Referendum 74

Voting 4 Referendum 74

This coming November, Washington state has the unique opportunity to open our hearts and minds and extend marriage equality to those who want it, or to keep the status quo. For those of you who are undecided on how to vote, I would offer you my opinion on why voting "4 74" is the right thing to do.

*This is not an “us vs. them” issue. There really is no “vs.” in it at all. This isn’t a battle. We are not Eastern vs. Western Washington, Cougs vs. Huskies, straight vs. gay; we’re all one Washington state. Nobody will lose if 74 passes, but many will lose if it doesn’t.

*Gay people serve in our military, fighting and dying for our freedom and safety. They deserve to have the same rights that their straight counterparts enjoy freely. Can we live with ourselves knowing that others fight for our rights when we so easily withhold it from them in return?

*Even if you don’t realize it, you have gay people in your life. Just because you aren't aware of it or they aren't publicly "out", they are a part of your life. They are your neighbors, your coworkers. They are your friends and your family--your children and grandchildren. They deserve equal protection under the law. These people are our fellow citizens, our fellow Washingtonians, we should strive to increase everybody's rights and freedom.

*If 74 passes in Washington state, the main change is that gay people will legally be allowed to get married. Another change is an increased state-wide revenue as people choose to come here to marry. Businesses around the state will see an increase in revenue, the state will see an increase in taxes received and fees from marriage licenses which can then be used to fund badly needed programs we can all benefit from. If 74 fails, gay people will remain unable to marry in our state. But you will know that you are actively oppressing your fellow citizens.

*Don’t let out-of-state marketing campaigns form your opinions for you. Vote with your mind and your conscience. Stand up to out-of-state influences telling you how to vote. Let us choose for our own state to do the right thing for our fellow Washingtonians.

Politics in a Nutshell

After a few discussions this past week with a friend over why politics is the way it is, I remembered something I had come up with a long time ago and felt it explained it perfectly. So, here it is, as I recall it: Conservatives vs. Liberals.

Conservatives and Liberals, as a whole, are basically the Jocks and the Brains that we all endured in high school. The jocks got all the glory and the brains got all the good grades. And usually the two didn't interact that much if they could help it. But I think what people fail to see is that both groups are insanely jealous of each other because they lack what the other has. Jocks are popular, brains are smart. Brains would like to be popular too, and jocks want to feel intelligent as well.

Being smart is one of the biggest threats in the world, it's why governments who want to completely control their people deny them books and education, etc. Keep them dumb, then they won't think for themselves and ask questions and we won't be threatened. Often times they are left with brute force as their main form of enforcement, something jocks are well adept at.

When somebody doesn't have smarts to rely on, they tend to rely on their fists. It's fast, easy, and effective. So take this attitude and apply it to members of the government who feel threatened by another person's intelligence. That's what they use, because it is their only tool. So people wondering why the patriarchy in this country are pushing back against progress, have only to see that this is why. They feel threatened, but don't have the intelligence to handle it. So they push back and try to keep others from progressing because it is so very threatening to their existence. Not having to think hard has served them well all their lives and they can't handle changing now. Their brains would probably explode.

So the next time you see some jackass conservative politician railing against liberals, don't hate him, and yes, I am saying "him" because I feel most of the guilty culprits as of ever have been men, though plenty of women do the same...Don't hate this person, pity him. Pity him because you know that he can't handle a simple intelligent discussion or the thought of change or having to share the power that has always been his automatically. You know it. He knows it, which makes it all the more difficult for him to handle. And worse, he knows that you know, and that kills him every time. If there's one thing I've learned in my lifetime, it's that saving face is very important. That's all these people want, a chance to not be humiliated. To save face. They know we look down upon them as being backwards and out of time and no longer welcome in modern society. This only makes them push back harder. If only we liberals could find a way to allow them to save face, but still have the progress the world so desperately needs, I think we'd all be a lot better off. I'm sure there's a way, I just can't think of it right now.

How I Became a Writer

When I was young, I used to shout and exclaim loudly. People always told me "Shh! You're hurting my ears!" "Quiet down, you're too loud!" So, I learned to swallow my voice and be quiet. Like a good, well-behaved girl.

When I grew up, my voice wanted to be let out. It was tired from hiding away all the time. But my throat wasn't used to it anymore, so it traveled around my body, looking for a way out. It found my hands and flowed out of my fingers while I grasped a pen. Words poured out of my fingers, dripping all over the paper, and wouldn't stop. And there my voice found its freedom. It cannot be silenced anymore.

Separation of Church and State

I have been thinking a lot lately about debating, whether in person or online, and the many themes that seem to come up. There is definitely a life-cycle to a debate. First you have your general arguments made for both sides. As this goes on it segues into the sharing of links to other sources to support your argument or to disprove the opposing side. This then leads to the trashing of any and all sources as either lies, completely biased, or just plain stupid. Then there's the section of the debate when both sides assure the other that Jesus is on their side. Were he still alive, he'd totally be out fighting for the cause of which we are fighting as well. And then it slips down to the level of name-calling and then of course the death knell of any debate: Godwin's Law. The first person who compares the other side to Hitler, loses. And ends the debate. And there you have, the life-cycle of the debate.

But what I am focusing on at the moment, is the part where people try to say that Jesus would have been on their side. I am a strong supporter of the separation of church and state, and I had the realization that this should trickle into my debating as well. Maybe it's time to leave Jesus out of it all. He was pretty non-political, really. He was more about stirring things up with religion, so maybe I need to try and leave Him to those types of debates instead. It might be difficult because it's such an easy thing to do. I will probably continue to fail miserably and continue to disappoint myself, but at least I am aware of it.

It's too bad we have to debate and argue sides in politics anyway. Instead of tearing each other down and trying to make others feel bad for their beliefs, it would be wonderful if we could all learn to see where each other comes from, and to find the good parts of each side, and combine them together into something strong and unbreakable. Maybe that was ultimately what Jeuse was about: If we could all learn to get along better and to live spiritually strong lives, maybe we wouldn't need politics at all?

The Power of Words

The written word, specifically.

After becoming embroiled in a discussion I hadn't planned on entering on Facebook this morning, I am yet again reminded of the power of words. The scenario: a person passes along an email they received that uses a Bible passage to "prove" that liberals are fools and conservatives are wise people. The email is passed on with only the message "I felt compelled to share this." Naturally this ruffled feathers between the poster and their liberal friends, myself among them. What stands out the most to me about this is that the words used for this shared email were hurtful, and done so in a truly passive aggressive manner designed to be hurtful. And even had the audacity to try and imply that God approved of such hurtfulness, because it's in the Bible, after all... The person who posted this by not stating their outrage or disbelief of the email is by default agreeing with it even if they later claim they don't. This is why we must choose our words so carefully. Particularly in a non-verbal setting when we can't see body language, or hear tone of voice.

I wish people could understand this before they write things or share other people's things that they wrote. I think some people have a natural way with words, and some people do not. This isn't to say that they cannot learn and improve with time, but they must first see that this is perhaps not a gift given to them and that they will have to always think harder and first before writing or sharing anything, particularly in an online situation. Thinking before writing is always a good rule of thumb.

What I also wish that people who claim to be Christians and people who wish to bring people together in Christ, could realize that they can do so much damage with their words. As a person who is liberal in politics and her spiritual stance, hearing insulting words passed on as though they come from God Himself certainly doesn't make me want to visit a church again any time soon. Not if I'll be surrounded by haters like that who judge me silently, or not-so silently, for my beliefs that clearly differ from theirs. So, by passing along a message without really thinking about the implications and consequences, this person has actually managed to anger and continue to distance from God, the very people they wish to win over for God. And this is why we must all choose and use our words so carefully, especially online. You never know who else will be reading them and what message you might be passing on to them.