Elections Suck
So. Went to vote today.
Got to the school we needed to go to at 9:00am with my brother. There was no line, so we walked straight up to ask for our little registration cards, I filled mine out, gave it back. Talked to a couple of ladies who wrote my name down, and got handed my ballot in the 'secrecy sleeve'. Walked over to my tiny cubicle, took the pencil they provided and filled in the little bubbles, stuck my ballot back into the 'secrecy sleeve' and walked over to slide it into the box and get my sticker. Waited for my brother, and he finally joined me with a mini-candy bar instead of a sticker.
The whole process actually made me feel rather amused at the ridiculousness of it and how anti-climactic it felt when it was over.
Went home, took a nap. Went to my brother's flight lesson he got as a birthday present last year to play photographer. Admired the really cute flight instructor and took some occasional pictures before they had some issues and realized he couldn't fly today, so they'd have to reschedule. Went home, went back to sleep, woke up and went to work. Watched my supervisor sulk over the presidential election results, and listened to the girl next to me talk about how she didn't dislike Obama, but she really wished McCain had won, because she seems to think Obama's going to get himself assassinated. Got food, came home, and found the computer so I could stare at my NaNo for awhile and try and write. (Which obviously isn't going so well at the moment. >.<)
That was pretty much my day.
Is it possible to be angry about something that hasn't even been completely decided yet?
Yeah, the presidential election is over. Obama won. Yay. Lesser of two evils, we've got our 'first black president' - completely ignoring the fact that his mother is *white*, and what the hell does any of that matter in the first place. Because if we're supposed to be evolving past racism, why are we bothering to point it out in the first place?
My concerns lie with Prop. 8, for obvious reasons to anyone who actually knows me, or read any of my rants or Phoenix Family posts. And it's losing. Well, 'winning' technically, which means that the evolution of society and humanity as a whole just took another giant step backward.
'We're preserving the sanctity of marriage' someone said. I think it was on the news this morning; I was too busy getting pissed off to really pay attention to where it was coming from.
'The sanctity of marriage'? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Do you even know what marriage really *is*?
Marriage, as I understand it, in my pathetic twenty-four years of life in this present physical form (nearly twenty-five now) is a legal bonding of two individuals who love one another enough to bind their lives, their finances, their existence, and even their names together. And even with things like divorce and annulment, marriage is still binding, because whether or not it ends doesn't change the fact that at some point, you thought you loved someone enough to bind yourself with them in a promise to be faithful in love and life, as you start a new path together. That's not something that you forget so easily, even with the legalities that get wrapped up in it.
Or at least, that’s supposedly what it’s come to mean today.
So, this means that my understanding is that 'the people' have decided that I am not allowed to decide for myself who I love enough to take that step, to show my adoration through rings and ceremony and paperwork. I'm not mature enough, responsible enough, mentally stable enough? What exactly, are your reasons behind this? Because God said it was wrong?
First of all, I recently learned (and had verified by someone who's more familiar with the book than I am) that in the bible, it actually states that David had a male lover, and God blessed their relationship. I find it interesting that *I* never knew that, and I used to be Christian. Ish. (Long story.) So, putting aside that I firmly believe that God has no place in government, you're telling me that God doesn't believe in homosexuality, even though at some point, he obviously did. Has he spontaneously changed his mind or something? I mean, I've heard he does that, but it's still news to me.
Second, I do believe in God. I also believe in the Goddess, but that's neither here nor there. Now, my God once gave me the epiphany when I was younger that the meaning of life is to *live*, and enjoy being alive. My God and Goddess created this world for us to enjoy things like breathing, and dancing, and music, and laughter, and colors, and words, and *emotion*. My God and Goddess want me to live, and love, and enjoy all of it. I don't believe they would want to limit me from any experience in love, or to tell me that I can't enjoy love because it's not 'in their image'.
Apparently my God and your God can't play nice together.
So, Gods aside, that would mean that gay marriage is wrong because there's something wrong with me for wanting to marry someone of my own gender. Which would insinuate that you have somehow decided that you are my parent and must decide what's best for me, because I don't know what's best. And that your definition of love is 'right', and mine is 'wrong'. Also interesting, because I'd love to know how you got to that conclusion, and what leads you to believe that your opinion is any better or more 'right' than mine.
I learned something in college that I still keep with me today that has absolutely nothing to do with my degree. It was one of those weird conversations I had with my best friend during class. We'd had several teachers talking about 'thinking outside the box' to develop a creative design. She made a smart-ass comment that still amuses me about our personal boxes, but there was something I mentioned that I still haven't had a clear answer on.
Why do we make the box in the first place?
Who gets to define what is art, what is beauty, what is love? Who gets designated with that job, and where are their credentials? If there *is* no such person, why are we telling our children these things? Color inside the lines. Make sure all of your coloring lines face the same way. Boys are boys and girls are girls, and boys can’t enjoy ’girly’ things like dress up and playing hours, while girls can’t play with power tools or cars. You're only allowed to love the people who are gross because they have cooties - don't worry; you'll get over that when you hit puberty. Probably. And if you don't, well ...
If you don't, you can look forward to praying that you have friends who love you enough to tell you it's okay. You can pray that your family doesn't turn against you, that the people who love you don't find you disgusting. You can pray that you survive being honest, because you want to be who you are and love who you love, and that some day, you'll make new friends, who are happy for your happiness with whoever you find to fill your heart.
And you'd better pray that your God loves you as much as everyone assures you he does, despite all of your flaws.
This is something I've seen floating around some fanfiction.net profiles before. I've always loved it every time I've seen it, and this seems like a good time to mention it:
10 Reasons Why Being Gay is 'Wrong'
1.) Being gay is not 'natural'. We must always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
2.) Gay marriage will make people gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
3.) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets- because of course a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract, just like a human being.
4.) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, interracial marriage is still frowned upon, and divorce is still illegal.
5.) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed (Oh, what a tragedy).
6.) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world clearly needs more children, despite the fact that so many of them go uncared for.
7.) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
8.) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion.
9.) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10.) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.
Democracy is a good idea. Or at least, it would be if it actually worked the way it was supposed to. Because we get the majority vote into the offices we want - provided the polling places don't fuck up their counts - and 'the people' as a whole have made their decisions. As long as we ignore all the people who bitch because they didn't get the person they wanted. Or the people in office who can't keep any of their promises of things to do for the country because the rest of the government keeps voting against them. Or putting in new laws and amendments to change what's there.
All I know is, democracy has given me a president that I'm almost apathetic about, because I don't really care for either of the main candidates, and now it has me biting my nails and trying not to cry because I'm about to lose another step towards being able to love freely, without restrictions, and not have the government interfering with my decisions to love and have a family.
Yay, democracy.
Oh, and the quote from my anonymous friend, for anyone who’s curious:
“So after seven months of college, we’ve discovered that I’m living in an ameba and you’re cutting holes in your box.”
-Holding up a chainsaw- Box? What is this … ‘box’ you speak of?
Got to the school we needed to go to at 9:00am with my brother. There was no line, so we walked straight up to ask for our little registration cards, I filled mine out, gave it back. Talked to a couple of ladies who wrote my name down, and got handed my ballot in the 'secrecy sleeve'. Walked over to my tiny cubicle, took the pencil they provided and filled in the little bubbles, stuck my ballot back into the 'secrecy sleeve' and walked over to slide it into the box and get my sticker. Waited for my brother, and he finally joined me with a mini-candy bar instead of a sticker.
The whole process actually made me feel rather amused at the ridiculousness of it and how anti-climactic it felt when it was over.
Went home, took a nap. Went to my brother's flight lesson he got as a birthday present last year to play photographer. Admired the really cute flight instructor and took some occasional pictures before they had some issues and realized he couldn't fly today, so they'd have to reschedule. Went home, went back to sleep, woke up and went to work. Watched my supervisor sulk over the presidential election results, and listened to the girl next to me talk about how she didn't dislike Obama, but she really wished McCain had won, because she seems to think Obama's going to get himself assassinated. Got food, came home, and found the computer so I could stare at my NaNo for awhile and try and write. (Which obviously isn't going so well at the moment. >.<)
That was pretty much my day.
Is it possible to be angry about something that hasn't even been completely decided yet?
Yeah, the presidential election is over. Obama won. Yay. Lesser of two evils, we've got our 'first black president' - completely ignoring the fact that his mother is *white*, and what the hell does any of that matter in the first place. Because if we're supposed to be evolving past racism, why are we bothering to point it out in the first place?
My concerns lie with Prop. 8, for obvious reasons to anyone who actually knows me, or read any of my rants or Phoenix Family posts. And it's losing. Well, 'winning' technically, which means that the evolution of society and humanity as a whole just took another giant step backward.
'We're preserving the sanctity of marriage' someone said. I think it was on the news this morning; I was too busy getting pissed off to really pay attention to where it was coming from.
'The sanctity of marriage'? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Do you even know what marriage really *is*?
Marriage, as I understand it, in my pathetic twenty-four years of life in this present physical form (nearly twenty-five now) is a legal bonding of two individuals who love one another enough to bind their lives, their finances, their existence, and even their names together. And even with things like divorce and annulment, marriage is still binding, because whether or not it ends doesn't change the fact that at some point, you thought you loved someone enough to bind yourself with them in a promise to be faithful in love and life, as you start a new path together. That's not something that you forget so easily, even with the legalities that get wrapped up in it.
Or at least, that’s supposedly what it’s come to mean today.
So, this means that my understanding is that 'the people' have decided that I am not allowed to decide for myself who I love enough to take that step, to show my adoration through rings and ceremony and paperwork. I'm not mature enough, responsible enough, mentally stable enough? What exactly, are your reasons behind this? Because God said it was wrong?
First of all, I recently learned (and had verified by someone who's more familiar with the book than I am) that in the bible, it actually states that David had a male lover, and God blessed their relationship. I find it interesting that *I* never knew that, and I used to be Christian. Ish. (Long story.) So, putting aside that I firmly believe that God has no place in government, you're telling me that God doesn't believe in homosexuality, even though at some point, he obviously did. Has he spontaneously changed his mind or something? I mean, I've heard he does that, but it's still news to me.
Second, I do believe in God. I also believe in the Goddess, but that's neither here nor there. Now, my God once gave me the epiphany when I was younger that the meaning of life is to *live*, and enjoy being alive. My God and Goddess created this world for us to enjoy things like breathing, and dancing, and music, and laughter, and colors, and words, and *emotion*. My God and Goddess want me to live, and love, and enjoy all of it. I don't believe they would want to limit me from any experience in love, or to tell me that I can't enjoy love because it's not 'in their image'.
Apparently my God and your God can't play nice together.
So, Gods aside, that would mean that gay marriage is wrong because there's something wrong with me for wanting to marry someone of my own gender. Which would insinuate that you have somehow decided that you are my parent and must decide what's best for me, because I don't know what's best. And that your definition of love is 'right', and mine is 'wrong'. Also interesting, because I'd love to know how you got to that conclusion, and what leads you to believe that your opinion is any better or more 'right' than mine.
I learned something in college that I still keep with me today that has absolutely nothing to do with my degree. It was one of those weird conversations I had with my best friend during class. We'd had several teachers talking about 'thinking outside the box' to develop a creative design. She made a smart-ass comment that still amuses me about our personal boxes, but there was something I mentioned that I still haven't had a clear answer on.
Why do we make the box in the first place?
Who gets to define what is art, what is beauty, what is love? Who gets designated with that job, and where are their credentials? If there *is* no such person, why are we telling our children these things? Color inside the lines. Make sure all of your coloring lines face the same way. Boys are boys and girls are girls, and boys can’t enjoy ’girly’ things like dress up and playing hours, while girls can’t play with power tools or cars. You're only allowed to love the people who are gross because they have cooties - don't worry; you'll get over that when you hit puberty. Probably. And if you don't, well ...
If you don't, you can look forward to praying that you have friends who love you enough to tell you it's okay. You can pray that your family doesn't turn against you, that the people who love you don't find you disgusting. You can pray that you survive being honest, because you want to be who you are and love who you love, and that some day, you'll make new friends, who are happy for your happiness with whoever you find to fill your heart.
And you'd better pray that your God loves you as much as everyone assures you he does, despite all of your flaws.
This is something I've seen floating around some fanfiction.net profiles before. I've always loved it every time I've seen it, and this seems like a good time to mention it:
10 Reasons Why Being Gay is 'Wrong'
1.) Being gay is not 'natural'. We must always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
2.) Gay marriage will make people gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
3.) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets- because of course a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract, just like a human being.
4.) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, interracial marriage is still frowned upon, and divorce is still illegal.
5.) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed (Oh, what a tragedy).
6.) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world clearly needs more children, despite the fact that so many of them go uncared for.
7.) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
8.) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion.
9.) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10.) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.
Democracy is a good idea. Or at least, it would be if it actually worked the way it was supposed to. Because we get the majority vote into the offices we want - provided the polling places don't fuck up their counts - and 'the people' as a whole have made their decisions. As long as we ignore all the people who bitch because they didn't get the person they wanted. Or the people in office who can't keep any of their promises of things to do for the country because the rest of the government keeps voting against them. Or putting in new laws and amendments to change what's there.
All I know is, democracy has given me a president that I'm almost apathetic about, because I don't really care for either of the main candidates, and now it has me biting my nails and trying not to cry because I'm about to lose another step towards being able to love freely, without restrictions, and not have the government interfering with my decisions to love and have a family.
Yay, democracy.
Oh, and the quote from my anonymous friend, for anyone who’s curious:
“So after seven months of college, we’ve discovered that I’m living in an ameba and you’re cutting holes in your box.”
-Holding up a chainsaw- Box? What is this … ‘box’ you speak of?