Hello North carolina!
Today, I want you to look in the mirror and ask yourself a series of simple questions.
- What qualifies me to make decisions about someone else’s civil liberties?
- Who am I to dictate who another individual may or may not marry?
- What gives me the right to make such a monumental decision about people I dont know, and one with implications I may never fully understand?
If you have answers to these questions, I would be happy to entertain them. But heres the thing:
We talk about oppressive governments around the world, we invade countries and lie about it, we make and enforce decisions about the affairs of other nations, all the while telling ourselves we have the moral high ground. That we are helping them. That we are making a positive difference in their lives. But the reality is you are no better North Carolina.
Forget human rights violations in Zimbabwe, North Korea and parts of Iraq. These violations are alive and well in America’s Bible Belt, with an oppressive 30+ states currently maintaining that the LGBT community has no place in American Christian Society.
But there are three things about NC that bug me:
- People voting on people.
- “Marriage is sacred”…my ass.
- Christians are hypocrites.
1. people voting on people:
It never ceases to amaze me that even a developed 1st world country like America would still allow citizens to vote on the rights of other citizens. These aren’t children on a playground deciding who should be captain that day or who doesn’t get to play.
These are real life men and women with goals, and dreams and ambitions. They have families, and friends and jobs, and aspirations. These are people who are simply saying that they want to spend the rest of their life with someone and be afforded the same rights and privileges that come with that.
What it really is, is politicians finding a way out of being ‘the bad guy’. Navigating politics is difficult enough without throwing in the prospect of having to weigh in on such a hot topic. If they are anti gay marriage, they lose the gay vote and all who support them. If they are pro gay marriage they lose the bible vote. So like the cowards they are, they make you choose and then get to sleep better knowing that ‘America has spoken’.
2. “Marriage is sacred”
- Britney spears married in Vegas and was backtracking within 55hours.
- Kim Kardashian - enough said.
- Larry King, Liza, Liz, Joan Collins etc
- Stodden - You can marry a child but not someone of the same gender?
- Drive through wedding chapels
There is nothing sacred about marriage any more. No matter where you do it, or who you do it with, all that essentially matters is the love. And if gay people wish to stand in front of their loved ones and promise to spend the rest of their lives chained to the same person, they are more than welcome to do so. They have just as much right to be miserable forever too, just like every other married couple.
This is even more important when you consider that we aren’t talking about a wedding here. We arent talking about china patterns and pretty bridesmaids or themed after parties.
We are talking about what happens to a gay man when his partner of 26years dies.
We are talking about a lesbian couple trying to adopt/gain full custody of a child.
How would you feel if after decades with a partner, something happens and now you have to worry about who gets the house, or the life insurance? who decides what happens to the other persons belongings etc and you know the answers to these questions but the law doesn’t acknowledge you?
I dont know about you, but that would make me feel like im less than nothing. Like I wasnt even a person. And that’s what North Carolina have said, loud and clear.
3. Christians are hypocrites
Once again the lines are blurred between church and state in America, and once again the church has won. This was the same church that played a role in interracial marriages not being allowed in NC until 1967.
According to the Christians, they vote against Gay Marriage because the Bible defines it as being a union between a man and woman. Thing is, we dont live in a theocracy. The constitution is the governing legal document of the United States - Not the bible.
The real issue at play here is that homosexuality freaks some people out. Others would go as far as to call it disgusting. And the bible just turned out to be this magic little book where anything can be interpreted to justify or reinforce a belief if you read it right.
If this wasnt the case, why aren’t the bible bashers walking around addressing the issue of sex outside marriage? or tackling drugs? or praying for teen mothers or fighting the good fight against adulterers? Afterall, its their very same bible that reads :
Exodus 20:14 ”You shall not commit adultery.”
and my own personal favorite:
Deuteronomy 22:22 ”If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die”
Where was all that good Christian Moxy when we should have been putting Tiger Woods, Ryan Giggs, Clinton and your very own Ted Haggard to death?
We ignore the no drinking, no sex before marriage, no cheating, no killing stuff, but go straight for the jugular when it comes to homosexuality. But this is not a buffet. If we use the bible to justify this injustice, then we should apply it to everything. Lets make it universal so we do get to stone the likes of Wayne Rooney and Kobe when they cheat.
The bottom line is this:
The bible isnt to be taken literally in it’s historial context - otherwise we could also find versus that support slavery and god knows what else. We need to take the principles and the idea’s the bible gives us about marriage and apply them to the world we live in today. The true point of marriage goes beyond procreation.
I dont even live my life by the rules I wrote this morning. Why on earth would I then live it according to a 1000+ year old doctrine?
Come on North Carolina. Its 2012….
