A Month to Think
It's a good thing. Four weeks away from this thing was pretty much needed as I didn't have anything to share, the news was boring and quite frankly, work was super busy for a while.
Let's get down to it shall we.
I've posted in other places, here I think, the offer of paying money to anybody who can demonstrate (without resorting to a biblical reference) how gay marriage will threaten the moral backbone of our society.
The argument as I've presented it goes like this. Throughout the course of North American history - post European settlement - more and more minority groups have been granted equal rights. Black slaves were freed, women got the right to vote etc... We are gradually becoming a more tolerant and equitable society. Very gradually. We live in a country (Canada for me, possibly the US for you) that values, hell is built around, the concept that all people are created equal. We are also two countries that have at their foundation, the separation of church and state.
So, my question is: Why shouldn't gay marriage be recognized and protected under Canadian law? If you can answer the question and convince me that it shouldn't be recognized and protected I will A. Vote against it if asked and b. Write a letter to our Prime Minister and cc it to our local media speaking out against it.
However, there are conditions:
You cannot argue it as a biblical issue as our country clearly separates church and state.
You cannot argue it as a "family values" issue and the need for a stable family to protect children because. The staggering divorce rate and child abuse rate cut that argument right out. Besides, my dad was raised by a welfare mom (literally) and he wasn't damaged because he was raised outside a "normal" family home.
You cannot claim this is "special rights". Under the charter everybody is to be treated equally.
You cannot claim that it's "icky" because we have a long standing tradition of "the government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation." Trudeau.
So, if you can convince me that gay marriage should be blocked - good on you. I don't think you'll succeed, however give it your best shot.
Why am I so fired up by this? Am I gay? No. Do I have any personal stake in this? No. Although if my kids turn out to be gay, I'd like them to have the same protections as other Canadians.
I fired up by this because I honestly think that the debate is at best, a distraction from truly important matters and at worst feeding in to the culture of fear that has descended upon us since the first Bush Jr. term.
We are living under an ever increasing and somewhat imagined threat. We are being conditioned to be afraid of anything different from us.
Non-Christians? fear them as they'll corrupt your head.
Arabs and other brown skinned people? fear them as they're probably terrorists.
Gay people? fear them because their secret agenda is to turn your kids gay.
And, because all these brown-skinned, non-Christian, gay people are threatening our very existence, they should be persecuted; loudly and boldly in the media. This is the constant message from the right. Politicians, media, corporations and the inevitable trickle-down to the masses are screaming for a return to all things good and decent.
Well guess what. These arguments are an international sleight of hand trick. It's mis-direction on a global scale. This is exactly what Hitler did to justify the re-arming of Germany. This is exactly what that evil little man set in motion. In the 1940's this kind of thinking was extended to it's vilest, ugliest end. Find someone different than you (Jews, gays, non-whites, non-Christians etc...) and blame them for all your problems.
This will distract your population from realizing what you're doing in the rest of the world.
Today, it's the US incursions into Iraq, the exploitation of the remaining green-spaces, the land-grab about to happen in Iran that should be talked about. Instead, the population is being distracted by Dr. Dobson claiming that Shrek and Spongebob's apparent gay undertones are corrupting your children. We're being shown this huge group of people (gays and lesbians) and being told that because they want to get married, you should be afraid. And you're buying it. Lock, stock and barrel.
How much longer will it be until the right will be demanding that gays be identified, a la Jewish Poles with a star of David, or that all non-white immigrants be required to carry and produce documentation on demand?
How much longer will the US and Canada be distracted from the worlds' problems, created mostly by white, right-wing, greed?
If gays and lesbians getting married to a chorus from the Spongebob show is your greatest worry, I both pity and envy you. Envy because your life is apparently very simplified and worry because you have no concerns for your fellow humans on the rest of the planet .
Let's get down to it shall we.
I've posted in other places, here I think, the offer of paying money to anybody who can demonstrate (without resorting to a biblical reference) how gay marriage will threaten the moral backbone of our society.
The argument as I've presented it goes like this. Throughout the course of North American history - post European settlement - more and more minority groups have been granted equal rights. Black slaves were freed, women got the right to vote etc... We are gradually becoming a more tolerant and equitable society. Very gradually. We live in a country (Canada for me, possibly the US for you) that values, hell is built around, the concept that all people are created equal. We are also two countries that have at their foundation, the separation of church and state.
So, my question is: Why shouldn't gay marriage be recognized and protected under Canadian law? If you can answer the question and convince me that it shouldn't be recognized and protected I will A. Vote against it if asked and b. Write a letter to our Prime Minister and cc it to our local media speaking out against it.
However, there are conditions:
You cannot argue it as a biblical issue as our country clearly separates church and state.
You cannot argue it as a "family values" issue and the need for a stable family to protect children because. The staggering divorce rate and child abuse rate cut that argument right out. Besides, my dad was raised by a welfare mom (literally) and he wasn't damaged because he was raised outside a "normal" family home.
You cannot claim this is "special rights". Under the charter everybody is to be treated equally.
You cannot claim that it's "icky" because we have a long standing tradition of "the government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation." Trudeau.
So, if you can convince me that gay marriage should be blocked - good on you. I don't think you'll succeed, however give it your best shot.
Why am I so fired up by this? Am I gay? No. Do I have any personal stake in this? No. Although if my kids turn out to be gay, I'd like them to have the same protections as other Canadians.
I fired up by this because I honestly think that the debate is at best, a distraction from truly important matters and at worst feeding in to the culture of fear that has descended upon us since the first Bush Jr. term.
We are living under an ever increasing and somewhat imagined threat. We are being conditioned to be afraid of anything different from us.
Non-Christians? fear them as they'll corrupt your head.
Arabs and other brown skinned people? fear them as they're probably terrorists.
Gay people? fear them because their secret agenda is to turn your kids gay.
And, because all these brown-skinned, non-Christian, gay people are threatening our very existence, they should be persecuted; loudly and boldly in the media. This is the constant message from the right. Politicians, media, corporations and the inevitable trickle-down to the masses are screaming for a return to all things good and decent.
Well guess what. These arguments are an international sleight of hand trick. It's mis-direction on a global scale. This is exactly what Hitler did to justify the re-arming of Germany. This is exactly what that evil little man set in motion. In the 1940's this kind of thinking was extended to it's vilest, ugliest end. Find someone different than you (Jews, gays, non-whites, non-Christians etc...) and blame them for all your problems.
This will distract your population from realizing what you're doing in the rest of the world.
Today, it's the US incursions into Iraq, the exploitation of the remaining green-spaces, the land-grab about to happen in Iran that should be talked about. Instead, the population is being distracted by Dr. Dobson claiming that Shrek and Spongebob's apparent gay undertones are corrupting your children. We're being shown this huge group of people (gays and lesbians) and being told that because they want to get married, you should be afraid. And you're buying it. Lock, stock and barrel.
How much longer will it be until the right will be demanding that gays be identified, a la Jewish Poles with a star of David, or that all non-white immigrants be required to carry and produce documentation on demand?
How much longer will the US and Canada be distracted from the worlds' problems, created mostly by white, right-wing, greed?
If gays and lesbians getting married to a chorus from the Spongebob show is your greatest worry, I both pity and envy you. Envy because your life is apparently very simplified and worry because you have no concerns for your fellow humans on the rest of the planet .
posted by Todd at 3:04 p.m.
2 Comments:
*sigh*
if only there were more of you.
thanks.
If I could give you kudos for this, Wheat, I would. But, alas, this is blogger, and not T4C.
Now, if you can figure out who this is ... I'll give you real kudos somewhere in T4C!
:evil:
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