Speaking of Politics

I really didn't have much intention to post anything super political, because I have friends and family who are on the opposite spectrum from me, and who really needs the grief? They come for the anecdotes, not the lectures.

But as it gets late in the political day, I find I have things to say that I really can't just keep to myself. I mean, there are six McCain-Palin yard signs on my block, that I no longer feel like I can explain away as scary Halloween decorations. That's six households who are going to have a massive impact on my kids on a personal level, because they're not just choosing a president, they're voting on local issues as well, and the possibility that their local politics mirror their national politics to at least some degree is very real.

And today I saw, only a couple of blocks from the house in which I mean to raise my children to be decent people, a Yes on Prop 8 sign. Which made me think of my friend Lia's brave decision to post her views about Prop 8, which opened her to a shit storm of ignorant commenters, which inspired me to share with you what bugs me most lately in this stormy election season:

When you don't just come out and own your beliefs.

Look, if you believe that homosexuality is immoral based on the way you have been taught to interpret your scriptures, and you believe that the government should have a say in legislating how homosexual people live based on how you have been taught to implement those scriptures, please just say so. I have a great deal of respect for my friends and family who are able to just say "You know, God tells me it's wrong, and therefore I feel it's my obligation to help keep it wrong under the law". I disagree with that, but I respect it.

What I don't respect is the etymologically absurd idea that the word "marriage" has mystical properties. People, God did not send Moses down from Mount Sinai with a stone tablet that said "MARRIAGE" on it in big ol' Latinate script. It's just a word, a word that has applications outside of the relationship context. We don't call marriage "marriage" because the word carries some kind of sacred meaning in and of itself, we call it that because the word "marriage" means to unite. I'm incredibly annoyed when ostensibly intelligent people make this "marriage means something magical" argument--it's not going to become true if you repeat it over and over again, it will just confuse stupider people into thinking it is.

So pretty please, if you're one of the people who is against gay marriage but pays lip service to the idea of same sex unions, spare me your generosity. What you want to offer is the opportunity to go down to the justice of the peace and sign a paper that connects two lives together in multiple ways, which is what Dug and I have. I assure you there's nothing that makes our relationship more special or sacred than a same sex relationship of comparable time and experience. Please don't pretend there does. If you think civil unions are okay, you're basically saying same sex marriage is okay too--you just don't want it in your church. And it probably won't happen in your church, and if it does--witness the schisms in various mainstream Christian churches that are already taking place. You will have the right to stick with your fellow believers and carry on as you feel is morally correct. So ask yourself what it is you really believe: that there should be no state-sanctified same sex union of any sort under any name, or that you respect a couple's right to legally unite under state laws? Odds are that in the case of the latter, your life won't change, and that in the case of the former, churches who wish to bless such unions will continue to do so as they've been doing for decades, just without legal sanction or accompanying legal recognition (and your life STILL won't change).

Also, for what it's worth, I really hardly know any very dumb people. That's how I know you know, in your heart, that Barack Obama isn't a Muslim (or muslin, for that matter), that he's not a terrorist, that he doesn't hate freedom, that his wife is just your ordinary lawyer mom, and that the world will not go to hell in a handbasket any more than it already is when he gets elected. So just say you don't like his policies, okay? Unless you're using all of the above as a code for your racist beliefs, in which case, good for you for at least being smart enough to cover it up with red herrings like the examples above, and carry on. It's still okay--for now--for you to justify your homophobia with your religion, but it hasn't been okay for you to justify your racism the same way for a long time.

Comments

[Auntie Nancy]

I think any 2 people that love each other and want to unite should be allowed to by law. however mu church doesn't believe that even tho they probably have more homosexuals than any other church. I don't want to start a fight with anyone so I won't mention the church but those that know me know which one. I also believe that we don't really have a choice for president. I personally don't like either candidate. I will go and vote and will wait until the last second to choose. I hate electoral colleges and think personal votes should be how we elect our president. That is when the people choice really matters. I hate the mean things everyone is saying on the commercials and don't listen anymore (mute is wonderful). Tell me what you are going to do for the country and how you are going to do it and then I will listen. I don't care what you think the other guy did or didn't do.
Auntie N

[Kayris]

I'm with Nancy. Most of my family is voting for McCain, most of my friends are voting for Obama, and I'm stuck in the middle. I think both men are probably good men and both men have some good ideas, but both men have some BAD ideas too and those are the ones I'm uncomfortable with. I'm not sure it really matters who I vote for, my state is a given anyway, so I may go in and flip a coin or even vote for Mickey Mouse.

I'm a religious person, but I also believe that being a good person is more important than following rules "from the Bible" or from the Vatican, and that's why we raise our children to know that who you sleep with is less important than how you behave towards others. Frankly, this country has no right to legislate who can marry whom until they get us the hell out of Iraq, pay off all our debts, feed our homeless and make sure everyone has access to healthcare. And FWIW, my old (Catholic) church has a support group for GLBT parishioners.

[Grammy]

Me, whose best friends are Lesbians, who am I to talk one way or the other. I just accept them for the people I loved before I knew.
As for the election, I am one of those undecided people. I can't stand either one of them. I am tired of the negative campaigning. I would love to just turn the TV off and NOT vote but that wouldn't be patriotic. I will just have to do the best I can.

[Lia]

Amen sistah!!!