Marriage ... Amendment 1 or Abomination 1???

Last week, the state that I have called home for all but five years of my life took, in my opinion, a major step backwards. Most of you readers have probably heard by now that North Carolina is now something like the 30th state to pass a constitutional amendment that states that marriage in the state is recognized solely as between a man and a woman, and that no other forms of relationships are recognized by the state.

Unfortunately, with the passage of this amendment, the state has taken a big step backwards in the fight for equality for gay and lesbian couples. There was a lot of outrage around the state, and it came in many different forms. There was the bible-thumping Baptist that voted against the amendment, even though it meant possibly being shunned by his fellow church members. There was the kids I went to college with that felt that it was the right thing to do to vote against the law. Finally, there were the few brave souls willing to voice their support for the amendment in a public forum like Facebook.

No matter what your opinion on the vote, the ultimate thing that I took from it was that the people who were against the law passing were afraid of the rights that it took away from the people affected by it. At the same time, there were people that were for the passage of the law that took offense to people calling them ignorant for their beliefs and their passions. Ironic, isn't it? People that were for taking the rights away from individuals throughout the state were now feeling that nobody was respecting their opinions.

Think about that for a minute, let it simmer in your mind.

It is interesting that politics can be so polarizing, and makes us contradict the things that we believe. Personally, I was against the law, however it was not because I feel that marriage is an open agreement that can be shared between anyone. On the contrary, I strongly believe that marriage is solely a covenant between men, women and God. I don't even really feel that a courthouse wedding should be considered a marriage, but rather a civil union. Marriage for me is a sacred bond that is shared, and there is nothing that can come between that.

The reason I was against the law is because I do not believe that any amendment to any constitution should be used to remove rights from the people whom they are sworn to protect. I believe that everyone should have the right to live with whomever they want, and that these living arrangements should be recognized in a legally binding way, that allows for the same benefits that my wife or I have access to. Unfortunately, that is what was taken away from a specific population in this great state of North Carolina. I heard a statistic that something like 250,000 households are affected by this law in some way, but only 21,000 households were gay or lesbian. I think that breaks down to less than 10% of the total population was targeted by this sweeping legislation.

I feel pretty bad living in a state that felt pressured by the region in which it is located to passing a law like this. It kind of sets the whole civil rights movement backwards about 70 years. Now it is not the African-American population being persecuted, but an even narrower population that is feeling the sting that can come when religion and government get together and have a pow-wow. North Carolina is a battleground state in the upcoming election, and it will be interesting to see how the candidates use this hot button issue to solidify their position. It looks like Obama has taken the side of those against the law, while Romney will undoubtedly embrace the bible thumpers who helped pass this law. If the results of the primary last week hold true, then Romney will be walking away in early November with a victory in North Carolina, and a boost on the way to the White House.

Thoughts...

What is it about human nature that makes us tick? Why is it that when we are pressed with things far beyond our control, we strive to do anything that we can to rein it in? 

Over the weekend, I got a message out of the blue from an old friend. It said he was down on his luck, was facing financial difficulties, etc. and he was asking me if I could help him out. For as long as I had known him, he had been a pretty reliable guy, but maybe a little frivolous when it came to money and how it should be spent. Let me follow all of this up by saying that I haven't really spoken to him in about five or six years. 

Now, given that we haven't spoken in the last half decade, the immediate response to this situation, for most people I would think, would have been to blow it off completely, maybe even be a little angry. Well,  going back to the opening two questions, that's not what I did. I immediately thought of ways TO help him out, as opposed to ways NOT to help him out. I started thinking maybe I could let him borrow some money, but thought that may not be the best idea, even though he said he would pay me back. To paraphrase Dave Ramsey, if you loan someone money, it may as well be a gift since you will never see it again. Still, there I was trying to go through my bills and how much money I had extra to maybe try and help him out.

I ended up making the decision to not loan him any money, but did say that I would speak to a few friends in his area to find out if there was any need for help at their business, or if they knew of any opportunities. In this economy, I know that doing that is not necessarily a sure fire way to help out, but I feel the age old parable "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime" rings very true in this situation. Even though we haven't spoken in years, I will still go to bat for this friend, but I just couldn't pull the trigger on helping him out financially, even though I know that at this moment trying to help him land a job may not be the thing he needs right now.

I think that it is interesting that when you have a situation arise such as this, human nature is to try and help out a friend in need. Some might argue that it is not in fact human nature, but that it is the Christian way of living that leads people to do this. I would have to disagree with that argument for one reason. When you look at all of the major religions of the world, they all have an portion of the belief structure that says to help those in need. Whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindi, I think we can all agree that when given the opportunity to help out our fellow man, that it is something that needs to be done. You may not be able to help them in the exact way that satisfies their immediate struggle, but you help build them up, so they do not get knocked down as quickly.

I would like to close with a verse from Proverbs. This isn't one that I hold near and dear, in fact I had to google to find one that was fitting, but I feel as though it is highly appropriate for this particular situation: 

"Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisors." -- Proverbs 11:14

I know that my friend is not a whole nation, but I do pray that there are many advisors for him in his current time of need.

Opening Remarks

Well, here we all are, zooming through outer space at a bazillion miles an hour on a hunk of rock. Somehow, you have found my little slice of the web, and I truly do appreciate it.

To provide some background, I have a lot of thoughts flying through my head, and I don't always have a lot of time or options to vent some of the things that I think. That is why I am here, to hash out thoughts, maybe bounce a few ideas off of people, and all the while hopefully not offending anybody.

I live at home with my wife, my Basset Hound JoJo, and a spastic cat, Barney. I love college football (the Buckeyes), soccer (no matter what type), and baseball (St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians). I have a deep faith that, because of the ideologies that I have developed throughout my life, I can not always express with other people. I try not to judge anyone for their own personal beliefs, though I feel that the sentiment is not always returned.

My hope is that through this blog, I will be able to express my opinions on numerous topics, and maybe hear a bit about some things that I have not been able to experience yet.

Buckle up, and enjoy the ride!