Meddling
I am so sick of people meddling in affairs that are none of their business and have no impact on them. Now, I will grant that at times people rights have been infringed upon, and they were in a minority position without a voice. This is a different aspect all together. When white people stood up for black rights, it really didn't directly impact their lives, but that was a human rights issue.
Again the arguments have come up on other lists, so I am going to take the rare opportunity to espouse one of my political position. The argument again centered around the question of homosexuality. Those of you who know me well, know that this is a big issue that I get involved in frequently, due to JW, my cousin Bridget and my Aunt Dottie primarily.
Now some of you may already jump in and say that I am doing what I claimed I was sick of, but that would only be if you don't understand my relationship with JW. Let me point out the issue to you folks.
People have been protesting homosexuality for years. They will undoubtedly do so for years to come. It would be great if one day people didn't blink an eyelash about the subject, but that isn't going to happen.
However, the last couple of years the Christian right has been pushing to try and forestall the horrors of a homosexual marriage. This is what gets to me. Yeah, you can say it is sinful and God is against it. You'd be wrong, but you could say it. Unfortunately, our government is not set up to give your God a vote. The system is set up to care for the people.
Now lets look at the impact two women being allowed to marry would have on the rest of us. It has been said that it will open the door to polygamy and incest. The former is a socio-economical nightmare, the latter a major health risk. Nope, don't think there are any concerns there. It's been said it will destroy the sanctity of marriage. Nope, the only person who can bestow or destroy the sanctity of your marriage is you and/or your spouse.
When I got married, how many of you did it actually impact? None of you. If JW were to find a woman and marry her tomorrow, how many of you would it actually impact? None of you.
Who does it impact? These women (or men). For them this is a huge deal. Yeah they could declare themselves married, but without legal backing there are many issues. How would you like to go to the hospital where your spouse lay in critical condition and be informed by the doctor that he couldn't tell you what was going on because you weren't family? That you would have to contact the "real" family. Ones that may not be on speaking terms with you. Ones that may not have spoken to her for years making the important decisions, instead of you who live with and love her.
Imagine living with your loved one for years, even decades and when they pass being told you could lay claim to nothing of hers. Dishes, furniture, even the house you live in being claimed by her "next of kin."
How about little things like being able to legally refuse to testify as to conversations you had with your spouse.
With a legally recognized marriage a person can designate that the person they have married is someone they love, trust and depend on. The action instantaneously provides hundreds of rights to the individual that you marry and to yourself that can possibly be achieved otherwise only by mountains of paperwork, time and effort. Those mountains still can't necessarily protect the other individual in the case of something serious happening to you.
In short, two women getting married will not rock your world. For the most part, you probably won't even notice. It will change so much for them though. And it isn't some great advantage over you that it would provide. It is merely a question of equality.
Allowing two women to marry will not create a situation where suddenly we have women living together, sleeping together, loving each other, sharing finances and the little details of their lives. This is already going on. Disallowing it, then, will not stop any of this. It just comes down to the rights of your loved one and whom you have the right to designate to have those rights.
We regularly champion the great civil rights leaders that ended slavery and segregation. Who got women the right to vote and work to provide them equal rights in the workplace. Yet somehow we still think we have the right to interfere in the daily lives of certain individuals.
At what point do the latest round of civil rights activists stand up and say, "Look. You should not have the right to tell me who executes my estate. You do not have the right to tell me who can make medical decisions if I need them. You do not have the right to tell me whose hands I place my life, my heart and my soul in. This does not effect you, and I am not going to sit on the back of the bus while you pretend that this is a moral issue that you have a say in."
Just a fucked up state of affairs in our life, or something close to it.
Again the arguments have come up on other lists, so I am going to take the rare opportunity to espouse one of my political position. The argument again centered around the question of homosexuality. Those of you who know me well, know that this is a big issue that I get involved in frequently, due to JW, my cousin Bridget and my Aunt Dottie primarily.
Now some of you may already jump in and say that I am doing what I claimed I was sick of, but that would only be if you don't understand my relationship with JW. Let me point out the issue to you folks.
People have been protesting homosexuality for years. They will undoubtedly do so for years to come. It would be great if one day people didn't blink an eyelash about the subject, but that isn't going to happen.
However, the last couple of years the Christian right has been pushing to try and forestall the horrors of a homosexual marriage. This is what gets to me. Yeah, you can say it is sinful and God is against it. You'd be wrong, but you could say it. Unfortunately, our government is not set up to give your God a vote. The system is set up to care for the people.
Now lets look at the impact two women being allowed to marry would have on the rest of us. It has been said that it will open the door to polygamy and incest. The former is a socio-economical nightmare, the latter a major health risk. Nope, don't think there are any concerns there. It's been said it will destroy the sanctity of marriage. Nope, the only person who can bestow or destroy the sanctity of your marriage is you and/or your spouse.
When I got married, how many of you did it actually impact? None of you. If JW were to find a woman and marry her tomorrow, how many of you would it actually impact? None of you.
Who does it impact? These women (or men). For them this is a huge deal. Yeah they could declare themselves married, but without legal backing there are many issues. How would you like to go to the hospital where your spouse lay in critical condition and be informed by the doctor that he couldn't tell you what was going on because you weren't family? That you would have to contact the "real" family. Ones that may not be on speaking terms with you. Ones that may not have spoken to her for years making the important decisions, instead of you who live with and love her.
Imagine living with your loved one for years, even decades and when they pass being told you could lay claim to nothing of hers. Dishes, furniture, even the house you live in being claimed by her "next of kin."
How about little things like being able to legally refuse to testify as to conversations you had with your spouse.
With a legally recognized marriage a person can designate that the person they have married is someone they love, trust and depend on. The action instantaneously provides hundreds of rights to the individual that you marry and to yourself that can possibly be achieved otherwise only by mountains of paperwork, time and effort. Those mountains still can't necessarily protect the other individual in the case of something serious happening to you.
In short, two women getting married will not rock your world. For the most part, you probably won't even notice. It will change so much for them though. And it isn't some great advantage over you that it would provide. It is merely a question of equality.
Allowing two women to marry will not create a situation where suddenly we have women living together, sleeping together, loving each other, sharing finances and the little details of their lives. This is already going on. Disallowing it, then, will not stop any of this. It just comes down to the rights of your loved one and whom you have the right to designate to have those rights.
We regularly champion the great civil rights leaders that ended slavery and segregation. Who got women the right to vote and work to provide them equal rights in the workplace. Yet somehow we still think we have the right to interfere in the daily lives of certain individuals.
At what point do the latest round of civil rights activists stand up and say, "Look. You should not have the right to tell me who executes my estate. You do not have the right to tell me who can make medical decisions if I need them. You do not have the right to tell me whose hands I place my life, my heart and my soul in. This does not effect you, and I am not going to sit on the back of the bus while you pretend that this is a moral issue that you have a say in."
Just a fucked up state of affairs in our life, or something close to it.
posted by Wanderer at 12:41 PM
1 Comments:
Bravo
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