Public post: God thinks you're an idiot
(Image by Kamui and not me of course, reposted with his permission: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1657093/#cid:11780067)
Commentary by Kamui
So I usually don't talk politics, but I felt that this was a way that I could help give a little push for a cause I think is right.
California Proposition 8 is a ballot initiative in the upcoming November 4th election that will strip the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Same-sex marriage has been legal in California since July -- this proposition, if it passes, will amend the California state constitution to include the phrase, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
Same-sex couples are just a simple majority vote (ie, 50% of votes) away from losing their right to marry the person they love. I urge everyone who is able to get to the voting booths this November and protect gays' and lesbians' equality by voting NO on Proposition 8.
If you are not:
A) 18 years of age or older,
B) an American citizen, or
C) located in California
then you can't join in voting down Proposition 8. That doesn't mean it doesn't apply to you! What happens in California this November will be a powerful precedent one way or the other, and folks all over the country and beyond will feel the decision's results. If you're not able to cast your vote against Prop 8 this November, you can donate time or money to any number of advocacy groups that are helping to fight it.
I know everyone here on FA is broke, but no donation is too small. Barring that, talk to all your friends! Get the buzz going that this is something that's being decided, and that we all need to do our part to ensure equality wins out come November 4th. If you have friends or family in California, pass this message along!
Thanks, guys <3
==========================================
It's been awhile since I have put the editorial skills I spent years developing to work, and this is as good of a time as ever to pull them out. Hopefully, if you're reading this, you can pull something of value out of what I say. Several stances I have are moderate, others actually hinge on conservative, but no part of me could ever support anything close to this abomination that is Proposition 8.
While everyone's at it, you should also garner support against Florida Proposition 2!
==========================================
My commentary
I had no idea how bitter this battle was until recently, when I finally started delving in to the ad campaigns. It is enough to make one sick. The "Yes on 8" movement, organized by the fine people at protectmarriage.org, is laced with a thinly-veiled hatred that has grown fat on persistent, pathological lies. The terror and fear campaign being run should remind everyone of another rather famous one, one where a guy named Jesus was killed just because people were afraid of losing political power.
Any movement to forcefully strip the rights from any law-abiding group of citizens in any culture is bigoted by default. While this argument should never be considered equal to slavery or to the dark shadow of apartheid, any constitutional amendment that defines GLBT individuals as second-class citizens would create many frightening parallels.
I should preface the rest of this by stating that I am not the strongest proponent of gay marriage. However, my reasons simply boil down to semantics. I do not think it is wrong for churches to claim the word marriage. It is (or at least should be) far out of the power of a religious institution to deny anyone socio-political rights, however. That is undeniably a matter of state. Personally, I am a professional, and should I ever have the fortune of entering into a committed relationship, it would assuredly be with another professional, businessman or tradesman that would be able to support himself in the same fashion I do. Because of this, admittedly, marriage rights would mean less to me. But there are many gays that require those rights--especially gay parents and lower-income gay couples. Package those together and include every basic right that must belong to every citizen--simple things like hospital visitation--and the state can keep calling these things civil unions for all I care.
Returning to the gay parenting issue--for those that hate abortions, would it not make sense to greatly increase the number of loving families a child could grow up in if the mother in question would be unable, unwilling or unprepared to be a mother? Apparently, logic is only useful when it supports the entirety of the opposition's platform.
Back to our primary objective, my viewpoint on gay marriage in the United States is also based on practicality. I do not believe fighting for state then aspiring for federal marriage is the fastest path to equality for all of us. The proof is in the numbers, and you can look them up yourself--gay marriage has an almost impossible mountain to climb due to the staggering diversity of the American culture. However, when you look at the number of people that support civil unions, the difference is night and day (double digits in most polls I have seen). As civil unions (and state-supported marriages, which I would take advantage of if they existed wherever the heck I end up) become increasingly ubiquitous, more and more rights will continue be fought for and earned, the population may finally begin to realize this is not so bad after all...and may eventually end up evolving into full-fledged marriage in our lifetimes as a result, which would be a wonderful day for so many committed couples.
Since I brought up evolution, let us return to the incorrigible champions of Proposition 8. Among the most deplorable tactics they employ is to program parents to brainwash their children to do their bidding. Have you ever seen those videos where children sat entranced listening to someone sing about evolution being a lie? As a biologist and an educator, I can prove to any non-ignorant person with an IQ above freezing that evolution is not a lie in less than a minute.
This analogy is extremely valuable here; this forced ignorance removes a child's ability to think for his or herself--something no respectable parent should ever do, period, regardless of political stance. My parents are separated now--my mother (and stepfather) are moderate liberals, while my father is a solid conservative (who by the way is voting for Obama...YEAH!)--but even growing up with a blended family, nobody told me what to think. I always thought for myself, and my entire family shares in the satisfaction of the free-thinker I have become.
I have no intention of sounding arrogant, but what if all of us were free-thinkers? This would not mean everyone would agree on this issue, but it sure would be a heck of a lot more civil. Opponents to Proposition 8 are not free from fault, either. I have heard plenty of anti-Christian rhetoric that also has that sour note of hate to it. Although I have had a falling out of sorts with religion recently, I would never stereotype any group, just as I would wish not to be stereotyped.
There are plenty of Christians out there that are just as frustrated by all of this. They are people like my sister (alyseisgalinda) that realize that people are different, and this is fine. She is a strong Christian, very active in her church and now an experienced missionary. To her, following God is all about setting a positive example of love, charity, peace and tolerance. Not that phony tolerance either--real, genuine tolerance. Regardless of your feelings about God, these are ideals we should all strive towards.
None of us must ever give up on the fight against hate in any form--we will either lose it or end up harboring hate ourselves. Fighting voter initiatives like this one is a great way to proclaim that hate should not be a part of any of our lives.
==========================================
And to conclude...if you're feeling ironic, perhaps you should listen to the song that I'm listening to...big props go to jeuri for letting me know about this guy!
Commentary by Kamui
So I usually don't talk politics, but I felt that this was a way that I could help give a little push for a cause I think is right.
California Proposition 8 is a ballot initiative in the upcoming November 4th election that will strip the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Same-sex marriage has been legal in California since July -- this proposition, if it passes, will amend the California state constitution to include the phrase, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
Same-sex couples are just a simple majority vote (ie, 50% of votes) away from losing their right to marry the person they love. I urge everyone who is able to get to the voting booths this November and protect gays' and lesbians' equality by voting NO on Proposition 8.
If you are not:
A) 18 years of age or older,
B) an American citizen, or
C) located in California
then you can't join in voting down Proposition 8. That doesn't mean it doesn't apply to you! What happens in California this November will be a powerful precedent one way or the other, and folks all over the country and beyond will feel the decision's results. If you're not able to cast your vote against Prop 8 this November, you can donate time or money to any number of advocacy groups that are helping to fight it.
I know everyone here on FA is broke, but no donation is too small. Barring that, talk to all your friends! Get the buzz going that this is something that's being decided, and that we all need to do our part to ensure equality wins out come November 4th. If you have friends or family in California, pass this message along!
Thanks, guys <3
==========================================
It's been awhile since I have put the editorial skills I spent years developing to work, and this is as good of a time as ever to pull them out. Hopefully, if you're reading this, you can pull something of value out of what I say. Several stances I have are moderate, others actually hinge on conservative, but no part of me could ever support anything close to this abomination that is Proposition 8.
While everyone's at it, you should also garner support against Florida Proposition 2!
==========================================
My commentary
I had no idea how bitter this battle was until recently, when I finally started delving in to the ad campaigns. It is enough to make one sick. The "Yes on 8" movement, organized by the fine people at protectmarriage.org, is laced with a thinly-veiled hatred that has grown fat on persistent, pathological lies. The terror and fear campaign being run should remind everyone of another rather famous one, one where a guy named Jesus was killed just because people were afraid of losing political power.
Any movement to forcefully strip the rights from any law-abiding group of citizens in any culture is bigoted by default. While this argument should never be considered equal to slavery or to the dark shadow of apartheid, any constitutional amendment that defines GLBT individuals as second-class citizens would create many frightening parallels.
I should preface the rest of this by stating that I am not the strongest proponent of gay marriage. However, my reasons simply boil down to semantics. I do not think it is wrong for churches to claim the word marriage. It is (or at least should be) far out of the power of a religious institution to deny anyone socio-political rights, however. That is undeniably a matter of state. Personally, I am a professional, and should I ever have the fortune of entering into a committed relationship, it would assuredly be with another professional, businessman or tradesman that would be able to support himself in the same fashion I do. Because of this, admittedly, marriage rights would mean less to me. But there are many gays that require those rights--especially gay parents and lower-income gay couples. Package those together and include every basic right that must belong to every citizen--simple things like hospital visitation--and the state can keep calling these things civil unions for all I care.
Returning to the gay parenting issue--for those that hate abortions, would it not make sense to greatly increase the number of loving families a child could grow up in if the mother in question would be unable, unwilling or unprepared to be a mother? Apparently, logic is only useful when it supports the entirety of the opposition's platform.
Back to our primary objective, my viewpoint on gay marriage in the United States is also based on practicality. I do not believe fighting for state then aspiring for federal marriage is the fastest path to equality for all of us. The proof is in the numbers, and you can look them up yourself--gay marriage has an almost impossible mountain to climb due to the staggering diversity of the American culture. However, when you look at the number of people that support civil unions, the difference is night and day (double digits in most polls I have seen). As civil unions (and state-supported marriages, which I would take advantage of if they existed wherever the heck I end up) become increasingly ubiquitous, more and more rights will continue be fought for and earned, the population may finally begin to realize this is not so bad after all...and may eventually end up evolving into full-fledged marriage in our lifetimes as a result, which would be a wonderful day for so many committed couples.
Since I brought up evolution, let us return to the incorrigible champions of Proposition 8. Among the most deplorable tactics they employ is to program parents to brainwash their children to do their bidding. Have you ever seen those videos where children sat entranced listening to someone sing about evolution being a lie? As a biologist and an educator, I can prove to any non-ignorant person with an IQ above freezing that evolution is not a lie in less than a minute.
This analogy is extremely valuable here; this forced ignorance removes a child's ability to think for his or herself--something no respectable parent should ever do, period, regardless of political stance. My parents are separated now--my mother (and stepfather) are moderate liberals, while my father is a solid conservative (who by the way is voting for Obama...YEAH!)--but even growing up with a blended family, nobody told me what to think. I always thought for myself, and my entire family shares in the satisfaction of the free-thinker I have become.
I have no intention of sounding arrogant, but what if all of us were free-thinkers? This would not mean everyone would agree on this issue, but it sure would be a heck of a lot more civil. Opponents to Proposition 8 are not free from fault, either. I have heard plenty of anti-Christian rhetoric that also has that sour note of hate to it. Although I have had a falling out of sorts with religion recently, I would never stereotype any group, just as I would wish not to be stereotyped.
There are plenty of Christians out there that are just as frustrated by all of this. They are people like my sister (alyseisgalinda) that realize that people are different, and this is fine. She is a strong Christian, very active in her church and now an experienced missionary. To her, following God is all about setting a positive example of love, charity, peace and tolerance. Not that phony tolerance either--real, genuine tolerance. Regardless of your feelings about God, these are ideals we should all strive towards.
None of us must ever give up on the fight against hate in any form--we will either lose it or end up harboring hate ourselves. Fighting voter initiatives like this one is a great way to proclaim that hate should not be a part of any of our lives.
==========================================
And to conclude...if you're feeling ironic, perhaps you should listen to the song that I'm listening to...big props go to jeuri for letting me know about this guy!
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