I am seeing a disconcerting trend in the United States of people not listening to each other, disparaging others who don’t share their views, and jealously protecting their own interests. If this trend continues, I would not be surprised if this nation falls apart within my lifetime.
In Oakland, the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, where I was trained to become a newspaper journalist, offers a diversity training program called “Fault Lines” that teaches participants how to talk to their coworkers across divides of race, class, gender, generation, and geography. I believe we are a nation divided by multiple fault lines that include these categories – and politics and sexual orientation.
A recent example of this trend is the string of comments on Twitter after the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals announced today the overturning of Proposition 8, a California constitutional amendment that bans gay marriage. While there were many “tweets” of celebration, some disparaged Christians who supported the amendment. Not all Christians in California supported Proposition 8.
Another example I noticed was an entry in the online publication Benicia Patch in which a resident attended a January 25 meeting in Fairfield addressing housing and transportation. Kathy Kerridge wrote that she made a comment and was told by an audience member that if “you don’t agree with me, you can move to Russia.” When Kerridge asked a woman who opposed paying more taxes for transportation how would blind people get to work without public transit, the woman replied that they should walk.
On a national level, the candidates for president claim their biggest goal is to defeat President Barack Obama. However, I have yet to hear how they would address the housing crisis or help boost the economy to create jobs, or how they would deal with the soaring cost of health care. And how would tax cuts for the wealthy help the middle class and the poor? Or do they care?
Before things get out of hand, can we all sit together and discuss our concerns without shouting or name-calling or eye-rolling? My fear is that if we don’t start working together to solve the problems of this country, the United States will rupture along one or more of these “fault lines.”
Writing Diva
Showing posts with label Proposition 8. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Proposition 8. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Saturday, October 18, 2008
"Separate But Equal" Not Cutting It in 2008
I know I'm going to get in trouble for this entry. It's a no-win situation in a turbulent election year.
It's a ballot measure that has not only divided California, but neighbors in Solano County.
Proposition 8.
The measure can be summed up in these 14 words: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." (Note: California Attorney General Jerry Brown reworded the proposition to read, in part, "Eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry.")
The ballot initiative qualified for the November 2008 ballot shortly after the California Supreme Court ruled May 15, 2008, that not allowing domestic partnership and gay and lesbian couples to be called "marriage" violates the California Constitution. A month later, on June 16, 2008, gays and lesbians were allowed to marry legally in this state.
Before I continue, I must fully disclose that I am a Christian. I attend an evangelical church in Solano County. But my belief is that God made gays and lesbians the way they are and that I don't understand why He would not allow two adults of whatever sexual orientation to marry, give birth to (by artificial means) or adopt children, and be in a hospital room with the other spouse. I know what the Bible says. I'm probably going to the eternal fireplace for this.
In my early adulthood I was prejudiced against gays and lesbians. But then, I knew very few personally. In college, I met a guy named Steve who was gay. We became good friends until we graduated. I have an older cousin who is gay who is like an older brother to me. Another friend who was my editor and journalism mentor came out to me 13 years ago. I was honored that he trusted me enough to tell me.
I mention these people because I don't know how I can justify saying, "I can marry because I'm straight, but you can't because you're gay." To me, it makes about as much sense as the oxymoronic "separate but equal" doctrine the U.S. Supreme Court favored by a 7-1 vote in 1896. This decision found that Homer Plessy, who was one-eighth black and seven-eighths white, was guilty of sitting in a railroad car reserved for whites only. In summary, the Court ruled that whites and blacks can have separate facilities as long as they're "equal." It wasn't until the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision that this doctrine would be struck down.
So, when a representative of the Proposition 8 campaign called and tried to convince me that under the initiative gays and lesbians would have the same rights as married heterosexual couples but would not be called "married," I laughed derisively before hanging up.
There are signs on both sides of Alamo Drive in Vacaville that support and oppose Proposition 8. There have been complaints of signs being stolen from both sides of the issue.
Proponents of Proposition 8 say they want to protect marriage. Then let's go a few steps further, shall we? Let's outlaw adultery. In the Bible, Deuteronomy 22:22 states: "If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil." (New Living Translation) OK, so death may be an extreme punishment for adultery. But prison time? Why not!
The proponents also say that marriage is for raising children. If that's the case, what would be the point of a perimenopausal woman whose biological clock alarm is ringing incessantly getting married? Should I be a "spinster"? Perish the thought!
My cousin's two daughters grew up just fine, as did each daughter's son. No one was "indoctrinated into the gay lifestyle."
Moreover, if Proposition 8 were to pass, what then? Take away children from gay and lesbian couples because they're unfit to be parents? Try that with Melissa Etheridge and her spouse, Tammy Lynn Michaels. Good luck.
Finally, if Proposition 8 supporters are afraid that society is going to crumble if gay marriage is sanctioned, I think, with global warming, famine, mass killings in Darfur, drug trafficking, gang violence, worldwide political corruption, and the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression, it's a little late now.
OK. Now I'm really going to hell.
Writing Diva
It's a ballot measure that has not only divided California, but neighbors in Solano County.
Proposition 8.
The measure can be summed up in these 14 words: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." (Note: California Attorney General Jerry Brown reworded the proposition to read, in part, "Eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry.")
The ballot initiative qualified for the November 2008 ballot shortly after the California Supreme Court ruled May 15, 2008, that not allowing domestic partnership and gay and lesbian couples to be called "marriage" violates the California Constitution. A month later, on June 16, 2008, gays and lesbians were allowed to marry legally in this state.
Before I continue, I must fully disclose that I am a Christian. I attend an evangelical church in Solano County. But my belief is that God made gays and lesbians the way they are and that I don't understand why He would not allow two adults of whatever sexual orientation to marry, give birth to (by artificial means) or adopt children, and be in a hospital room with the other spouse. I know what the Bible says. I'm probably going to the eternal fireplace for this.
In my early adulthood I was prejudiced against gays and lesbians. But then, I knew very few personally. In college, I met a guy named Steve who was gay. We became good friends until we graduated. I have an older cousin who is gay who is like an older brother to me. Another friend who was my editor and journalism mentor came out to me 13 years ago. I was honored that he trusted me enough to tell me.
I mention these people because I don't know how I can justify saying, "I can marry because I'm straight, but you can't because you're gay." To me, it makes about as much sense as the oxymoronic "separate but equal" doctrine the U.S. Supreme Court favored by a 7-1 vote in 1896. This decision found that Homer Plessy, who was one-eighth black and seven-eighths white, was guilty of sitting in a railroad car reserved for whites only. In summary, the Court ruled that whites and blacks can have separate facilities as long as they're "equal." It wasn't until the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision that this doctrine would be struck down.
So, when a representative of the Proposition 8 campaign called and tried to convince me that under the initiative gays and lesbians would have the same rights as married heterosexual couples but would not be called "married," I laughed derisively before hanging up.
There are signs on both sides of Alamo Drive in Vacaville that support and oppose Proposition 8. There have been complaints of signs being stolen from both sides of the issue.
Proponents of Proposition 8 say they want to protect marriage. Then let's go a few steps further, shall we? Let's outlaw adultery. In the Bible, Deuteronomy 22:22 states: "If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil." (New Living Translation) OK, so death may be an extreme punishment for adultery. But prison time? Why not!
The proponents also say that marriage is for raising children. If that's the case, what would be the point of a perimenopausal woman whose biological clock alarm is ringing incessantly getting married? Should I be a "spinster"? Perish the thought!
My cousin's two daughters grew up just fine, as did each daughter's son. No one was "indoctrinated into the gay lifestyle."
Moreover, if Proposition 8 were to pass, what then? Take away children from gay and lesbian couples because they're unfit to be parents? Try that with Melissa Etheridge and her spouse, Tammy Lynn Michaels. Good luck.
Finally, if Proposition 8 supporters are afraid that society is going to crumble if gay marriage is sanctioned, I think, with global warming, famine, mass killings in Darfur, drug trafficking, gang violence, worldwide political corruption, and the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression, it's a little late now.
OK. Now I'm really going to hell.
Writing Diva
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