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Thursday, January 24, 2008

A Repeat worth Repeating!!

In light of recent developments here in Iowa where a prejudice, narrow-minded calling themselves 'Everyday America' are trying to impeach Judge Hanson for over-turning a ruling that violated a select group of Iowans of their civil rights and liberties.
Same-sex marriage seems to linger on the minds of those who have, well, nothing better to do. From the 'protection of marriage act' to 'civil unions' this issue has just gotten beaten to death!
And it should...shouldn't it? I mean the extremely high divorce rate loudly proclaims just how important and sacred 'marriage' between a man and a woman is to everyone ..right?
And let's not forget the ground-breaking passage of 'don't ask, don't tell'. I mean, really...we DID legalize every gay person to remain SILENT did we not?
Don't ask, Don't tell = people don't like that your here, so stop telling them!
Civil Unions= you can ride the bus, but ONLY if you sit in the back
so what does 'marriage equality' mean?
hmmmm.... I suppose it would mean that 'couples' of all gender mixes would be treated ...I dunno...EQUAL!
meaning of course that they now have the right to 'equally' divorce, hey why not! it's rather popular afterall.
'equally' have health insurance provided by a spouses employer. Gee that would mean one less uninsured person in our state! IMAGINE THAT!
'equally' pay taxes. What? are you confused now? Well, married couples often fall into a higher tax bracket due to 'combined' incomes....hmmm and to think all this time those darn homosexuals were paying less taxes than you!!!
I imagine the self-centered, narrow-minded, bible-beating, control freaks heading up this campaign are no doubt connected to the very blood lines of those that initiated slavery, segregation, lynching, genocide, institutionalizing the disabled and prevented women from voting.
Just as all those things were WRONG, so is the legalization of ANY discrimination, in ANY form!
Slaves were freed
Schools were integrated
Blacks got the right to vote
People got the right to marry regardless of race
Women got the right to vote
Disabled people got a real life, real jobs and real futures
and guess what....AMERICA SURVIVED....HELL IT THRIVED!!
and while I could continue to list all the reasons Equality belongs to each of us, surely you get the idea by now.
so in conclusion I have revived a post I made previously as I feel it bares importance once again....
The Triangle or the Square
Labels, categories, slots, boxes, corners, identities, sex, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, political beliefs, blah blah blah!Our society is so hell bent on labels and categorizations that anything unable to fit perfectly in one place or the other cannot be dealt with.Some people are feminine but not female, some masculine but not male. Some have disabilities, but all have abilities. Some people believe in a god, some in many. Some stand for something, others fall for anything.For these people society can not find a place for them, a place they can neatly put them. A box they can hide them in, a corner to stuff them. Instead society takes their turn degrading them, oppressing them, raping them emotionally and mentally. They try to force them into place, like a child with a sorting toy, trying to cram the triangular piece into the square compartment. It’s similar to the square, but different.Our society has become so adamant and obsessed with sorting and segregating our society. From oranges to apples and people to genders they act as though without the power and ability to sort no one can function.Are we so ingrained with the expectations of what is thought normal that none of us can see past the package and hold what is inside? I dare dream NOT.Yet everyday reverberates with the headlines of the world. “Hate crime takes two lives”, “Boy left to die on fence post”, “Employees file sexual harassment suit”, “President seeks an amendment to ok discrimination”, “Stem cell research banned; no cures allowed”, and the list goes on. Whether it is the actual headline or a story between the lines, prejudice, racism, sexism, all of it, are alive and well here in the United States.We must take the insults, the hate, the non-understanding and reclaim it, make it our own and in doing so we remove the negativity, the hurt, the shame, the tears and the loneliness.We as a society have to stand up and reclaim ourselves, our world and our way of life. We need to resist the norm, and refuse to subscribe to the blatant separations and categorizations of our friends, lovers, neighbors, classmates, co-workers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. We need to stop the insanity of sorting human beings like they are no more than inanimate objects to be used and thrown away. We don’t need words to explain ourselves into someone else’s understanding. We need only be, be who we are, express ourselves and just be.With living comes understanding, with love and compassion comes acceptance. The dictionary cannot tell you who I am. The almighty Webster cannot even begin to recite where I have been, where I am going, and all the reasons why. Words alone cannot describe a persons self.When asked if you are heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, transsexual, trisexual, or republican, democrat, independent, white, black, Hispanic, Indian, Jewish, Christian, pagan, Muslim, or disabled, handicapped, handi-capable, able, limited, challenged, male or female how about just loudly proclaim “I am me”!I am a member of the human race. I owe no one anything. I do not have to explain myself to anyone. I am here, you are there, we both breath, we both dream, we both aspire to do and be great things. We are the same, but different. We are the triangle and the square.

5 comments:

KyDust said...

I'm religious and everything, and I still think that gays should be allowed to marry. I know a gay couple in Newell (Know where that is?) that goes to church and stuff. Being gay doesn't automatically make you an evil person. Good controversial post! Woo!

Anonymous said...

I posted this on the Price of Politics...

The idea that marriage is supposed to be only between 1 man and 1 woman is based on religious belief. The US constitution and the Bill of rights states that the the government can not make any low establishing a state religion and that all Americans have the freedom of religion. Imposing government sanctioned discrimination against any group of people based on a religious belief is unconstitutional. I praise this judge in doing his job.

Anonymous said...

A lot of this post I had a hard time reading because it just flip-flopped everywhere and I couldn't figure out what you were talking about in one paragraph or another.

Though I did have a problem with one thing said. I do not know where you stand on the gay rights issue, but saying "Same-sex marriage seems to linger on the minds of those who have, well, nothing better to do," offended me. I think about same-sex marriage because I happen to be interested in both men and women. If i want to marry a woman I should be able to.

Anyways, Just wanted to say that part offended me.

Jack said...

anonymous
thanx so much for your comment. I see how my statement could have offended you and well, that certainly was NOT my intention. The statement was to put the spotlight on the prejudice, hatred filled individuals that tend to spend more time worrying about who is sleeping with who than issues which do affect us all.
The Triangle and the Square is an essay meant to explain that while we are ALL different we are still very much the same. That all people have the right to the same rights..period.
and for my stance...I believe 100% in gay marriage. I am straight, and have NO intentions of ever marrying, but I believe we ALL should have that choice :)

Anonymous said...

I tried reading that paragraph but I kept losing my place because I do a million different things on the computer at once. Haha, thanks for clearing that up for me!