There I go again!
Aug. 5th, 2004 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoweeOff into my usual righteous indignation.
This is just one of a few recent editorials in the local paper that set me off...
What If Everyone's Rights Were Infringed Upon?
"What if everyone did it?" sounds like a fine argument – at first. The question is, where do you stop? Sure, if everyone was gay or everyone had abortions, we'd have a problem. If no couples had children, the world would also be in a terrible place. Does that mean we must force all people to have children? Is there some sin they are committing by choosing not to have children or by being unable to bear children? What if everyone asked you to change just because in some way you don't fit 'their' definition? "What if everyone did it?" What a pretty little way to say "Everyone should be exactly the same – like me".
As teens we see the world in black and white. We don't see the struggles of the individual or the diversity amongst people. Some people don't grow out of that. As we get older, we realize that the world is full of evils and that no issue is cut and dry. I personally believe, however, that there is one thing left black and white and that is personal choice. I don't think anyone has the right to remove freedoms and equality.
By denying the rights and privileges of our citizens, those citizens are being forced into a type of arranged life. Do you think that if your marriage was arranged, your life chosen by someone else, that you could ever be truly happy?
Not everyone is attracted to the same sex. Not everyone wants to be an artist or a lawyer or a politician. That's why we think of this country as free – because of our freedom to make our own choices and to live a life that follows how we feel. Homosexual Americans are still Americans and have the same rights that America offers. The constitution itself states: "The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States." The 14th amendment to the constitution specifies: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property..." Read that again in case you didn't get it. By denying the privilege of marriage to gay citizens, you are effectively saying they are not citizens, just as black people were not considered human two hundred years ago and the way women were not considered citizens a hundred years ago.
The world functions on diversity. Humans are not brainless robots. They desire their own careers and their own partners. They deserve the freedom to pursue those desires. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness doesn't mean your definition of happiness. It means our individual definitions of happiness. Are gays infringing on your rights? Is it somehow more sacred to overlook the high divorce rate and the joke some people make of marriage than focus on loving, consenting adults who believe marriage is a beautiful privilege that they deserve just like everyone else?
I'm terrified to vote for a politician against gay marriage. If he feels so comfortable discriminating against this group of people, who will be next? What is the next level of discrimination? What you or I believe is just that – a belief; a conviction or strong opinion, but not fact. 'If everyone did it' then everyone in the world would be exactly the same.
One of the purposes of the constitution is to "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity". We're talking about restricting the freedoms of a person here. Is that a blessing? Are we blessing ourselves when we tell others that what they believe is wrong? Are we creating a free atmosphere when we not only condemn others, but we actually restrict their freedoms by law?
Now ask me that question again.
If I see it published (which I tend to doubt) I'll be sure to mention it.
This is just one of a few recent editorials in the local paper that set me off...
What If Everyone's Rights Were Infringed Upon?
"What if everyone did it?" sounds like a fine argument – at first. The question is, where do you stop? Sure, if everyone was gay or everyone had abortions, we'd have a problem. If no couples had children, the world would also be in a terrible place. Does that mean we must force all people to have children? Is there some sin they are committing by choosing not to have children or by being unable to bear children? What if everyone asked you to change just because in some way you don't fit 'their' definition? "What if everyone did it?" What a pretty little way to say "Everyone should be exactly the same – like me".
As teens we see the world in black and white. We don't see the struggles of the individual or the diversity amongst people. Some people don't grow out of that. As we get older, we realize that the world is full of evils and that no issue is cut and dry. I personally believe, however, that there is one thing left black and white and that is personal choice. I don't think anyone has the right to remove freedoms and equality.
By denying the rights and privileges of our citizens, those citizens are being forced into a type of arranged life. Do you think that if your marriage was arranged, your life chosen by someone else, that you could ever be truly happy?
Not everyone is attracted to the same sex. Not everyone wants to be an artist or a lawyer or a politician. That's why we think of this country as free – because of our freedom to make our own choices and to live a life that follows how we feel. Homosexual Americans are still Americans and have the same rights that America offers. The constitution itself states: "The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States." The 14th amendment to the constitution specifies: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property..." Read that again in case you didn't get it. By denying the privilege of marriage to gay citizens, you are effectively saying they are not citizens, just as black people were not considered human two hundred years ago and the way women were not considered citizens a hundred years ago.
The world functions on diversity. Humans are not brainless robots. They desire their own careers and their own partners. They deserve the freedom to pursue those desires. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness doesn't mean your definition of happiness. It means our individual definitions of happiness. Are gays infringing on your rights? Is it somehow more sacred to overlook the high divorce rate and the joke some people make of marriage than focus on loving, consenting adults who believe marriage is a beautiful privilege that they deserve just like everyone else?
I'm terrified to vote for a politician against gay marriage. If he feels so comfortable discriminating against this group of people, who will be next? What is the next level of discrimination? What you or I believe is just that – a belief; a conviction or strong opinion, but not fact. 'If everyone did it' then everyone in the world would be exactly the same.
One of the purposes of the constitution is to "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity". We're talking about restricting the freedoms of a person here. Is that a blessing? Are we blessing ourselves when we tell others that what they believe is wrong? Are we creating a free atmosphere when we not only condemn others, but we actually restrict their freedoms by law?
Now ask me that question again.
If I see it published (which I tend to doubt) I'll be sure to mention it.
