I went back and forth several times today in my mind about whether I was going to post anything regarding the current Supreme Court case which is looking at the question of whether DOMA should be overturned and is Gay Marriage somehow a constitutional right.
At first I was inclined to do what I usually do whenever one of these social issues arises in a wave on social media - keep my head down and avoid saying anything. And then I found myself asking "Why do I do that?"
And the answer is simple and a bit scary at the same time. Because it seems that whenever myself, or someone I know, posts anything that can be seen as conservative, deeply faith based or anti-liberal we get persecuted. And not just with a comment here or there that says "I do not agree with you" but with messages and replies that seem to say that not only is my opinion/belief/stand ignorant, uninformed, hate based, biased, un-American and/or wrong but that somehow it means that I hate group X, Y or Z.
These seem to me to be the same people however who get bent out of shape if I voice my own, at times strongly held, belief that another person's more liberal view may be seen as intolerant, bigoted, anti-Christian or morally wrong in my eyes. As though most social media sites are here to only promote one side of the discussion.
So to finally be true to my own self here are a sampling of things I believe:
1. I don't like that the rainbow, which I see as a symbol of God's Covenant between himself and his people to never again destroy the world with a flood is now seen by most people as only as the flag of the gay and lesbian community.
2. I do not hate anyone simply because they are gay. However that does not mean that I believe that church sanctioned gay marriage is a good idea, nor a biblical one. There is a reason God created male and female - each is needed to produce a child. Even a lesbian couple knows that without sperm there will be NO baby.
3. I am uncomfortable with calling it "marriage" at all. And I have heard the arguments about how it is not "fair" or it is "unequal" - but I am sorry. Whoever said that all of life has to be "fair"? If as a heterosexual couple you don't want to be married yet you still want to play house and have children - go to an attorney and get some other sort of legal documentation that will allow you to have shared custody of a child, or part of the house you bought together.
4. Regardless of who you are I really am not interested in seeing you try and ram your tongue down your partner's throat in public. Groping your date/fiance/boyfriend/partner's genitals in public is also not a sign of how evolved or "cool" you are - but how immature. You are having sex - we get it - congratulations .... now get a room. And it doesn't matter to me whether you are a complete stranger or a so-called celebrity. It is tacky and in bad taste.
5. I am annoyed at those who try to change the liturgy of the church into gender neutral language because they don't like saying "He", or it is too patriarchal or it somehow demeans women. I am sorry that your idea of God is so petty and your ego is so fragile that the word "mankind" causes you to believe that as a woman you do not matter. Please - get therapy and leave The Lord's Prayer alone. I don't need you to help me in this area.
6. I do not like the current occupant of the Oval Office. Not even a little. I didn't vote for him, cannot wait for him to leave and take his wife with him, and I don't trust him as far as I can spit. It has nothing to do with his ethic origin - I just think he is a snake and doing little to nothing to help the average working person like myself. And I want to see term limits on Congress as well. No more planting your ass in a chair for 40 years as if it is your "right".
7. I am tired of hearing that I am not a "real" parent to my exchange students simply because I did not push them out of my body or suffer through potty training.
8. I get annoyed by the double standard at many work places when it comes to single versus married and childless versus parental employees. You are married with a sick kid? Fine, work from home or leave early. No one says a thing. Single and need to take your dog to the vet? The world, or at least the office, is going to come to an end if you leave for a longer lunch break.
9. I hate that selection of judges to the Supreme Court seems to have come down to only one criteria: their position on Roe v. Wade. Really? All other Constitutional and societal issues have been made perfect so we only need to concentrate on this one case? And for the record - I cannot find one prior State statute that did not allow for a medically necessary abortion or one where the pregnancy was a result of incest or rape. And frankly the number of women who seem to use this option as a form of birth control makes me sick.
At that point I believe there should be the option to tie her tubes then find one of the many so called men out there who think it proves something that they can make a sperm donation without actually sticking around to be a father and force him to get a vasectomy.
10. And finally, at least for this rant, whatever happened to shame? Or personal responsibility? Or social embarrassment? Remember when people did not do certain things because their was pressure from society to behave in a civilized, or at least more polite, way? If you had five children by five different men there were social consequences and most people would not think your choices were to envied. It never used to be "cool" to walk around showing the world your underwear. Using the "F" word in every sentence meant you were an idiot and not someone to be emulated.
My great-grandmother did not arrive in this country with the expectation that everyone around her would of course print any official form she needed in her language - she had to learn English. The hard way - there was not any sort of service around to teach her in 1909. She and my great-grandfather would have to work for what they wanted: A house for their family, an education for their children, money to feed all those mouths and clothe everyone. They did not just sit down with their hand out and say "Hey, I came here and adjusting is too hard so please Federal Government, you must take care of me so I can sit on my ass and collect money from those other dumb schmucks who are working to support me". And before you think I am stereotyping - I see it every day. In the public housing project across the street from my home. Residents who have lived there the last 11 years that I have lived in my home and yet they still cannot speak more than two words of English.
So there it is. For those who already knew me I am sure not much of this was news. For those who thought they knew me - perhaps you did not know as much as you thought.
I do try very hard to not push my own beliefs and opinions down the throats of others. And I am sure that at least three people that I can think of off the top of my head will "un-friend" me on Facebook after reading this.
Oh well. I don't see that being friends means we need to see eye to eye on everything. We can agree to disagree. However if you have the right to Free Speech and to advocate for your causes ... then why don't I?
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