"SoCal is where my mind states, but it's not my state of mind" Inside Out - Eve 6
"Oh my God, can you believe that?!" He was pointing at a portrait on our family board at work of a female coworker with her arms around her female partner. They were smiling some of the biggest smiles I had ever seen. "What do you mean?" was my only reply. I must have said it in that way that he knew not to go any further "I dunno." Probably could tell that I was proud it was hanging their sharing their smiles with our work force.
In this previous election, California had a proposition on the ballot to end a temporary ordinance (or something like that) allowing same sex marriages. The proposition passed and they are no longer legal in California, what seemed to be the most liberal state in our union. Mike Huckabee and John Stewart also had a mini debate on the topic on The Daily Show a couple weeks ago. Same sex marriage and gay rights are the hot topic of the times. I wouldn't say it is like the civil rights movement of the 60's but it is probably the closest our generation will get to such a
thing.
I am a Protestant Christian raised going to church every Sunday although since I graduated high school I hardly make it to church. I still like to think I hold a good knowledge of the teachings of the Bible. But I will say I have learned to distinguish between what people tell me it says and what I get out of it. Through school and everywhere else we are always told about the separation of church and state. After all the churches can't afford to pay taxes and really it is a better way for government to stay neutral. Yet we as a country always seem to put religious state of mind onto our representatives and it is always a hot issue at election time. So where is the separation? The biggest arguments against same sex marriage has been religion based on enough Bible quotes to make a catechism student cry. But isn't the Bible all interpretation? I mean if a Catholic and a Lutheran can find different meaning in the same text then who is to say what is right.
Same sex marriage is a civil rights issue and we as a country need to do the civil thing. I believe the overall message throughout the Bible is that God wants us to be happy, that we need to love him, and that we need to be good to each other. The Bible condoned slavery and yet we overcame that. At one point marriage in the Bible was portrayed as polygamy but we overcame that. The main text for marriage is that two people become one through a spirtual bond of love. I believe there is no way to consciously choose who you love, you just do.
There are all sorts of arguments that I don't have the time or the research to get into now anyway. But when I saw that picture, I saw two very happy people with enough pride to not be ashamed to put it up there for everyone to see. We cannot be a society of shame & fear but instead of tolerance & understanding. It shouldn't matter your state of mind, color of skin, religious beliefs or political stances. Agreeing to disagree is one thing but that doesn't mean we shouldn't deny people the same rights because they don't agree.
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2 comments:
No one ever said that free writing couldn't turn into just writing. It's meant to spawn ideas and topics. This is an ambitious attempt at some serious writing on a hot button topic (although a topic I've always believed the Republicans have used to deflect attention from the war). It has even inspired me to work on something I've had my mind of for a little while.
Here's my thoughts. Dropping the religious beliefs from the governmental decision-making process – allowing gay marriage would open up a few new avenues in the economy in terms of people pay a lot of money for weddings, it would indicate a more firm family value-system in a lifestyle usually stigmatized with having none, and it would lessen the spread of disease which at times has been an epidemic among the gay community.
Finally, if possible, I've always thought that politicians should be automatically disqualified. I think the name-dropping of God to win votes is a huge sin, and wrong in the eyes of God also. Maybe the politician believes what he or she is saying, and maybe not. But those speeches are carefully written for them, and the use of God is planted in their for no other reason than to win votes. Don't be fooled, and Christians should cringe at it.
I don't think I am block headed on this debate either. I would just like to hear one logical reason why we shouldn't allow gay marriage. "Because that is the way it has always been" is a caveman mentality and intrepreting the Bible to your own will are not valid debate points. Good luck with your post. I wanted to keep mine short in keeping with the free writing so I glanced over so larger issues. Such as the divorce rate and how it would seem same sex couples would improve that number and often times would make a better family for children. That isn't to say it wouldnt eventually fall into the same traps as hetro marriage.
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