Saturday, May 12, 2012

Outting Obama

This week the number one issue in America has been Gay Marriage, though at first I didn't think I'd need to write a post about it.  I was with lots of people on Tuesday when North Carolina's surprisingly horrible voting population decided to throw a constitutional amendment against Gay Marriage, thus cementing years of prejudice and shame for that state.  But that's nothing new, states all across the country have been putting in place these bans, and one day we'll all have to suffer the accusatory eyes of our grandchildren when they come home having learned about this sorry issue in their school history class.  I wonder what explanation North Carolina voters will be able to come up with when trying to explain why they acted in such reprehensible ways?  "You don't understand, it was another time!"  "We thought God was telling us to."  "We were misled by the Republicans."*  I'll have a clear conscious, my grandkids could read this exact post and know I'm clear of history's judgment.

But what really made this week interesting was President Barack Obama's decision to appear in public and declare himself a supporter of Gay Marriage.  Previously Obama has claimed that he was either against Gay Marriage (and even more previously claimed to be a support in the 90s), then he claimed to have his views "evolving" in what everybody knew to be bullshit political talk for "I'm support Gay Marriage, and I'm going to be open soon enough, just when its most political expedient to me".  This week in a rather bold move Obama, gathered all of America together, looked us right in the eye, and said "Yes, I'm Gay... for same-sex marriage".  You have to give him credit here, even if this was a crass political move, or something he wasn't planning on doing directly, I don't really care about motives.  Obama is a politician, not a saint, his integrity means little to me as long as he does what needs to be done.  And supporting Gay Marriage is what needed to be done.  This is a huge step, when the most powerful man on Earth tells the world exactly what we need to be told.  Yeah, North Carolina won a minor battle for the Right Wing, but they lost a huge battle here, when the Presidency legitimizes homosexual couples and their way of life.

Of course, there was a response.  The one that's most interesting to me was Mitt Romney's, since he jumped immediately into "no same-sex marriage for anybody!"  So Mitt, I guess you wanted my vote in November, huh?  Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen.

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* Given the current trajectory of the Republican Party into downright fascinating levels of absurdity, to the point that respected moderates like Rick Lugar cannot hold their place against Tea Party fanatics, I wonder if there even will be a Republican Party by the time we have my hypothetical conversation with our grandkids.  Mitt Romney actually could be a real option for President... only he has to flip deeply into extreme Conservatism just to appear viable by the Republican base, and even then they still hate him.  Its really a shame, an entire half of our political thought in this country has been highjacked by crazies, which even in the best case scenario of their total defeat leaves me worried about a solely Left-run future.

12 comments:

  1. Honestly, I don't see why there are still so much homophobics. If two people love each other, let them be able to get married! It's that simple!

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  2. America has to fix it's social problems and focus on the real shit. Legalize LGBT rights, legalize illegals, drugs etc. you're not getting these things out of the country, it's a lost cause.

    Focus on the real problems. Excessive spending in sectors that long have been corrupted by people trying to make it big, too large gaps in wealth, overall ridiculous choices made by our past. We need to be progressive! There aren't any economic booms in site, stop trying to live like the 90's, where middle-class was perfect and the rich expanded and expanded.

    The social rights can be fixed in five seconds, it's sad that this is what we focus on in this day and age.

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    1. Legalize drugs? You must not live in an area where drugs are a problem. There are drug dealers everywhere where I live. My family has just been driving down the road and suddenly have to slam the brakes, so we won't get hit by drunk/high idiots. Needless to say, drugs don't need to be legalized any time soon. The fact that they're illegal at least stops a small number of people from getting involved with them.

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    2. Well then, clearly the drug war isn't working.

      Shouldn't they at least change the system?

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    3. I think drugs should be legalized for the same reason that I think abortion and gay marriage should be legal: because I don't believe that the government should be able to dictate morality. Besides, legality isn't going to stop anyone that really wants to use drugs, and any people that would only use drugs if they were legal would likely only use them in moderation. Alcohol is legal, but not everyone who drinks beer gets falling-down drunk every time they have some; most just have one or two drinks at a time.

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    4. Depends on the drug though, doesn't it?

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    5. If someone wants to ingest poison, that's their own stupid decision to make.

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  3. If America is supposed to be a land of free speech and democracy, then why are conservatives who don't want homosexual marriages pilloried. If that is their opinion they are entitled to it.

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    1. Yeah, they're entitled to their opinion, just like we are entitled to belittle the bigots. They are trying to take away rights from other human beings. America is also supposed to be a place where every man, woman, and child is equal regardless of age, sex, race, or sexual orientation. The conservatives who don't want homosexual marriage are trying to take away the same rights that everyone else is entitled to. They aren't just speaking out saying that they think it's wrong, they want laws in place to deny these rights. That's the difference. It's no different than African Americans or women in the past being targeted and denied equal rights when this country is supposed to be all about making everyone equal.

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    2. i know in scotland at least the main worry is that religions will be forced to perform same sex marriages

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  4. Hey Blue, the english trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3D is out now. If you've seen it, what are your thoughts so far? And do you think the Tron Legacy characters are voiced by their original actors?

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  5. My opinion in gay marriage (and general religion) is that as long as it produces good people, and isn't hurting anyone, who cares what they believe?

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