Take that, you fiend!

[thewayne]

Looking at a link from an LJ post, came across the following exchange. This went down at a Maryland hearing regarding a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage:

"At the end of his testimony, one of Maryland's most insane ultra-far-rightwingers, republican Senator Nancy Jacobs, stood up and shouted: "Mr. Raskin, my Bible says marriage is only between a man and a woman. What do you have to say about that?"

To which Mr. Raskin replied: "Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.""

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gene-stone/a-rare-moment-of-sense_b_17347.html


and another quote in the replies to this post:

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
-- Stephen Roberts

Comments

[deborak]

From what I can determine, this Gene Stone guy rescripted that dialogue to suit his audience at that there blog. Check out the difference in the words/topic/tone of the Jacobs quote as reported at the Baltimore Sun.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

The quotes are definitely similar. But he may not be mis-quoting, without seeing a transcript of the hearing, he could be quoting another statement from Jacobs and just losing a little context.

[cardigirl.livejournal.com]

Many quotes are "rescripted" when they are either clearer or address a need. ("Money is the root of all evil" is a good example -- not an accurate quote, but over the centuries is has been deemed more useful to everyday folks than the actual one.)

Accurate or not, this is exactly on point, which is why it bears repetition.

[deborak]

I don't have a problem with the sentiment. I'm concerned that the blogger seems to be putting his own words in someone else's mouth. His citation:

Senator Nancy Jacobs, stood up and shouted: "Mr. Raskin, my Bible says marriage is only between a man and a woman. What do you have to say about that?"

Does not match well with what the newspaper reported. ??? But hell, I wasn't there. I just noticed a discrepancy. Not my state anyway.

[cteare.livejournal.com]

Not my state either, but it's unnerving when people are misquoted for dramatic license. It may make more drama, but it also taints the reader's perception of the individual.

Some people are frightening

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

I was showing this post to a co-worker who has a BA in philosophy IIRC. He immediately quoted the Latin for "The love of money is the root of all evil", though the original has to deal with avarice, which is close enough to the love of money in my book.

Re: Some people are frightening

[cardigirl.livejournal.com]

That's exactly the point: the original quote *is* about the love of [money] instead of simply money being the root of evil. I think the quote shifted because money, like power, creates its own gravity well pulling one out of a balanced orbit.... either because there's not *enough* money (the usual situation, and whether the lack is $1 or $1B) or so much that reckless irresponsibleness ensues.

I think this quote is in the current zeitgeist because, after decades of being wrongly quoted, people have become aware of the correct quote.