The Right to Love Whomever You Choose

Earlier this week I found myself in a debate with someone over Gay and Lesbian Rights.

To me, it's not even a subject to debate. Any human being can love anyone they choose. It is simply a matter of civil rights. In this country everyone should be guaranteed civil rights. There should be no "prerequisites" to meet in order to qualify for rights. When it comes right down to it, to the very nitty gritty,the denial of Gay rights, is based solely on homophobic religious interpretations. Nothing in our law says that gay marriage is illegal.

Often, I think of the gay marriage question as my generation's "back of the bus" civil rights challenge. This is our Selma, Alabama, our school integration. During the time of the 1960's civil rights struggle, many Southern preachers preached Separate but NOT Equal from their pulpits. They preached that Black people were not equal and the bible said so. And of course, the good old book of Revelation was used to scare people into siding with the preachers.

I pray that when my children get to be my age, that they look back at this struggle for Gay rights and think how lucky they are that their children don't have to face such biggotry. Because this type of hatred and prejudice hurts all of us, gay and heterosexual. It brings all of down a few notches on the evolutionary scale.

Thou Shalt...

A few days ago I saw, what had to be, one of the most inspired television reports I had ever seen. The funny thing is that this great TV report was on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report". Stephen Colbert's spoof alter ego conducted an interview with the lone Republican Congressman who had the worst record in the House of Representatives, Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia's 8th District. This Congressman hadn't introduced one piece of legislation, nor had he authored or co-authored any bills. This guy was a real piece of work. He was a card carrying Neo-Con but too lazy to really do anything about it. His defense for his poor record was, "There's a Democratic Representative that has the same record I do". Oh, that's reassuring! When asked what he had done that made him proud since he had become a Congressman, he replied that he worked hard (well, sort of) to get the 10 Commandments put into government Buildings. According to Mr. Westmoreland, the Commandments give us all a "moral compass" to live by. What better place to put the Biblical document than in Government Judicial facilities?

Stephen Colbert thought about this for about one second then did the most brilliant thing. He asked Congressman Westmoreland to name the 10 Commandments while he (Colbert) counted them off one by one. The Congressman was shocked and obviously scared. He asked Stephen to repeat the request twice. After some procrastination, Rep. Westmoreland started to name the Commandments. Here are the "Commandments" as told by Rep. Westmoreland.

1) No stealin'

2) No killin'

3) You can't lie

He then said, "That's all I can remember". Ahhhhhh!!! Somebody got busted!!! Maybe there's a lesson for the Neo-Cons in all this. Perhaps the best and most needed place to put the 10 Commandments is in one's own house and mind. Conservatives are so busy telling everyone else what they should believe that they forgot that they don't really believe it themselves.

You...Complete...Me...

Well this weekend didn't turn out as planned but it was still good anyway. I had plans with a guy friend but they got cancelled because of family issues. So I spent my Saturday night in the Old City and the rest of it on my sofa watching bad movies and infomercials.

I watched the infomercial for the "Hover Round" motorized wheelchair. It looks really cool. All the Hover Round needs is some detailing and 24 inch rims and it would be the bomb. I could see somebody's grandma popping wheelies and blasting the bass as she cruises through WalMart. Go mamaw go!!

One of the movies that I watched was Jerry McGuire. I must say, I love that movie. It gives me hope. False hope, but hope all the same. I think that I'm no different than most women. We all want some man to tell us that we "complete him". We want him to love our children as we do and think about us even when he is working. It's that movie version of true love that we're fed from the time when we're 4 years old and watching Cinderella. We're always looking for that special thing, the movie ending, the perfect love. That's why women have an underlying melancholy in their lives. Women want a man of character, chilvary, and honor. A man who will put us on a pedestal, fight for us, open doors and help us with our coat. A man who will make us feel safe, protected, and loved. Yes, I know what you're thinking. You're wondering why me, a professional, educated woman is saying such an archaic thing. I'm saying it because no matter how successful I become, I still look for those things in a man. I can supply almost everything for my family, yet I find myself wishing I had a man, a real man of character, to take care of me so I didn't have to do it all by myself.

I believe with all my being that our daughters need to be encouraged to be all they can be. They should be educated, financially secure, and independant without exception. We, as mothers, need to also teach our daughters that it's ok to be loved and in-love. We should teach them that there are men of character out there and they shouldn't settle for anything less. Lastly, we should teach them that it is ok to be vulnerable and to be a woman.