FSTDT for the day

[desertvixen]

The Sky Is Falling

A couple of you stated that you have seen the looks on others faces and know that it is a dieing world...what I have notice lately is dieing America. (Is that selfish to think of where America is versus the world?) I find myself increasingly heartbroken over the loss of my country. America was so good. And I feel so honored to have been chosen to live my life here. Yet, the past two weeks as I attended my youngest neice's band concert and my oldest neice graduation...I cried. I cried for our way of live that seems to be slipping away. The loss of the America I grew up with, the values, our stregthen, our faith and our goodness is fading away and something else is taking that place. I know that America has never been perfect but what an honor and gift to have lived my life in this amazing place. It breaks my heart to see the way we are changing, the less proud we are of our country as a whole, the less we stand for our Christain heritage...the more the tarnish emerges. So sad. My sister kept looking at me..."are you crying again???" Yepper! All I could think about is how long before, we can't stand and say the Pledge or sing the National Athem...or those millions of other little traditions that make up the fabric of our American lives?

No, America is not and never has been perfect.  But it's still pretty damned good.  It never will be perfect, either, for two reasons. 

The first is that America isn't a finished product.  Our systems, our laws, our beliefs have changed and will continue to change.  Not so long ago, interracial marriage was illegal.  Less than 100 years ago, women had no legal or political voice because they could not vote - the only way to express their views was through social movements, such as the temperance movement.  At the beginning of our country, it was considered acceptable to own other human beings.

The second is that America is made up of her citizens.  People.  Flawed human beings with prejudices and beliefs and issues.

Also, the reason that America is going away?  Enough people cared about changing it, about making it better, that they did. 

Lastly, I'm throwing out the BS flag on the Pledge/Anthem bit.  Yes, I know there are court cases for the Pledge in school, but really people.  If you feel the need to say the Pledge, say it. Make it a part of your daily life.  But don't force it on others.  Not all Americans are religious AND it's not the end of the world.

Who Let Him Out in Public?

(Former Senator Rick Santorum, who is known for his right-wing religious views.)

Is anyone saying same-sex couples can't love each other? I love my children. I love my friends, my brother. Heck, I even love my mother-in-law. Should we call these relationships marriage, too? Marriage is and always has been more than the acknowledgment of the love between two people.

Ricky, Ricky, Ricky.  You said the point right there.  Marriage is about more than love.  It also, in our society, confers benefits on those of us in that state.  The right to better tax benefits.  The right to make decisions for each other in health crises.  The right to raise children together.  The right to be acknowledged.

I really do think we'd be better off if we separated the civil/secular marriage from the religious marriage ceremony.  NO ONE is advocating that churches be forced to marry same-sex couples.  If they were, then yes, I would have a problem.  A lot of countries do split the process - you have to have your civil marriage for the secular benefits, and then you can have the religious ceremony.  It's actually what we did, courtesy of OIF #1. 

DV

Comments

[betray802.livejournal.com]

Re: Rick Santorum

Oh no, there's a better one from Jeff Wagner, R-Ohio. I'm absolutely positive I have relatives who voted for him *headdesk*

Music of the Moment: Don't Look At Me Like That by the Wilkinsons

Shipwreck/Bazooka '08. Because they can't be any worse than whatever we're eventually gonna end up getting

[garpu.livejournal.com]

After Dan Savage, I can't hear/read Santorum's name without giggling like a 12-year old.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I am sooooo glad that Santorum doesn't get to "represent" me as my Senator any more because pretty much nothing he said or did actually represented me. He says things in ways that are twisted. Marriage is the acknowledgement and formalization of a certain kind of love and it isn't the love you have for your mother-in-law. Somehow, I think he must know that.

I firmly believe that there should be a separation of religious and civil marriage. I'm fine with calling the civil marriage something else if it applies to everyone and it helps stop the anti-homosexual bigots from fighting gay marriage. I'm not at all fine with making homosexuals second class citizens because of some people's religious beliefs.