Oh holy crap, how I am annoyed by both political parties.
On
the one hand, conservatives are for the rights of the unborn, which is
good. On the other, they are against gay marriage, which is bad.
Liberals are against the rights of the unborn, which is bad, but for
the rights of gays (maybe), which is good. What’s a conscientious
person to do?
How come these incongruent beliefs naturally
group like Cheerios in a bowl of milk? Is there some natural
attraction, some political Vanderwaals force or something? How come
there’s nobody out there that’s pro-animal rights, anti-death penalty,
anti-euthanasia, pro-life, pro-gay marriage, and pro-equal rights. Or
just to be internally consistent, pro-euthanasia, pro-death penalty,
pro-abortion, anti-animal rights, anti-gay marriage, and a member of
the KKK. I’m a big believer in internal consistency. How come both
wings of our political system are so off balance? I’m a tree hugger
personally, but I’m also a baby hugger, a lover of dogs and animals,
appreciative of the meat that I eat, anti-death penalty, and see that
those among us that are most disabled, weak, or oppressed are those
that deserve the full measure of our protection.
What is
going on in this country, where what the majority decides, or the
whimsy of popular opinion, can trump the constitution that guarantees
equal rights to all. In California, Gov. Schwarzenegger advocates for
the rights of the voters who voted to uphold that marriage is between a
man and a woman. What?! Their rights? How in the hell do their rights
have anything to do with the liberty of Americans to marry whom they
choose? How can anyone rationalize a certain right applying to one
group of Americans but not another? Pick a right, any right, I dare
you. I dare you find something that is not strictly biological or
geographical (like men can’t bear children or you can’t swim in the
ocean because you live in North Dakota) where you are not allowed some
right by law afforded to some other Americans.
We might say
to gays, “If you want to get married, no one is stopping you.” And as
an aside, with a snicker, “Just let them marry someone of the opposite
sex. Men marry women. Women marry men. Simple.” You have all the rights
I have, as long as you agree with me.
And in an earlier time
we remember all too well, “Well, since you were born a little black
boy, you can’t go to school with little white Johnny.”
“Why?”
“‘Cause that’s jus’ the way it is, boy. It’s God’s law.”
We
as a nation grew up and it became apparent to us that such attitudes
were wrong-headed. We had blinders and hadn’t seen the truth. We see it
now though. Whew! Glad we’ve realized it. Weren’t we fools back then?
So ignorant, so bigoted. Gosh, we’re so superior now. We get it!
Do
you actually have a GOOD reason for not wanting to let gays marry? Come
on, I’m open-minded. I’d like to hear this Truth that gay marriage will
lead to the death of society and the institution of marriage. I’ll
listen, and I’m open to any explanation on how gay marriage will affect
you in your marriage, or your kids marriage, or your grandkids, or or
or. My only caveat is that you can’t use the Bible as proof. The Bible
will only work if its laws are binding in U.S court, and the last time
I checked the U.S. was not a theocracy, and not everyone was a
Christian.
Mayor Daly of Chicago, put it like this, “Don’t
kid yourselves, divorce has done more harm to marriage than anything
else.” I’d agree with that and tack on, TV, popular culture,
consumerism, false expectations, and co-habitation as the true dry rot
of the institution of marriage. What is that bible quote about noting
the splinter in the eye of another but failing to see the log in your
own.
So what can gay marriage do for marriage? I see these
long lines of people in San Francisco, standing in the rain, the cold,
looking to bind their lives to one another and witness before the
state, profess their devotion, and go one better than just shacking up.
They are taking a leap of faith, making a commitment in love. I don’t
see them as subverting marriage. I don’t see them making a political
statement, trying to tear down OUR beloved institution of marriage,
like some ancient barbarians at the city wall just waiting to loot and
sack. No, watching all the couples in San Francisco getting married
does not turn my stomach. It fills me with great hope. Here are people,
who through all the shit that we little monkeys throw at them, given
the opportunity, their first step is toward devotion and commitment to
each other. They are taking a leap. What could be more noble than that?
I’d say we have much to learn from their example.
Rant mode on… or ala Johnny Storm, “Flame on!”
Well,
while we’re contradicting ourselves, let’s talk about animal rights
groups. “Trees have rights. Dogs cannot be owned (only cared for) etc.
in California” While at the same time saying that human beings in fetal
form have NO rights and are useless, disregarding the fact that as soon
as they pass the arbitrary barrier of the birth canal, wham, magically
they have lots of cool rights, unless of course they end up being gay.
Damn, sucks to be you. Glad I’m not an abortion or worse… gay. Tsk
tsk, equal rights don’t apply to you.
All the contradictions only
serve to confirm one fact: Humans will do what they want to do in any
given circumstance because we believe we have the right to do what we
want, that MY rights trump all of your rights, when I deem it so.
- When we needed land, we decided that the native inhabitants were only savages and killed them, moved them.
- When
we needed manual labor for agricultural work, we went and got slaves
because we had conveniently deemed them non-human, and then later we
compromised and said they were 3/5th of a human. Hey, give us a little
credit, huh? Such nobility.
- When we (humanity) decided that our woes were Jew-induced, we decided they were not human and killed them.
- When we decided we were offended by those different than ourselves, we decided to call them immoral and abominations.
- When we decided that a human life was causing us inconvenience, we decided it was tissue.
- When we needed votes, we appealed to the basest instincts, the lowest prejudices, the most primitive emotions.
This,
my friends, is why religion and government should never ever mix. This
is what we get, governments that persecute and oppress those that are
deemed outside of the moral fabric of some arbitrary belief system
based on an ancient book. Jesus didn’t say ala Dr. Phil, “Buy my book.”
He said listen to my message. And his message takes the form of two
rules:
- Love each other.
- see rule 1.
Ah,
but the list of contradictions goes on and on. Instead of elevating our
lives, our aspirations, we debase them, pawning our tiny little hearts
for a bit of instant gratification at someone else’s expense.
Don’t
kid yourselves. Both we and our parties are big bags of contradictory
hot air. It’s time for us to stand up for what’s right, human dignity.
What a lovely morning I had walking with Jaimito. He’s such a