Now I'm no big media maven I leave that sort of thing up to my friend, LJ! I am forever asking her who is this person or that person when we watch TV or a movie and she provides me with all the information I need. Now I'm telling you this as a preface for my comments because I admit that I only know what I have seen in the news about this topic.
What I do know is this: A week or so ago during the Miss America contest there were questions asked of the contestants. Miss California Carrie Prejean was asked a question regarding her opinion about gay marriage. In the readers digest version she said she felt marriage was exclusive to a man and a woman. Well, you would have thought she said lets all go kill some baby seals and maybe a few human ones, too.
Lighten up people! They asked her for her opinion and she gave it.
I learned a long time ago that if you don't want to hear the answer then you probably shouldn't ask the question. If this is how this woman feels about the topic it's her right to feel this way. Do you have to like it, no, but it doesn't make her the anti-Christ. It makes her the same as you and me.
Now before the question gets asked let me clarify my position on this. First, I have a step-son that I am very proud of and love like a biological son, who just happens to be gay. Was it hard to accept at first, sure, just like everything else in parenthood it doesn't come with a manual so you learn to adjust on the fly. Over time I came to understand that this wasn't a choice, it was genetic. If he had options I think he would have chose them.
Now as far as gay "marriage" goes I am against it. I don't and will not deny gays to have the right to enter into some form of legal contract, be it a life partner, significant other or whatever other name you wish to place on it. They should have the same rights to pass on estates, benefits and whatever as you and I but I do feel the institution of "marriage" should be reserved in it's traditional term. Meaning between a man and a woman.
Now for some gay activist what I just described is not acceptable, in which case I reply to them that their arguments about wanting the same rights as married men and women is probably not valid. I say this because if you have a contract and it allows the same rights why does it matter what it is called? You could call it hemorrhoids but as long as it gave you equal rights, stop yer bitchin'.
Anyway, I just find all the ruckus about this woman and situation to be silly but then that's just my opinion.
Good post. A few things:
ReplyDeleteShe was also in trouble for some mostly tasteful and barely revealing topless pics. Someone the other day, can't remember who, put it well, 'If you looking to make it to the top of the modeling industry and there isn't a topless photo of you somewhere on the internet, you aren't trying hard enough'.
I agree that if they are going to ask a personal question, they can't complain when they get an answer. I miss the days when these kinds of things were pretty much bikini contests and they left the instrument playing and world peace for other competitions. Miss America is a giant corporate joke.
On religion and gayness: The only reason 'marriage' has any justification for excluding gays is religious tradition which has no place in a government that separates church and state. If the church doesn't want to have to marry gay people, then they better pack up and get out of government as fast as they can, because they are going to lose, soon. I don't see being gay as exclusively genetic, although I imagine it plays a varying degree by person. I've known people who went bisexual or gay because they weren't picky, thought it was fun, or had a traumatic life experience. I think it is silly to debate nature/nurture, when clearly it is both.
Thank you. If I may respond to you comment on marriage, while you say it is religious I would use the term societal. I truly believe that if people were allowed to set aside "policitacl correctness" and speak their minds without fear of a label, I think you would find not nearly as many people are in favor of "gay rights" as the media would have us believe.
ReplyDeleteAgain I believe they are entitled to tha same protections under the law as you and I, but I also think our society dictates that some traditions remain the same, and marriage would be one of those.