Food For Thought

Nov 04, 2004 21:08

I'm still in no state to voice my own account of what I think. And why bother when other people can sum up how I feel so nicely?

Snatched, borrowed and stolen from all across the internets:



Stolen from bradius.

Twelve Reasons Why Gays Shouldn't Be Allowed To Marry

1) Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control are not natural.

2) Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people cannot get legally married because the world needs more children.

3) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children because straight parents only raise straight children.

4) Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears's 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.

5) Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and it hasn't changed at all: women are property, Blacks can't marry Whites, and divorce is illegal.

6) Gay marriage should be decided by the people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of minorities.

7) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are always imposed on the entire country. That's why we only have one religion in America

8) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people makes you tall.

9) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage license.

10) Children can never succeed without both male and female role models at home. That's why single parents are forbidden to raise children.

11) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven't adapted to cars or longer lifespans

12) Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a "separate but equal" institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages will for gays & lesbians

----------------------
The above stated reasons are all my thoughts and concerns in a nutshell.
Am I the only one who is absolutely appalled at the fact that 11 states banned gay marriage?


An Open Letter To The Red States

Written by pradagirl

I am writing this letter to the people in the red states in the middle of
the country -- the people who voted for George W. Bush. I am writing this
letter because I don't think we know each other.

So I'll make an introduction. I am a New Yorker who voted for John Kerry.
I used to live in California, and if I still lived there, I would vote for
Kerry. I used to live in Washington, DC, and if I still lived there, I
would vote for Kerry. Kerry won in all three of those regions.

Maybe you want to know more about me. Or maybe not; maybe you think you
know me already. You think I am some anti-American anarchist because I
dislike George W. Bush. You think that I am immoral and anti-family,
because I support women's reproductive freedom and gay rights. You think
that I am dangerous, and even evil, because I do not abide by your religious
beliefs.

Maybe you are content to think that, to write me off as a "liberal" -- the
dreaded "L" word -- and rejoice that your candidate has triumphed over evil,
immoral, anti-American, anti-family people like me. But maybe you are still
curious. So here goes: this is who I am.

I am a New Yorker. I was here, in my apartment downtown, on September 11th.
I watched the Towers burn from the roof of my building. I went inside so
that I couldn't see them when they fell. I had friends who were inside. I
have a friend who still has nightmares about watching people jump and fall
from the Towers. He will never be the same. How many people like him do
you know? People that can't sit in a restaurant without plotting an escape
route, in case it blows up?

I am a worker. I work across the street from the Citigroup Center, which
the government told us is a "target" of terrorism. Later, we found out they
were relaying very old information, but it was already too late. They had
given me bad dreams again. The subway stop near my office was crowded with
bomb-sniffing dogs, policemen in heavy protective gear, soldiers. Now,
every time I enter or exit my office, all of my possessions are X-rayed to
make sure I don't have any weapons. How often are you stopped by a soldier
with a bomb-sniffing dog outside your office?

I am a neighbor. I have a neighbor who is a 9/11 widow. She has two
children. My husband does odd jobs for her now, like building bookshelves.
Things her husband should do. He uses her husband's tools, and the two
little girls tell him, "Those are our daddy's tools." How many 9/11 widows
and orphans do you know? How often do you fill in for their dead loved
ones?

I am a taxpayer. I worked my butt off to get where I did, and so did my
parents. My parents saved and borrowed and sent me to college. I worked my
way through graduate school. I won a full tuition scholarship to law
school. All for the privilege of working 2,600 hours last year. That works
out to a 50 hour week, every week, without any vacation days at all. I get
to work by 9 am and rarely leave before 9 pm. I eat dinner at my office
much more often than I eat dinner at home. My husband and I paid over
$70,000 in federal income tax last year. At some point in the future, we
will have to pay much more -- once this country faces its deficit and the
impossible burden of Social Security. In fact, the areas of the country
that supported Kerry -- New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts --
they are the financial centers of the nation. They are the tax base of this
country. How much did you pay, Kansas? How much did you contribute to this
government you support, Alabama? How much of this war in Iraq did you pay
for?

I am a liberal. The funny part is, liberals have this reputation for living
in Never-Neverland, being idealists, not being sensible. But let me tell
you how I see the world: I see America as one nation in a world of nations.
Therefore, I think we should try to get along with other nations. I see
that gay people exist. Therefore, I think they should be allowed to exist,
and be treated the same as other people. I see ways in which women are not
allowed to control their own bodies. Therefore, I think we should give
women more control over their bodies. I see that people have awful
diseases. Therefore, I think we should enable scientists to try to cure
them. I see that we have a Constitution. Therefore, I think it should be
upheld. I see that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Therefore, I think that Iraq was not an imminent danger to me. It seems so
pragmatic to me. How do you see the world? Do you really think voting
against gay marriage will keep people from being gay? Would you really
prefer that people continue to die from Parkinson's disease? Do you really
not care about the Constitutional rights of political detainees? Would you
really have supported the war if you knew the truth, or would you have
wanted to spend more of our money on health care, job training, terrorism
preparedness?

I am an American. I have an American flag flying outside my home. I love
my home more than anything. I love that I grew up right outside New York
City. I first went to the Statue of Liberty with my 5th grade class, and my
mom and dad took me to the Empire State Building when I was 8. I love
taking the subway to Yankee Stadium. I loved living in Washington DC and
going on dates to the Lincoln Memorial. It is because I love this country
so much that I argue with my political opponents as much I do.

I am not safe. I never feel safe. My in-laws live in a small town in Ohio,
and that town has received more federal funding, per capita, for terrorism
preparedness than New York City has. I take subways and buses every day. I
work in a skyscraper across the street from a "target." I have emergency
supplies and a spare pair of sneakers in my desk, in case somethng happens
while I'm at work. Do you? How many times a month do you worry that your
subway is going to blow up? When you hear sirens on the street, do you run
to the window to make sure everything is okay? When you hear an airplane,
do you flinch? Do you dread beautiful, blue-skied September days? I don't
know a single New Yorker who doesn't spend the month of September on
tip-toes, superstitiously praying for rain so we don't have to relive that
beautiful, blue-skied day.

I am lonely. I feel that we, as a nation, have alienated all our friends
and further provoked our enemies. I feel unprotected. Most of all I feel
alienated from my fellow citizens, because I don't understand what you are
thinking. You voted for a man who started a war in Iraq for no reason,
against the wishes of the entire world. You voted for a man whose lack of
foresight and inability to plan has led to massive insurgencies in Iraq,
where weapons are disappearing into the hands of terrorists. You voted for
a man who let Osama Bin Laden escape into the hills of Afghanistan so that
he could start that war in Iraq. You voted for a man who doesn't want to
let people love who they want to love; doesn't want to let doctors cure
their patients; doesn't want to let women rule their destinies. I don't
understand why you voted for this man. For me, it is not enough that he is
personable; it is not enough that he seems like one of the guys. Why did
you vote for him? Why did you elect a man that lied to us in order to
convince us to go to war? (Ten years ago you were incensed when our
president lied about his sex life; you thought it was an impeachable
offense.) Why did you elect a leader who thinks that strength cannot
include diplomacy or international cooperaton? Why did you elect a man who
did nothing except run away and hide on September 11?

Most of all, I am terrified. I mean daily, I am afraid that I will not
survive this. I am afraid that I will lose my husband, that I will never
have children, that I will never grow old and watch the sunset in a backyard
of my own. I am afraid that my career -- which should end with a triumphant
and good-natured roast at a retirement party in 2035 -- will be cut short by
an attack on me and my colleagues, as we sit sending emails and making phone
calls one ordinary afternoon. Is your life at stake? Are you terrified?

I don't think you are. I don't think you realize what you have done. And
if anything happens to me or the people I love, I blame you. I wanted you
to know that.

-------------------
Putting aside the fact that she's a Yanks fan, that was written beautifully.



Written by mad_saw_god

I feel so emotionally drained. I am amazed at the infallible stupidity and stubbornness of the American people. I can't believe that people honestly think that their personal religion/ myth they choose to live by should have any influence on other peoples' lives, and on our country's politics. They argue that our country has a "Christian heritage" and that's why we can have Christian influences in our government. It's true that the original people who sailed over here were Christian, but when America actually became its own nation, the people made their intentions clear: that the government would not be influenced by any religion. We've gone so far from what those founding whiteys intended for our country to be-- a government run in the interest of all the people, with the people keeping the government in check and the government being completely seperate from the church. Like Jesus, people do so many crappy things in their name.
One thing I really don't understand is how people consider Bush the more "moralistic" candidate. How can Christians, (whose horribly misinterpreted religion essentially teaches peace and acceptance-- I'm nearly certain now that Christ was actually a Buddhist) support this man, who sends their children to war, lies, steals, is blatantly ignorant, and is a true bastard in every sense of the word? And (I'm sorry to go here) how is Bush the "macho" candidate when he didn't go to Viet Nam, has gotten every opportunity handed to him from his daddy, and was a cheerleader at Andover? To quote Bill Maher, "How many times do you have to get shot in the ass in a rice paddy before you can be the stronger guy?"
I really don't know what the next four years will hold. I'm hopeful that we will be able to make a change for the better. I really can't blame the world for hating us, though. I'm scared that Bush will be appointing the next Supreme Court justices (another Reihnquist/ Scalia/ Thomas? No thanks!). I'm scared that we're heading in such a catastrophic direction with our foreign policy. I'm scared that our country is steadily becoming a subversive theocracy, with one group's religious interests being imposed on the rest of this diverse nation. I'm scared that all three of our political branches are now monopolized by the cutthroat political party which least serves the interest of the greater people. I'm scared that the original ideas which we associate with America and hold so dear to us are becoming so skewed from what our country has become to represent. Mostly, I'm scared that Bush might have won it semi-legitimately this time.
Last election I was angry. This time I'm just disappointed.



Written by alelsc

Dear 'President' Bush,
Congratulations on your victory over John Kerry.

Ok, actually, we’re a bit ticked off here in California. We’re leaving you. California will now be its own country. Oh, and we’re taking all the blue states. In case you are not aware, that includes: Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, all of New England, well all of the North East states, and half of Ohio. We spoke to God, and he agrees that this split will be beneficial to all of us. Well, to the new country of California. In fact, God is so excited about it, he’s going to shift the whole country for us. Therefore, if you could just let everyone know they need to be back in their state on Friday, that would be great. At 4:30 pm EST, God will move the states around, forming two separate countries. We get the Pacific Ocean. And Hollywood, and all the rappers. We’ll let you keep country music and the KKK.
Just so we’re clear, our country will be pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and well, anti-war. Speaking of war, we’re going to need our citizens back from Iraq. In addition, we’re keeping San Diego. Sorry, that’s just how it goes. Hey, if you need people to fight your war, why not ask your financial backers? They probably have tons of kids they’re willing to send to their death. …for absolutely no purpose. That will probably work really well for you.
So, you get Texas and all the southern states, we get the Governator and stem cell research. We would love you to take Britney Spears off our hands though. She is from the south, right?
By the way, we would like everyone to know that California will now be pronounced “Kali-for-ni-A.” You know, like in the songs. When writers need to use forced rhyme.
Oh, and since we get New York, you’ll need to come up with your own late night tv shows. We’re sure some of you people over at Fox News can come up with something entertaining. Why not just use Crossfire? That’s a really funny show. So, we get Mtv, the Daily Show, and Conan O’Brien. You get… well, you don’t really watch tv, do you?
We wish you the best of luck with your ‘new’ administration, and hope, really hope you find those weapons of mass destruction. Seriously. Before they find you.

Sincerely,
California

P.S.- Sorry about all the puppet mockery. Just exercising free speech while it still exists!

I know this seems really long, but I urge you to read it. I wouldn't have posted anything I found un-important, irrelevant or stupid. It's all amazing, and expresses how I feel perfectly.

Enjoy.
Previous post Next post
Up