus, it is the concept of "conditional existence", which is the basis of "value." Those actions that enhance life (conditional existence) are valued by the organism as "good." Any actions by the organism or any other organism that make the continuation of life difficult or terminate it sooner rather than later is "bad". There is an objective difference between good and bad. Philosophically, that which is good is defined as "moral," that which is life-threatening or life-damaging is defined as deleterious or "immoral."

Despite Professor Akin's assertions, morals are based on an objective reality: the survival of the organism. Now let's apply this to humankind. Ayn Rand contended that the "ultimate" value to an organism, including a human being, is the life of the organism -- there is no greater value. Here we have a testable proposition.

Who has not read at least one story of a cat going into a burning building to save her kittens? And who is not familiar with stories of parents risking their own lives to save their children? This reaction to danger is expected. Fire-fighters are always trying to prevent parents from risking their lives to get their children out of burning buildings in hopeless situations. In fact, any parent who does not react in this way is looked at askance by his neighbors and the community at large. The self-sacrifice of parents for children is expected behavior, and the expectations are rarely disappointed.

Even these brief examples show that Ayn Rand's ultimate value is not "ultimate," but is really penultimate. Based on repeated observations, the ultimate value for human beings has been determined. It can be best termed "biological immortality." Each person will do his best to preserve it, with no thought for his own safety, and will die willingly in pursuit of this goal.

So, pragmatically, based on observations, we must conclude that morality is objectively real. Moral actions are those that preserve our biological immortality. Immoral actions are those that threaten or destroy it. There is a seamless gradation between completely moral behavior and completely immoral behavior. Some actions are less moral than others. These are our beliefs, based upon our observations and analyses. We take no position on the question of spiritual or individual immortality -- but both types of immortality require the same physical actions, so there is no conflict.

 

Belief and Knowledge

It can be argued that beliefs do not equate with knowledge. This is, of course, true. But beliefs can be soundly based on knowledge. We can summarize the difference between belief and knowledge in that we know what happened in the past as a result of any procedure (experiment) and we believe that the procedure will result in the same result if applied in the future. For instance, you turned on the hot water faucet this morning and hot water streamed out. You believe that if you follow the same procedure, the same result will occur. But, although the odds are in favor of a repetition, a backhoe might have severed the gas line that supplies the energy source to the hot water heater since you last turned on the faucet. Or maybe the fire hydrant that is served by the same main that supplies your water is broken in an accident and your water supply is shut off. Each of these remote circumstances will invalidate your experiment. There are others, of course, equally improbable. So, although you do not know that there will be hot water tomorrow morning, you believe there will be, and you act on that assumption.

In the world of science and engineering, the most universally-held belief is that experiments are reproducible. No matter what field you are in, be it physics, genetics, road construction, astronomy, chemistry, music, biology, or any other endeavor you will find the same belief: experiments are reproducible. If you follow a procedure it should give the same result every time. This belief carries a corollary: there are certain underlying "laws" that operate independently of human desires. These govern operations throughout space and time: from the entire universe to the tiniest electron (and smaller); from the largest life form to the smallest virus. They operate on forms of human and animal organization and on each individual in the organization. We call these relationships, that are discovered (not created), "natural laws." They cannot be repealed or modified by any legislative body, and they work with complete objectivity. One scientist remarked that natural laws have no pity.

In a real sense natural laws can be considered to be constraints on human behavior. Legislation can be passed to enforce these constraints to warn the population of possible dangers: speed limits, deer crossings, poison, danger of carbon monoxide, cliffs, bridge surfaces that might freeze, etc., etc. If one ignores the warnings and is caught by an officer, a fine may be levied. But if someone goes around a curve at 80 mph when the posted limit is 35, natural law is self-enforcing and the transgressor is badly injured or dies, all without the touch of a human hand.

We can restate the belief that experiments are reproducible by saying that this is equivalent to stating the universe is orderly and there is only one order throughout. It constitutes a multi-dimensional web that includes everything, man-made or not, and constrains actions both by animate and inanimate objects.

But man is curious as to origins and the future. Most engineers and scientists believe that order cannot create itself from disorder and that the marvelous order that we are beginning to understand in small part, was created by some entity, i.e., that a Creator exists. A small minority thinks that order created itself out of chaos, but that the universe is orderly and that there is only one orderliness to it. You may recognize the belief of the majority, that there is only one God, as the statement found in the First Commandment. A small minority doubts the existence of a Creator which, they think, negates the other nine commandments. For how can a non-existent Creator "command" anything?

A good case can be made that the last nine of the Ten Commandments are actually succinct statements of natural laws that apply to individuals and society and were discovered by some very talented people in the distant past -- these discoveries are awe-inspiring. An engineer would have difficulty in finding any doctrinaire religious significance in at least three commandments: do not steal, do not lie, and do not murder. Every human organization, however, has rules against these practices. Without these rules the organization collapses from internal strife in a very short time. Moreover, there are many injunctions in the Bible (injunctions that did not make the top ten) that are perfectly valid and applicable although we do not always know their significance. Our predecessors were more in touch with the universe and the Creator than we are now. Want another example? May I submit: "Don't sodomize"?

 

Homosexual Practices and Natural Law

We have developed a quick and effective method for evaluating human customs and practices: what is their effect on human longevity? For example, smoking tobacco is frowned upon because a four-pack-a-day smoker loses about four years from his life expectancy as compared to non-smokers. This has been sufficient incentive for nationwide campaigns against smoking, against the advertising of tobacco products, and for the keeping of tobacco out of the hands of minors. The same general approach is taken toward alcoholism, the use of alcohol before operating a motor vehicle, and the use of drugs. In each instance the procedure condemned is considered both risky and life-shortening, and the weight of public opinion is brought to bear against it. Up until a few years ago, there was very little known about the life expectancy of homosexuals. It was taken for granted that it was the same as that of straight people of similar age and sex. Government agencies do not obtain the vital statistics of homosexual men and women and make no effort to find out what they are. This would be a waste of public money in view of the widely-held belief that these people are the same as anyone else, albeit with peculiar uses for their genital organs.

 All of this changed in April, 1993, when Dr. Paul Cameron (Family Research Institute, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-2640) presented a paper to a meeting in Washington of the Eastern Psychological Association, entitled, "The Homosexual Lifespan."

Dr. Cameron was investigating a question of interest: do "married" homosexuals live longer than single ones? It is well known that while the present life expectancy of a 21 year old male who gets married is age 75; a man who never marries can expect to live to age 58. Similarly, a married female can expect to reach age 80, while an unmarried female can expect to reach 67 years. Marriage has a positive (good) effect on longevity. Does something similar hold true for homosexual men and women?

It occurred to Dr. Cameron that the obituary columns of periodic publications might yield a statistical basis for such an analysis. To test this hypothesis, he compiled the obituaries from 46 consecutive days of the Washington Post and 23 days of the Oregonian and found that 73 percent of the men and 80 percent of the women lived to age 65. Comparable census figures were 73 and 85 percent. He then started to collect newspapers and periodicals published by and for the homosexual community. It took three years to accumulate enough information to reach some conclusions. His organization has continued to collect information and analyze it since 1993, but no significant modifications to his published conclusions have been necessary. His paper is based on 6,383 death notices from sixteen journals over the preceding eight years. He obtained basic information on the age at time of death, occupation, whether or not there was a live-in companion, and cause of death. He found that the presence or absence of partners made no significant difference to the life expectancy.

About 15 percent of the obituaries were of people who did not die of AIDS. The life expectancy of such homosexual men was age 42 and nine percent lived to be 65. This compares with 75 percent of "straight", married males who reach age 65. The lesbian life expectancy was age 46 and 24 percent reached the age of 65 compared with 85 percent of married women. Subtract three years of longevity for AIDS sufferers. The male and female life expectancy of AIDS sufferers is 39 and 43 years, respectively. Of homosexual males with AIDS only one percent reached age 65, as compared to 73 percent of married males. Nine percent of AIDS-stricken lesbians reached age 65 as compared to 85 percent of married females.

Homosexual practices have serious side-effects other than an increase in illnesses and early death for the practitioners. First, most homosexuals contract the HIV virus. As early as July of 1987, Navy Surgeon General J.A. Zimble recommended reassigning flight-crew personnel who tested positive for HIV, because of HIV's apparent deleterious effect on the nervous system. We find interesting evidence in other statistics: death by motor vehicle accident is 18 times as likely for homosexual men as for white males; the death rate of homosexual men in other accidents is 10 times higher than it is for white males. The heart failure rate indicates both stress and the toll of disease on the cardiovascular systems of homosexual: the death rate was 22 times that of white males in the 25-54 age range. The suicide rates, homicide rates and rates of death from other causes were similarly elevated compared to statistics from any comparable group of the general public.

The likely explanation for many of these observations lies in the continual attacks on the immune system that is generated by homosexual practices. In addition, the person's physical system is grossly overstressed. These effects are intensified by use of drugs to increase the duration of erections and the stimulus produced by these efforts. The cumulative effects are an underlying, constant fatigue which results in poor judgment and loss of self-control. This is the condition that homosexuals of either sex find themselves in most of the time. Hence the high accident rate and high death rate.

Homosexual males and lesbians are seriously sick people, who are also fantastically accident-prone. They are sick with a vast variety of diseases most of which are transmissible. Some of these diseases are transmissible by air, many of which are resistant to the antibiotics currently in use. The hospitalization of a homosexual with drug-resistant tuberculosis is a crisis for the hospital administration and a life-threatening incident to those unfortunate enough to be in the hospital at that time. Air-conditioning systems readily distribute air-borne bacteria and put the entire body of patients and other personnel at risk.

Members of the armed forces who have to live and work in close contact with homosexuals are exposed to any and all of the diseases that they carry. In addition, in our submarines where bunks are always in use and the vessel is submerged for days at a time, the chances of transmitting a disease like pneumonia or tuberculosis from the homosexual crew member to the rest of the crew increase dramatically. The entire crew is needlessly at risk.

It is not just a matter of a man being able to do his job -- it is a matter of letting Typhoid Mary work in the kitchen, even if her performance is satisfactory. The banishing of homosexuals from the armed services does not bear on their civil rights -- the Constitution is not a suicide pact. Men do not volunteer for the armed services so that they may be subject to serious diseases because the services are not allowed to find and discharge disease-carriers.

By the secular definition of morality, outlined previously, homosexual practices, because they greatly reduce the life spans of the practitioners, are immoral. These practices produce deleterious effects not only upon the practitioners, but upon the general public and, in particular, the armed services.

Finally, there is the matter of recruitment for the homosexual community. Since there is no credible evidence that homosexuality is genetic, and homosexuals are known to have been married previously, and some have abandoned the practice to get married to a member of the other sex, we can conclude that it is a learned behavior. It is analogous to chronic alcoholism. Moreover, because of the high death rate, the homosexual community encourages its membership to continually recruit, "hit" on young people, even children. Not only do they get satisfaction for the immediate actions, but they start the victim on homosexual practices to replenish their community that is constantly being depleted by early deaths. Dr. Paul Cameron (The Gay Nineties, 1993, the Adroit Press) discusses these and other issues objectively and at great length.

 

Summary

This essay has demonstrated that morality is objectively real and it is based on the ultimate value of humankind: biological immortality. This is in stark contradiction to the belief of the secular humanists that morality is arbitrary and is effectively an illusion.

The use of vital statistics to evaluate morality or lack thereof was presented as one approach to the problem. This approach was applied to the vital statistics of the homosexual community using a technique developed by Dr. Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute located in Colorado Springs.

We assume that the Constitution is not a suicide pact, so every reasonable effort should be made to reduce the incidence of homosexual practices in the United States. To the best of our knowledge, these practices reduce the adult life expectancy of a homosexual man by 33 years. Female homosexuals suffer a reduced life expectancy of about 34 years. AIDS reduces the life-expectancy of practicing homosexuals by an additional three years. Cameron recounts in unemotional language summaries of lives cut short by homosexual "life-styles."

If American citizens object to tobacco, where the decrease in life expectancy is a maximum of four years, how can they assent to "sexual" practices (and the legal protection of practitioners) that decrease adult life expectancies by a horrendous 34 years? And if second hand tobacco smoke is deemed unhealthful, how do we look upon people who carry diseases such as drug-resistant tuberculosis or pneumonia? Not to mention the vast variety of sexually transmitted diseases.

People have an innate right to protect themselves from diseases and possible disease carriers. Rooming house operators should not have to rent to known or suspected disease carriers and transmitters. If they know they are, they should be able to avoid or evict them. The other renters should not be unknowingly subjected to this risk. Similar principles apply to other activities, and laws against sodomy should be enforced, if only for reasons of preserving the public's health and protecting the younger generation.

The May 1996 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, with which we started this essay, makes it possible for a municipality to grant preferred status to homosexuals. Forbidding discrimination against homosexuals is manifestly against public policy and is unquestionably, from an objective viewpoint, immoral. The legalization of single-sex marriages can be placed in the same category and should be avoided. The efforts of the homosexual community to depict their membership as being arbitrarily discriminated against should be rejected. They should be discriminated against because of the reasons that have been presented here.

This essay is dedicated to the memory of my close friends and fraternity brothers, Marine Captain Frank Mandell and Marine Corporal Henry Hample who died in combat on Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, respectively.

c. 1996 Dr. Raphael G. Kazmann

 

Additional Reading

Cameron, Paul E. 1993; Gay Nineties, Adroit Press, Franklin, TN.

Grant, George and Mark A. Horne, 1993; Legislating Immorality, Moody Press, Chicago, Il. and Legacy Communications, Franklin, TN.

Kazmann, Raphael G., 1992; "The Ten Commandments, an Engineering Evaluation," Foundation for Economic Education, Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533.

Kazmann, Raphael G., 1994; "The Short-lifers," Conservative Review, v.5, n.4, May-June.