Wedge Issues, Life, and Politics

It's that political season again where lines are being drawn on wedge issues. Especially on the topics of Gay Marriage and Abortion rights.

A court recently ruled against Proposition 8 in California much to the dismay of Conservative groups. Conservative politicians are now on the stump, referring to this court as activists who are ruling against the will of the people who won the vote on what I consider a Civil rights issue. Yes, the people of California voted not really to ensure that marriage would be exclusively between a man and a woman, but more to legalize discrimination against two people who want to make a family.

Rick Santorum who wears his religion on his shoulders is running for President of the United States. His ire for the Gay community is obvious, and appeals to people who don't understand and seem to be looking for an outlet of hate. They profess love, yet their actions speak otherwise when they support laws which really are intended to put a segment of society back in their closets.

When I refer to people who are enthralled by Politicians such as Rick Santorum, I think about people who I know in my own life, and people who the readers know in their own lives. I won't call or quote any names, however these people are real and we all know it. They are people who believe in specific mind sets and no amount of debate will change their thoughts.

I am old enough to remember the battle for Integration, and there were members of my own white family who vehemently opposed any mixing of blacks and whites, and truly believed they were more superior than blacks. Unfortunately I was raised with this mindset, but fortunately as an adult I learned to think otherwise. It would be a better world if more people would look deep into their hearts and think, "what if?", "are there other possibilities?".

On a MSNBC program a week or so ago, I saw Michael Steele talking about Gay people comparing their struggle to that of the Civil Rights era of blacks. He made the comment that it offended him and many other people of color. His argument was that a Black person walks into a room and can't deny their color, and if a Gay person walks into a room they can blend in. These comments offended me, struggles for rights don't know color. I have known two gay people grocery shopping, minding their own business and called "Faggots" for no reason other than deciding on what to buy for dinner. More recently a man came out of a convenient store and was immediately accosted by a group of men who beat him while screaming gay epithets. Good God Mr. Steele, hate is hate and you support a party who day after day pander to that hate.

The Republican party also continues to use the rights of women as a way to divide our country. Women fought for the right to make choices about their own bodies and right to choose, and have that right in our Constitution. I believe any woman who supports the religious right should go ahead if raped and have that baby, that would be her choice, but just because you are a Christian, don't force your belief on anyone who doesn't agree with you, otherwise women here in our country would be no better off than those who live under strict laws in other countries.

We are divided as a country in so many ways, rich or poor, white versus every other color, religious or non religious, conservative or liberal. Where we are not divided is we all bleed when cut, need air to breathe, food to nourish our bodies, medicine when we are sick, and we all die at some point. Really when we think about the things each of us have in common far exceeds our differences, yet we let so few and inconsequential things divide us.

November 2

It is getting closer to the November 2 elections and we will find out who will control our Congress and Senate, and for us in Texas who our Governor will be. This is going to be a tough election due to the current issues with our economy, lack of jobs and lack of confidence. The Republicans seem to have the momentum and are already planning on how they will not be for the common or working people of the United States. Are people's memories so short that they cannot remember it was these leaders and ideas which got us into the mess we are in? Many have forgotten, and other's simply don't care and will vote strictly based on party affiliation regardless how detrimental the policies will be.

How many times can we afford to go backwards? Because if the Republicans win it will be another mile back for progress, health care, jobs, and my sanity. Yes, I hate to think about living under another Republican anything. So many of these people have no ideas other than insisting they get to keep their guns, and waive signs at Tea Party rallies of hate, or abortion clinics. Or maybe these people like living under an atmosphere of fear, because that seems to be what they sell best.

The Republican party has no vision for creating jobs, no vision for our education system, no vision for the health care crisis we are facing, yet they have followers. People who are angry, frustrated, and inflamed by messages of hate for anyone who is different, such as the illegal immigrants, Muslims, Gays/Lesbians in the military and women who have a voice and demand rights to their own bodies.

November 2 will be here soon enough, the people will vote and we shall see what direction we are going to be headed in.

Ending The Iraq War

Tonight I watched President Obama address the nation about ending the conflict in Iraq. As always his words were poetic and came from his heart, however, he was a hell of a lot nicer to George Bush than I would have been. I would love to hear President Obama say what I believe no matter how nonpartisan it would sound. The Bush administration absolutely took us to war based on lies, and an atmosphere of hate. Many Democrats bought into, yet they were not the leaders in control, it was the Republican party. Now is the time for accountability.

As a nation we have spent nearly a trillion dollars on the Iraq War, lost thousands of our citizens, and the price paid by the Iraqi citizens themselves is probably in the countless thousands. How can George Bush, Dick Cheney and others even look themselves in the mirror? This was a manipulated war, not about 9/11 even though it was built upon based on our nations day of horror. It has been a war where Dick Cheney and George Bush's cronies who own companies have been rewarded richly with no bid contracts. Simply put, this war was because of a grudge against Saddam and certainly about oil.

If nothing else should cause the demise of the Republican Party, then this war should be more than enough. It is a political party so rampant with corruption and brain washing tactics that anyone who supports it have no credibility in my mind. It is a party which has endorsed torture, illegal wiretapping, ousting a CIA operative, secret prisons abroad, and one of rampant racism, not forgetting its complete lack of truth.

I'm afraid there is a whole segment of our population which is brainwashed to the point of no return. These mindless souls will go to the polls in November and vote for people who have supported all these actions, excuse them with they are only trying to keep us safe. Poor morons is all I can say. NO, they are simply idiots.

Burning The Quran

Yesterday on the Chris Matthews show I saw Evangelical leader Terry Jones of Florida. He was asked about burning copies of the Quran on 9/11 at his church. His response sent chills up my spine when I saw how cold and indifferent he acted about his upcoming actions of hate and ignorance, because that is exactly what it is. Mr. Matthews asked him if he respected any political leader, and he said the former President Bush, so how ironic a man who took us to war based on lies in a Islamic country is someone this religious leader holds in high esteem.

What will burning the Islamic Holy Book achieve in the Christian community? Well it will certainly strike a note of accord with many who believe they are solely right in personal beliefs, and there are many people I know of this mindset. It's as if they already have earned their heavenly wings and halos. Well here is a news flash for anyone who supports this, "stupid, stupid, stupid."

Right now there is a growing movement of Islamaphobia and intolerance in our country. A country who's fore fathers fought so we could be free to worship or not as we please, our fore fathers would be hanging their heads in disgrace if they could see what is happening today. All this being fueled by political leaders, and religious leaders seeking only to divide us as a people and are succeeding to a high degree.

There are people in the Islamic community who are terrorist, but are they any different from the white man who attacked the Islamic taxi driver in New York because he was Islamic? In my opinion there is no difference, because evil is exactly what it is, "evil", and it comes in all shapes and colors of skin.

I don't know when or if all this rhetoric will end, and it is my fear when extremist in other countries see copies of the book they hold most Holy burned, they will react with anger and actions yet to be seen. To all the Christians out there, open your Bible and look for the scriptures which say to love thy neighbor as thyself.

Muslim Community Center Near Ground Zero

The attacks on 9/11 were horrible for our nation, yet even worse for people who had loved ones in the buildings or on the planes. Today there is division among us because of the possible building of a Muslim community center blocks from ground zero. The rhetoric I've been hearing is how insensitive the Muslim community is for even wanting to build there, but what if it were some type of Christian center? Would they have an issue with that? Absolutely not. What these people need to realize is, many nationalities died that day, and no one has exclusive rights to emotional pain.

We have been healing as a nation and the Muslim community has the right to build anywhere they choose and by building this center, then maybe people can be educated about the fundamental beliefs of Islam. To deny this community from building anywhere is an act itself of discrimination, and we have fought for Civil Rights since the 1960's where we are all equal, and our Fore Father's implemented our Constitution so all of us could have religious freedom.

The attitudes of the Christian segment of our society are frightening to me right now. They profess love, and yet they attack anyone who believes differently or is of a different lifestyle than them. We are a nation of many nationalities, and individual uniqueness and it's time we recognize this. Christians feel the only way to heaven is through Jesus and maybe by visiting this Center with an open mind, then maybe they could learn something, although I really doubt it. We are all conditioned as children to believe a certain way, and most refuse to accept anything which is contrary to that conditioning.

I know there are extremists among the Islamic faith, however there are extremists in every faith, look at Waco, and Timothy McVeigh who attacked in Oklahoma City, he was a white man, also the group led by Fred Phelps, these are just a few examples of people who are dangerous, yet if they are white, then society as a whole does not condemn them in the same manner.

Wouldn't it be nice if going forward our world could be a place of peace for our children? To get there our churches need to stop teaching or brainwashing of absolute truth, for truth is an individual perception. I don't know that Jesus really lived or not, or if he did was the true son of God, nor do I know that what Islam teaches is the absolute truth. Regardless, we can teach respect, react with respect, and live with respect.

Sharon Angle

Sharon Angle is running for a House seat against Harry Reid of Nevada. This woman is completely close minded and has views which should frighten any normal or average American. Firstly her views on abortion, she has publicly stated she is against it under any circumstance, including rape and incest. What right does she have to think that a rape victim who is impregnated during a act of violence should carry that reminder? If a young girl is impregnated by her father, then she should be forced to carry this child? What insensitive and completely narrow minded ideas and Sharon Angle would like to enforce these views on everyone else.

It is no surprise but this woman is also against any right of support for the Gay and Lesbian community. In a government survey she checked the boxes stating no to Gay Marriage, no to Gay adoptions, no to Civil Unions. Well she clearly doesn't represent any of the Gay constituents of Nevada.

What Sharon Angle does support is religious institutions being able to use tax exempt status's to endorse political candidates, talk about an infringement of Separation of Church and State. Guess what this close minded woman doesn't realize is that we Gay people contribute to the tax base, and personally I wouldn't want one cent of my tax dollars going towards a candidate endorsed by a church. If churches and religious institutions want to endorse candidates then give up the tax exempt status.

People like Sharon Angle would like to take our country back in time, when Gay people were in closets shrouded in fear, women had back alley abortions, and women in general had very few rights. She wraps herself in righteousness giving no thought of us being a nation of individuals and each person unique. We should pity her ignorance, yet never loose sight of the repercussions if enough people of her mindset are elected.

It's Gay Marriage Again

Today courts in California ruled to strike down Proposition 8. This is one step towards victory for Gays and Lesbians, but let's not celebrate just yet because Prop 8 supporters will carry forward with their fight. What the people supporting this discriminatory law need to understand is, we will not be stopped until we have equal rights. I don't understand such hatred towards a community, yet our countries history is steeped in hatred. Remember the black children who walked through throngs of white, spitting, cursing people, just to attend school, which had been previously all white? Remember the peaceful marchers who were targeted with fire hoses and police dogs? Shame on our history so steeped in the blood of slaves, and we should have learned from it, yet here we go again, only now these people are targeting us.

People spout religious scriptures and fall back on religious ingraining to justify supporting discrimination against us, without understanding or knowing who we really are. One of my own personal victories is, I don't have to justify or try and change these people's opinion of me. I am who I am with no apology offered. Our founding father's implemented laws so that minority communities could be protected, with rights, regardless of the feelings of the majority. This God given right, of two people who love each other to marry falls under what our fore fathers intended.

We are never going to stop the hate until people start teaching their children inclusion, and to view the world with open hearts and open minds. I think each generation is more accepting, but don't ever doubt there is still hatred being taught, and discrimination is being supported in self righteous minds and churches.