My friends and I were talking about the election and the gay marriage ban in our state and how it seems like Christians are getting blamed for everything. As it is very late and I am very tired, I am going to knock out two birds with one fairly soapboxy rock. Most of the personal stuff has been removed to prevent embarrassment to individuals in the conversation. Normally I wouldn't be so nice, but as it's a touchy subject I thought I would take the "good friend" road, just this once.
When people talk about “Christians” they don’t mean people who are trying to live their own lives by their faith. They really mean the Christian Reich… you know who I’m talking about: The Bible Thumping, Hate Mongering, Crusade Happy, “I don’t care if you don’t want to be baptized, you’re going to be, hang on a sec, I need to bless this water before I throw it in your face”, “If you’re not with us you’re a Devil Worshipper” types.
Marriage to me, is an incredibly personal act. It is to stand before God and say “God, I love this person so much, I want to be with them forever. Please join our souls so that we can always find our way back to each other, not just now but forever—whether we end up in heaven or hell or in the next life. It doesn’t matter where you send me, I just want to be with this person when I get there. Please always let me find my way to them and let them always be able to find me.” I also believe that gender is carbon-based, that the soul is neither male nor female. It is because of this belief that I am entirely supportive, not just of gay marriage, but of homosexuality. I believe that people should be able to marry the person they love regardless of gender. I believe that people should be able to show their love for whoever it is they fall in love with. I don’t believe we choose who we love or who we are attracted to. I know that if my brain controlled who I was attracted to, I wouldn’t have dated….Any of the guys I’ve dated so far. Of course I’m speaking with hindsight, so who really knows, right?
Faith is also incredibly personal. I don’t believe that any two people believe in the exact same thing—even if they grew up together, went to the same church and learned all the same things, each person would still have his/her own take on the materials and experiences. What makes one person’s idea of what is right take precedence over another’s? Faith is also constantly evolving. For us as individuals, our faith grows as we grow as people. In a more global sense, it grows to serve the needs of it’s community. The Jews once had 632 (or something like that) commandments. They don’t still follow all of them, not even the most orthodox Jews. People get married multiple times in their lifetime, and as far as I know, the Bible does not allow divorce.
This is why the ban on gay marriage is so horrible. It isn’t a legal issue at all. It is a way for people to force their faith on others. The issue sprang up because some people have issues with homosexuality. I don’t think there was a challenge when the states decided to legalize marriage as a federal institution as well as a religious one. Nobody cares if a man and a woman want to do something as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else or get in anybody’s way. Homosexuality, on the other hand, is still a very sensitive issue and by banning it, it says on a very underhanded level that homosexuality is wrong, and shouldn’t be accepted into the “mainstream.”
For me, it isn’t so much what the ban prevents as what it encourages: It encourages discrimination, fear of the unknown, and hatred of those who are different. This sort of thinking gets passed down, whether or not we intend it to.
Sorry, my soapbox grew legs and ran away with me still standing on it.
As far as the election goes… I don’t think the Christians will get blamed when Bush does more stupid things. I think the Republicans will, and that’s a shame because not all Republicans voted for Bush, just as not all Democrats voted for Kerry.
It’s sad that we live in such a labelistic society.
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