Every now and then The Record publishes an item which provokes a cry of outrage from the other side. We have always endeavored to be scrupulously honest in what we report, and up till now, there has been no need to respond.

Last week The Record published an item which was misinterpreted by many in the homosexual activist community. The item  deplored the decline of Portland as a great city, as evidenced by the spreading plague of graffiti, the tolerance of the homosexual subculture, and a crime rate  which is now higher than the overall crime rate of New York City.

Homosexual rights activists responded by saying that the item claimed same sex marriage causes urban decay. This is false.  The item pointed out a truth which is far more damaging to the homosexual rights movement, which is this: same sex marriage and the homosexual rights movement go hand-in-hand with urban decay. Chaos in the moral order is reflected in the social order, hence the prevalence of crime and graffiti in Portland, and the tolerance of perversion. All are signs of moral decay.

The photo on the right shows an art exhibit on Congress Street. Trash is strewn on the floor of the exhibit hall, and graffiti is scrawled on the walls. A society which accepts garbage as art will have no problem accepting perversion as marriage.

One writer objected to the article by asking who but The Record could overlook the many fine sights in Portland and see only the ugly side of the city? The answer is that those who love Portland the most will be the most concerned with its ruin.

Those who built the city of Portland had faith in the goodness of God's creation. They also believed in the sanctity of His laws. Their art and architecture pay loving homage to growth and fruition, order and stability. As shown in the photo on the left, the ornament on the First National Bank building on Exchange Street has many delicate curves and spirals representing the growth of living things. Tourists from Boston, New York, and Chicago often pause by the building to look on in wonder, and to receive its message that life is good. In contrast, the jagged edges and random splotches of graffiti represent chaos, sterility, and decay.

The ability of the city fathers of Portland to overlook graffiti, vandalism, and crime is disturbing. More disturbing is the inability of people to see the evil of equating  perversion with marriage. Many will remain oblivious to the social decay in Portland, just as many will never be convinced that 'same sex marriage' is a pernicious absurdity. Then again, a blind man will never ask for a light. In such a desperate case, moral conviction will never come from a well-reasoned argument or insight into a political solution. The only cure will be repentance and belief in Christ.