Sunday, January 18, 2009

Life is hard-period.

Why do people feel the need to persecute and stifle other people throughout time?  Life is hard enough, and that goes for everyone, without constantly trying to fight with other mortals to live.  Last night I saw Milk, the bio-pic of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.  He and the mayor that supported him were assassinated while, literally, in their offices by a defeated coward who opposed them and their steps towards fairness and equality.  I'm sure the timing is no coincidence--California just went through a similar fight with Propostion 8.  Fighting for equality in the face of religious zealots.  
Life is hard--everyone feels lonely, confused and questions their purpose.  Why can't we see that everyones life would be better if we stopped bashing and judging.  Two men want to marry?  Why not?!  I might be able to empathize with the conservative argument over up-holding the sanctity of marriage if there were still such a thing.  Marriages now only have a measly 50% chance of making it.  We heterosexuals have dissolved it into merely an extended relationship instead of a life-long journey and union.  It is not uncommon for heteroseuxual people these days to divorce and re-marry without any social stigma.  "Till death do us part", " through sickness and in health", and "for better or for worse" have only become words repeated but not promises made.  Gay couples are no better at staying together than us, but they are no worse either.  

Marriage should mean something deep and personal to the two people involved, but it should have nothing to do with anybody else.  The condemning masses are not going to live those lives and fight those battles, so they should have nothing to do with the commitment in the first place.  The law says nothing about allowing sexual offenders or ex-cons, or convicts for that matter, to marry--do they represent the purity and sanctity of marriage?  Religion should uplift and forgive, not persecute and stifle those that already have to struggle with society to be who they really are and not who we want them to be.  

-These last few posts have been a little heavy so I'll try and bring some levity into the next ones.