Gay Marriage

Gay marriage. What's the big deal? A couple years ago I went to a dinner party for a friend who was moving out of state. It was hosted by a couple of gay men.  Aside from the impeccably clean and well-decorated house and the heavenly food, what I really enjoyed that night was the obviously deep love they felt for each other.  I have always loved seeing people in love.

    Something was said that night that really made me think and has stuck with me.  One of the guys said he was sick of hearing about the "gay lifestyle".  What is that anyway?  To paraphrase, he said: we go to work, go to the gym, spend time with our kids, sometimes we go to the movies or have people over for dinner.  What we do in the bedroom might be different but there are hetero- couples out there who do things that are much kinkier than what the average gay couple is doing and the bottom line is who cares?

    Well, that's what I'm pissed off about.  The only people who care are people whose religious beliefs state that gay relationships are wrong. So- when are we going to be told we can no longer eat pork? It's that crazy! And what makes me even angrier is that this issue is being used to manipulate voters and detract our attention from other shady things our politicians are doing.  They know that, just like with abortion, people will get heated about this topic. We need to pay closer attention.

     Is anyone so against gay marriage that they'd rather rail on about that than stop our government from allowing GMOs in our food?  Is anyone so against gay marriage that they would place that as a priority above how we care for our environment? Sadly, that seems to be the case.

    When you think about it, the whole thing is just silly.  It was the first thing that made me question government.  What does government have to do with it? Why would we work to cause problems for people who just want to be in love?  Why would anyone try to hold others to their own beliefs?  Why do we care what others are doing?

     I would like to think we're better than this.  We need to be better than this.  We should be thinking about what we will allow our government to do, not what they should or shouldn't allow citizens to do.  We're constantly losing ground, letting our freedoms slip away.  If we don't start standing up for one another, regardless of our differing beliefs, we're going to end up where we're heading and that's not a pretty picture.

    I am concerned about gay marriage.  I have to be because I know that when you deny freedom to ANY person or group, we all have less freedom.  When you strip someone of their rights because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other inherent thing they are, we all have fewer rights.  I have to support gay marriage because I love love.  I want all the people I know to be able to express their love and live in whatever way they feel is right.

    I want Americans to wake up and realize that what you do to others, you're doing to yourself.  Stop being sheep, stop judging and being hateful.  If you are strong in your belief, the actions of others can not harm that.  We have to move beyond tolerance into acceptance, of others and of ourselves.  We have to realize that we're all we have.  We're all on this little rock together and there are things happening that threaten our survival.  Two men or two women loving one another threatens nothing. They simply add to our strength by supporting one another and being themselves.  We all need to be our own weird, different, unique selves to see the gifts we have to offer.

    Please, pay attention, stop watching Fox news, do your best to think, act, and speak from a place of love, be creative and helpful, question what you're told, question what you've been brought up to believe, be the grace that you were put here to be.  We are all responsible for what happens in our time. Can you work toward leaving behind a legacy of love?