Languages

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding…and Gay Marriage?

So I was watching the election results on November 4th, and for those of you who know me you know that I was just a little excited about the end results…but that’s not what this is about because I’m still too exhausted to get back into THAT arena again. No matter who you rooted for, I think we all can agree that this election cycle was an incredibly historic one especially for women and African-Americans. We’ve come a long way as a nation…

But…

I couldn’t help but notice that there were a couple of states that voted to amend their laws to legally ban gay marriages in their state, with California’s “Proposition 8” being the real lightning rod for media attention. Yes, that’s right…with about 48 of our 50 states in deep economic crisis’s…with unemployment rates shooting through the roof… with foreclosures spreading like a virus…with jobs being this country’s main export…the people stood united against the vile, cancerous cause for all of this hardship: THAT SAME-SEX COUPLES ARE TRYING TO DESTROY THE VERY FABRIC OF REALITY BY GETTING MARRIED!!

Ummmm…huh?

So I started thinking about the issue more and more, and I realized that it ties in directly to how we, as a society, view homosexuality. Now I know you’re probably reading this and saying, “Wow! Now I know what’s going to be on the cover of ‘DUH!’ Magazine this month!” I never said it was some grand epiphany, but it DOES allow me to segue into THIS…

QUESTIONS…LOTS AND LOTS OF QUESTIONS!

Why are the words "fag," "faggot," and "gay" still considered "okay" to use as negatives in everyday life when "nigger," "spic," "slant," "cracker," "cunt," etc., clearly aren't?

Does anyone realize that we “green light/red light” homosexuality on a regular basis? You know what I’m talking about…the same guy who spits out, “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and STEVE,” is the same guy who’ll stay up until 4am watching “Skin-a-max” with his pants down around his ankles while two young ladies explore each other in ways only their gynecologist would appreciate.

Why is the Bible considered a “legitimate source” in the argument against same-sex marriage? Isn’t this the same Bible that’s been used over the years to justify banning inter-racial dating, equal rights for women, etc.?

When you can go to Nevada and get married AND divorced within 24 hours, shouldn’t we finally put this whole “marriage is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO sacred” thing to rest in this country?

I know that the separation between The Church and The State was put in place to protect our right to worship from the government, but who’s going to protect us from becoming the very same kind of religion-obsessed nation that we claim we’re fighting around the world? Are we moving toward a playground fight over whose god’s better?

So here’s how I see it: I don’t believe homosexual couples should get married. I don’t believe heterosexual couples should get married. I DON’T THINK ANYONE SHOULD GET MARRIED!!

Let me explain…

If “marriage” is a concept with religious roots, then I say…GIVE IT BACK TO THE CHURCHES!! I have a really big problem with the idea that “marriage” is a religious concept but the government gives out “marriage licenses.” From this point forward, the government should be giving everyone who applies and understands all of the statutes a “civil union license.” You want a marriage certificate? Go to your church and they can give you one.

“But…but…Ray! God wouldn’t like that!”

Yeah…about that…

Which “god” would that be? God? Jesus Christ? Jehovah? Mohammad? Allah? Dr. Seuss?

I don’t mean to belittle anyone’s religion…I just think sometimes we lose sight of the difference between religion and faith. I’m an agnostic…God forbid!...so I have faith, but I just don’t think any of the organized religions have it right. If your religion is what helps you get through your day…if it gives you the strength you need to help yourself and others through life’s hardships…then all power to ‘ya.

Where I have a serious problem is when religion is used to impose morality laws for everyone, as if one group’s faith is somehow better than someone else’s! I think that if you don’t want your kids watching porno then you turn off the television or the computer…you don’t try to shut down television stations or websites. If you’re against abortion because it’s “tampering with God’s plans” then you should also be against fertilization drugs. I mean, you always hear on the news after a couple has sprouted-out SEVEN kids in one shot that it was “God’s will” (though I’m sure the doctor and all of that medical equipment had something to do with it) but just try walking out of an abortion clinic and saying that!

But I’ll save the issue of religion for another time…

At the end of the day, we’re all entitled to a little peace, love and understanding. If committing yourself to another person in the eyes of the law and God is important to you, then do it. Who are any of us to judge others in that manner? If it comes down to a choice between being afraid of pissing off some “angry-Boogeyman-who-lives-in-the-sky-and-will-condemn-me-to-eternal- damnation-if-I-don’t-follow-his/her/its-rule” and spending my life with someone who I love and loves me for who I am, then it’s really no choice at all because the “god” I believe in loves us all…wants us to be kind and decent to one another…and (to quote the great poet Bono), “The God I believe in isn’t short of cash, mister!” See, you may not like the idea of same-sex couples getting married but it’s important to remember one thing…

It’s not all about you, is it?



* Just to give you a little insight into the scary place that is my brain…I actually spent 24 HOURS debating whether or not to spell out those words until I realized that, sadly, I was making my own point by even considering not printing them all.

2 comments:

  1. As an avid fan of skin-a-max, I must voice this opinion along with the one stated, in the form of a question, "If you let the "Gay's" Marry, then what's to stop John or Jane Doe from getting married to the Golden Retriever whom they're madly in love with ?

    I thought the term CUNT was one of "those words" you used during wild sex, when your at a loss for words and don't really want to start a conversation.

    Forget equal rights for women, i much prefer the biblical interpretation that would allow us to purchase women at the market..... The good ole days.

    I don't think you would like the Grinch stealing your CHRISTMAS, so I would recommend removing any slander of the Holy and All-powerful Dr. Seuss. You should save yourself from the omen, that the 60 Scriptures foretell: it may rain Green Eggs and Ham, or you may hear a WHO.

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  2. oh NOES!!! the video is GONE!!!

    corporate fucking bastards. may their insides burn with the fire of a thousand torches, and may their toilets not flush in the aftermath...

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