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February 26, 2004
I tend to avoid the political around here but the latest push by our President in support of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is just wrong. It upset me deep down. I was a little surprised at how much it upset me. Maybe it's because there's already so much hate and divisiveness swirling around us these days. Why add to it? Where's the compassion in this amendment? As I wrote in an email message to a gay friend of mine on Tuesday after I heard about the President's press conference:
"I can't imagine I'll ever want to get married. Even less, though, can I imagine how anyone would begrudge someone else that right...no matter the reason. If two people love each other and want to share their lives with each other, what in the hell is wrong with that? How can any of the people who support the amendment look at the pictures of the people coming out of the San Francisco City Hall last week see anything but joy and beauty? It's all so damn screwed up."
We're talking about a civil ceremony here...one that gives people the right to inherit property, make health decisions for their loved ones, care for their children, etc. These are basic rights in our country, aren't they? How does the act of two people declaring their love and commitment to each other diminish someone else's marriage? I keep reading arguments based on tradition and religion. Sorry. Traditions change. It used to be against the law for a black man and a white woman to marry. That was wrong (although we all know there are still people out there who don't agree). And, the law's been changed. Religious arguments don't wash in our form of government...there's that whole separation of Church and State thing we've got going on. Then there's the argument that this is all the work of a bunch of activist judges. Who else is going to protect a small minority? Who protected the interests of black citizens during the Civil Rights era? There certainly weren't a big ol' bunch of legislators clamoring to change discriminatory laws in Southern states. And, let's face it, we're talking about a very small minority of people. What is it about that tiny group that has people so scared they're willing to amend the U.S. Constitution?
The thing is, I really don't think an amendment writing discrimination into the U.S. Constitution can pass. At least, I hope it can't. So what's the point? Why drag the country through this morass? Don't we have enough to argue about? What's this War on Terror all about? It's a war against religious fundamentalism, right? A war against people who fundamentally oppose everything our democratic institutions stand for, right? Those extremists from the Religious Right who rarely follow any of Jesus' teachings aren't representative of the majority of Christians. And, yet...our President (the leader of the War on Terror) is supporting their religious fundamentalism? How do those two ideals fit hand-in-hand?
Sigh...I guess I'll never understand.
