B-Bop and Rock Steady
Well it's only 11PM and I'm home. While a little bit early, I feel like I've actually accomplished something tonight seeing as how I managed to snag my mom's Christmas present as well as check out Jordan's new and under-construction house in Riverton. It's quite a nice place and deceptively large inside. I know that makes me sound forty years old to discuss the intricacies of a person's house, but I don't care. Everyone already knows I'm an old man inside.
By this point most everyone has come to terms with the fact that I think George W. Bush is the fucking antichrist, but I figured its about time for another rant because this one really pisses me off because it goes to show how ass backward religion is. So, If you're not in the mood for a rant then I suggest you bail out now. But I promise it will be quick, painless, and enlightening. :)
::begin rant::
So, Bush is really starting to come down on this whole gay-marriage thing. Now I'm not gay, so in many respects, I really have no vested interest in this issue, however, it brings to light a larger one. But first, let me state my position on this one as bluntly and logically as possible:
Gays have every right to marry and even call it marriage if they want to.
A lot of people have taken issue with the fact that gays are more vocally starting to assert their right to be legally married and enjoy similar privileges to non-homosexual couples. Now at the heart of this issue (as with most issues), is money. Money in the sense than legally "married" couples enjoy certain benefits such as tax exemptions, insurance cost reductions, low-interest mortgage rates, etc... largely because the presence of two people legally obliged to each-other in one home is a general indicator that their will be some semblance of fiscal stability. Currently, gays do not enjoy these rights in many places as many of our more "advanced" (read: American theocracies) states such as the great state of Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, to name a few, who have a largely fundamentalist voter makeup and many conservative Southern politicians would be happy to oblige their bible-thumping leanings.
Now George Bush who comes from Texas (and we all know how wonderful Texas is considering they had to be FORCED by the Supreme Court to repeal an anti-sodomy law), has said that he would support a constitutional amendment that would legally define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Intellectually, religious zealotry has hit a new low. When we consider that the Bill of Rights and subsequent Constitutional Amendments serve to protect the individual rights of US citizens from systematic discrimination, it becomes apparent that to distinguish someone on the basis of their sexual preference lies along the same lines as race, creed, sex, and even religion. If we were to deny the right of gays to marry, we, in effect, would be setting a precedent that other basis for distinction could also be denied equal treatment. Not only would we be hypocritical, we'd be nullifying one of the fundamental tenets of our government. But I guess that sounds fine coming from a group which longs for the days of segregation (just ask Trent Lott).
Now, I'm not saying we should run anti-gay marriage people out on a rail, they have a right to feel that way. But your right to be religious in whatever moronic way you choose only extends insofar is it doesn't impede upon someone else's right to be who they want to be. I've said it before fundamentalist religion is hands down the most dangerous thing on the face of the planet because it seeks to do nothing but categorize, divide, and destroy on the basis of nothing but irrational faith. Now I've said in the past that even science and mathematics take quite a bit of faith (I could elaborate if anyone cares), but their sole purpose is not to wipe the earth of unbelievers (meaning, inferiors). Fundamentalism's purpose is to do just that. They have a name for people like that, they're called Nazis, and they're called bullies. I don't toss Nazi off in the colloquial sense either, I mean it in its most principle form. Religious fundamentalism advocates a life of blind faith, and it's one thing to toss your hopes to the sky in hopes of some omnipresent father-figure or other being in search of purpose or answer. But keep in mind that blindness can turn you against your friends, your neighbors and your family and destroys relationships, neighborhoods, and families in the interest of what truly amounts to a "best guess." Blind faith makes it hard to steer a course through the complexities of everyday life...
It makes it even harder to fly a plane.
::End Rant::
By this point most everyone has come to terms with the fact that I think George W. Bush is the fucking antichrist, but I figured its about time for another rant because this one really pisses me off because it goes to show how ass backward religion is. So, If you're not in the mood for a rant then I suggest you bail out now. But I promise it will be quick, painless, and enlightening. :)
::begin rant::
So, Bush is really starting to come down on this whole gay-marriage thing. Now I'm not gay, so in many respects, I really have no vested interest in this issue, however, it brings to light a larger one. But first, let me state my position on this one as bluntly and logically as possible:
Gays have every right to marry and even call it marriage if they want to.
A lot of people have taken issue with the fact that gays are more vocally starting to assert their right to be legally married and enjoy similar privileges to non-homosexual couples. Now at the heart of this issue (as with most issues), is money. Money in the sense than legally "married" couples enjoy certain benefits such as tax exemptions, insurance cost reductions, low-interest mortgage rates, etc... largely because the presence of two people legally obliged to each-other in one home is a general indicator that their will be some semblance of fiscal stability. Currently, gays do not enjoy these rights in many places as many of our more "advanced" (read: American theocracies) states such as the great state of Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, to name a few, who have a largely fundamentalist voter makeup and many conservative Southern politicians would be happy to oblige their bible-thumping leanings.
Now George Bush who comes from Texas (and we all know how wonderful Texas is considering they had to be FORCED by the Supreme Court to repeal an anti-sodomy law), has said that he would support a constitutional amendment that would legally define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Intellectually, religious zealotry has hit a new low. When we consider that the Bill of Rights and subsequent Constitutional Amendments serve to protect the individual rights of US citizens from systematic discrimination, it becomes apparent that to distinguish someone on the basis of their sexual preference lies along the same lines as race, creed, sex, and even religion. If we were to deny the right of gays to marry, we, in effect, would be setting a precedent that other basis for distinction could also be denied equal treatment. Not only would we be hypocritical, we'd be nullifying one of the fundamental tenets of our government. But I guess that sounds fine coming from a group which longs for the days of segregation (just ask Trent Lott).
Now, I'm not saying we should run anti-gay marriage people out on a rail, they have a right to feel that way. But your right to be religious in whatever moronic way you choose only extends insofar is it doesn't impede upon someone else's right to be who they want to be. I've said it before fundamentalist religion is hands down the most dangerous thing on the face of the planet because it seeks to do nothing but categorize, divide, and destroy on the basis of nothing but irrational faith. Now I've said in the past that even science and mathematics take quite a bit of faith (I could elaborate if anyone cares), but their sole purpose is not to wipe the earth of unbelievers (meaning, inferiors). Fundamentalism's purpose is to do just that. They have a name for people like that, they're called Nazis, and they're called bullies. I don't toss Nazi off in the colloquial sense either, I mean it in its most principle form. Religious fundamentalism advocates a life of blind faith, and it's one thing to toss your hopes to the sky in hopes of some omnipresent father-figure or other being in search of purpose or answer. But keep in mind that blindness can turn you against your friends, your neighbors and your family and destroys relationships, neighborhoods, and families in the interest of what truly amounts to a "best guess." Blind faith makes it hard to steer a course through the complexities of everyday life...
It makes it even harder to fly a plane.
::End Rant::