No on Prop. 8, plus some money musings
I've been thinking a lot lately about where I can put my money so that it can do the most good*. I've contributed to the Obama campaign, to Care International, and I've updated and redistributed my Kiva micro-loans. (On Kiva I always give to women, and if possible to women who are single parents, unmarried, or widowed, since statistically those are the populations whose lives are changed the most radically when given access to even a little bit more capital that they can control themselves, rather than giving over their earnings to a male head-of-household. Also, women are significantly more likely than men to reinvest their earnings in their community, keeping the newly-generated wealth local and radically improving the parts of the local infrastructure that have the most positive effect on people's health and quality of life.) Buying a new bike was also part of my effort to use my money in a way I feel good about, since I figure I would rather lower my carbon footprint and get some cardio-vascular exercise than spend the same amount of money over the next few months on a zipcar or some such. I just joined the ACLU. Next month I'll give some money to Planned Parenthood. And I gave a small contribution to the "No on Proposition 8" campaign in California.
Proposition 8, if passed, would overturn California's same-sex marriage law. I seriously doubt I need to convince anybody who reads this that same-sex marriage ought to be a fundamental right in our society, that it protects individuals and children and in no way actively threatens the more "traditional" definition of marriage. (Which is, by the way, a pretty ridiculous argument since the "argument from tradition" is one of your textbook logical fallacies.) But still, as an LGBTQ ally, I feel the need to say this: same-sex marriage is the just, compassionate, and equitable thing to do. By every moral standard I follow it is the Right Thing to Do. While I have some problems with society's over-reliance on the nuclear family structure, as it makes the welfare of children the primary concern of just two people and usually places an unfair domestic labor burden on women, the answer to these concerns is not to ban same-sex marriage or heterosexual marriage. Indeed, a more just and equitable world for children, women, and parents would have to open up the definition of marriage and family in order to create different social expectations for what family can look like and be recognized as. And the more states that have legalized gay marriage the harder it will be for the rest of the country to resist recognizing same-sex couples with legal rights.
Prop. 8 vote is, as dr_memory writes, going to be "nail-bitingly close." Every contribution made to them makes a difference, even if it's not a very big one. As we've graphically seen in the Obama campaign, many small donations add up fast.
If you want to support the "No on Prop. 8" campaign go here:
http://www.noonprop8.com/
*I don't write this to try and "guilt" people into giving money, and I recognize and honor that what I think might be good and worthy causes aren't going to be everyone's good and worthy causes. Nor do I write this post to say "look at me, I'm so giving!" because really, historically speaking, I haven't been. But a lot of converging factors in my life right now are making me realize both how grateful I am for what I have and the life I live and also how often I've taken the easy way out because living in the U.S. has allowed me a level of material wealth and comfort that is, on a global scale, staggering. I admire people that I identify as active citizens--people who volunteer, people who put their money where their mouth is, people who own their privilege and their emotional foibles and do their damnedest to treat those they encounter in their day-to-day life with compassion and respect. And I want to do the things I admire in other people. I want to get out of the mind-set that if I give money to things I believe in I will be bereft in my own life. It's not a zero-sum game, and how much less rich would my life be if I didn't support these things? So I'm working to change my relationship to money and time, volunteering more, creating more, spending less time on the internets and watching TV on DVD so that I can make the most of my riches.
Proposition 8, if passed, would overturn California's same-sex marriage law. I seriously doubt I need to convince anybody who reads this that same-sex marriage ought to be a fundamental right in our society, that it protects individuals and children and in no way actively threatens the more "traditional" definition of marriage. (Which is, by the way, a pretty ridiculous argument since the "argument from tradition" is one of your textbook logical fallacies.) But still, as an LGBTQ ally, I feel the need to say this: same-sex marriage is the just, compassionate, and equitable thing to do. By every moral standard I follow it is the Right Thing to Do. While I have some problems with society's over-reliance on the nuclear family structure, as it makes the welfare of children the primary concern of just two people and usually places an unfair domestic labor burden on women, the answer to these concerns is not to ban same-sex marriage or heterosexual marriage. Indeed, a more just and equitable world for children, women, and parents would have to open up the definition of marriage and family in order to create different social expectations for what family can look like and be recognized as. And the more states that have legalized gay marriage the harder it will be for the rest of the country to resist recognizing same-sex couples with legal rights.
Prop. 8 vote is, as dr_memory writes, going to be "nail-bitingly close." Every contribution made to them makes a difference, even if it's not a very big one. As we've graphically seen in the Obama campaign, many small donations add up fast.
If you want to support the "No on Prop. 8" campaign go here:
http://www.noonprop8.com/
*I don't write this to try and "guilt" people into giving money, and I recognize and honor that what I think might be good and worthy causes aren't going to be everyone's good and worthy causes. Nor do I write this post to say "look at me, I'm so giving!" because really, historically speaking, I haven't been. But a lot of converging factors in my life right now are making me realize both how grateful I am for what I have and the life I live and also how often I've taken the easy way out because living in the U.S. has allowed me a level of material wealth and comfort that is, on a global scale, staggering. I admire people that I identify as active citizens--people who volunteer, people who put their money where their mouth is, people who own their privilege and their emotional foibles and do their damnedest to treat those they encounter in their day-to-day life with compassion and respect. And I want to do the things I admire in other people. I want to get out of the mind-set that if I give money to things I believe in I will be bereft in my own life. It's not a zero-sum game, and how much less rich would my life be if I didn't support these things? So I'm working to change my relationship to money and time, volunteering more, creating more, spending less time on the internets and watching TV on DVD so that I can make the most of my riches.