Politics, and life in general
For those of you non-Californians, which is, wait, all of you, there's a proposition on the ballot to "define 'marriage' as between a man and a woman." You can imagine how I feel about Prop 8. Sarah and Mom have both had to deal with door-to-door people trying to convince them to vote yes, but I never had to deal with them myself. Then yesterday as I was in tidying up in the kitchen, rocking out to my all-inspiring "Get to Work!" playlist, the phone rang.
To my credit, I did not hang up on her. She was pleasant enough, and I'm trying really hard to not hate ignorant bigots simply for the fact that they're ignorant bigots. She was really well trained: started speaking again every time I paused for breath, knew just what things to say to the "somewhat well-informed, angry liberal" stereotype, and I did eventually promise her that I would look at the articles on the L.A. Times website (I had asked if she could give me a source of information that wasn't sponsored by pro-8 groups, and it was the only one she could come up with).
Points she tried to make:
1. Kids will be taught about gay marriage in school. Now, I don't know how credible this claim is, which is what made me curious about looking at the L.A. Times website in the first place (either way, though, it wouldn't make me change my vote). Even if it is true, I frankly don't think teachers should be mentioning any kind of marriage.
2. Lawsuits in Massachusetts against churches and preachers that refused to wed gay couples. My counterpoints: A- They have always had that right to refuse service to anyone. B- People have always been making frivolous lawsuits and always will be.
3. Gay people won't lose any rights, she's just trying to "protect the definition of the word 'marriage'." I couldn't get my argument together for this one, but now of course I'm brimming with comebacks. About the "sanctity" of Britney Spears' 55-hour marriage. About how left-handed people are the same percentage of the population as gay people and how we were thought to be evil abominations for eons, too. About how you can say that it's equal and fair to have the same rights but call it two different things, but it still means that you think that someone isn't entitled to the same thing as you just because they're different. About how definitions change over time, despite the bigots; after all, black people didn't used to be considered people.
The whole thing just got me thinking about all my radical philophies, and for the umpteen-millionth time I became grateful for living in a country where I'm not only free to think radical things, but to say them right out loud - even to the president himself if I so chose. Here are two of them! :)
1. Marriage, between anyone, should consist of two separate agreements: a legal contract, that give you all the rights and privileges that the current definition of marriage entails, and a personal one, which is the wedding ceremony that your family and friends come to, which is the personal/spiritual commitment you make to each other, which the government has absolutely nothing to do with.
2. America is too damn big. The worst decision America ever made (before it really was America, to be fair) was showing up in the first place and pillaging the land and the Native Americans.* But another really bad one was the Louisiana Purchase and the entire concept of Manifest Destiny (I remember, back in middle school, little bespectacled teacher's-pet Beth getting all irate about it). Aside from the fact that the land wasn't ours in the first place, there's just too much of it. I do have one Republican belief in that the states should be able to have a lot of differing rules from each other. There are just too many opinions and too many different kinds of people for this country to function for however-much-time-we-have-left-on-Earth. There should be a lot of much smaller countries, so that you can find the place that's perfect for you, and fucking live there! And leave everyone else alone. How the hell are we going to fix all the millions of little things wrong with this country when we can't even agree on something as huge as abortion?? In my novel set in the future, I'm referring to this area as "The Allied States of America." :)
*Side note: Mom was typing something for work, and had to choose whether to use the phrase "Native American" or "Indian." She picked "Native American" (even though many such people claim to prefer the term "Indian"), not because she was afraid of offending Native Americans, but because she was afraid of offending Indians. As in people from India. The whole thing just made her smile about the progress of this country and the way we think.
OK. Politics over.
OMGIjusthadthemostbrilliantidea. A photograph (Photoshop? Or with the aid of two friends?) of myself as a Hindu deity with six arms, each one doing a different sign: Peace, Rock On, the Hawaiian Shaka, Sign Language "I Love You," Live Long and Prosper, and Dane Cook's SuperFinger. Oh I am so boss.
In accordance with the holy law of ICABBIB, I have made my own Superfox Breakup-Warrior Royal Crest. Take a look, and tell me if it could possibly represent anyone else you know. :)
That's an otter's head on top and a cupcake at the bottom. The heart with wings is Swift Heart Rabbit's tummy-symbol. You'll notice that it and the pen and rose are arranged like a skull-and-crossbones. Again, I am so boss.
The latest boy-from-online that I gave my number to seemed interested enough. We said we'd meet on the 25th, then he called once, we chatted, and I haven't heard from him since. 25th come and gone. *shrug* I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.
And speaking of boys, I worked on an analogy last night as I was trying to fall asleep. As the experts say, "If the shoe don't fit, then that ain't yo' shoe," and "The shoe doesn't fit, no matter how hard you jam your toes in there, so throw it away." Feel free to let the Cinderella imagery flow. Yes, Steven's "shoe" was new and gorgeous and had cute little strappy things and sparkly things and I wanted to wear it forever. Yes, Steven thought my "foot" was beautiful and fun and strong. But we didn't fit. He gave me blisters and kept slipping off over and over again. And now he has found a foot who does fit. And I, though I may be constantly looking into shoe-store windows, am content to go barefoot for a while. It's healthy and comfortable and adorable, if somewhat cold. OK, analogy over.
To-Do List for the Rest of My Week Alone:
√ clean fridge
√ mail office transcript
√ get more recycling bags
√ fix Cristy's necklace
listen to Dad's CDs
get a Halloween costume, however half-assed (ideas please??)