Disappointment

This is about gay marriage. Some of you may be offended. Feel free to stop reading if you wish.

I'm pretty f'ing upset that the state of Maine recently voted on whether or not to include gay and lesbian couples equal rights under the institution of marriage. It's absolutely ludicrous to me that we, as a society, think it's okay to vote on this sort of thing. Like it's ours to permit or deny in the first place.

While others will say that this vote was a perfect example of democracy in action, I will argue that the result of this vote highlights one of the key problems with the democratic system. We feel justified in denying the basic rights of marriage to gay and lesbian couples simply because a very, very slim majority of the people said so. And we ignore the fact that 48% of the people who voted in this election voted to expand the definition of marriage to include both heterosexual and homosexual couples. But that's how democracy works, doesn't it? And it's the best system we have, so what else are we going to do? "Why don't you move to a communist country if you don't like it. People fought and died for your right to vote."

Give me a break. People fought and died for our freedoms as a whole, not just right to vote. Our veterans fought and died for the right of our people to have the freedom to simply be who and what they are. The freedom to not only say what we feel like saying, or to own a shit-ton of handguns, but also for our rights to love and marry the people who make us feel most like ourselves. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Personal fulfillment. The feeling of being complete with ourselves and with another, regardless of what that person has between their legs.

Marriage is "defined" as one man and one woman, huh? That's what you're going to go with? And you're comfortable denying basic human rights to what essentially amounts to roughly 40 million Americans because of that sort of semantic debate?

As much as I pray and try to search for understanding and clarity on this issue, I've never heard God telling me that I should get caught up in the semantics of anything when the question of Love is on the line.

I hear a lot of Christians saying that "those people" can have their civil unions, but that we shouldn't dare try to call what they have "marriage." That we should give them their rights, but still make sure that everyone knows that what they have is different than what we have. That we should continue to push gay and lesbian people away from our society and keep them separate.

Stop focusing on yourselves and trying to make yourselves feel better about the fact that you're actively creating a second class within our society. Stop focusing on what's going into which hole (or not, for that matter) when two people lay down together at night. Stop arguing over a word. Stop thinking that you have any right to involve yourself legislatively in marriage (whether gay or straight) at all.

I hope that Norah looks back at this time period twenty five years from now with anger and disgust at the ignorance we're displaying. I hope she falls in love with whoever she wants and is able to commit herself to that person in every way that I've been able to commit myself to Sarah. I hope that she's allowed to have the type of freedom which we say we value for all people.

These lyrics have never been more salient to me than they are right now:


Shai Hulud - "Beyond Man"

Human is a degrading word.
As human, I renounce myself.
I yield to no man.
There will be no peace...
Not on Earth,
Not amongst men.
Indulge. Be content. Soften yourselves.
I look beyond weakness and fashion.
Confide not in flesh.
If I can't change the world,
I'll disregard it and look beyond.
Pray to calm my heart.
Pray for the fools.
I will be at peace.
I am not a man.
And your actions will speak alone.


Ugh. F all this.


MMK