07 November 2008

Election Reflection

It's late and nearly time for bed, so I'm not going to expound on the other night's results too much. I'm sure it will come as no surprise that I'm pleased at the outcome of the presidential race. I may not agree with Obama on every policy issue, but he's intelligent, articulate, and inspiring - very presidential qualities that have been sorely lacking in this country for far too long. Perhaps when I have more time, I'll expound on what I think he and the Congress should be doing to address this financial mess.

On the matter of Prop 8 in California - and, for that matter, the other hate measures that passed (unsurprisingly) in Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas - I can only say this: The sanctity of marriage was never the issue. A marriage is never sanctified by the law, or by the involvement of a minister, or even by a deity. What ultimately makes a marriage sacred is the hearts of the people in it.

What Prop 8 and the other measures were about was power, pure and simple. The majority wielded their power to deliberately hurt a minority whose existence they oppose. And in that, it is no different from any other type of discrimination. The authors of Prop 8 may claim a Biblical foundation for their actions, but growing up in the post-segregation South I was still taught in church the Biblical basis for anti-miscegenation laws and for segregation. Who now is to say where the hate will stop? After all, James Dobson needs to get his millions from somewhere.

On the Knitting Front

I'm making good progress on the first sweater sleeve and am nearly halfway through the raglan decreases. Since it's primarily stockinette and curling like mad, though, there won't be any photos for a bit. So far it looks as though my alterations to the pattern are working well for size, but it'll be more telling when I've got the body well in hand and I've got another sleeve to go yet before I start getting into that.

11 comments:

Chris said...

*sigh* Progress on one hand and setbacks on the other. :(

Molly Bee said...

"A marriage is never sanctified by the law, or by the involvement of a minister, or even by a deity. What ultimately makes a marriage sacred is the hearts of the people in it." This is SUCH an amazing statement. I have never heard this put so eloquently. As an adopted kid, I can so relate. Family is who you make it. I actually have tears in my eyes...Thanks Mel!

Anonymous said...

Good point about the sanctity of marriage. As you know I am equally frustrated by this kind of thing.

(bizarrely my recognition thingy is "licit")

Unknown said...

I'm hopeful to be still alive when folks look back at this time in history with amazement...that there were actually folks that thought marriage should exclude anyone.

Nice to read your clear views on this.

Anonymous said...

I agree, a marriage is a marriage because of two people who agree that it is. Eventually I suppose the laws will catch up, but for now I am ashamed that otherwise rational people would perpetrate such discriminatory acts.

Love This Space said...

Agreed. If it was about preserving the sanctity of marriage then they would be up in arms about shenanigans such as Trump and Mick Jagger pulled with their wives.

Small, fearful minds.

Anonymous said...

"What Prop 8 and the other measures were about was power, pure and simple. The majority wielded their power to deliberately hurt a minority whose existence they oppose."

So well put. And such a sad thing that apparently there is a majority of people with so small an idea of marriage. Or of humanity, for that matter.

JelliDonut said...

Clearly and elegantly stated. Thank you.

Sheepish Annie said...

Why the government feels it needs to have a hand in marriage is beyond me. They punish those of us who choose not to wed with taxes and try to regulate those who do wish to wed. I suppose you are right. It *is* about power. But I surely do wish they would put their energies elsewhere...maybe try curing cancer or dealing with the economy. That sounds like a good use of their time and resources.

Lisa/knitnzu said...

So I read a men's magazine a week or so ago... a real eye-opener on many levels. It was Men's Health. There was an article about where the author talked about why he thought various people have won recent presidential elections... I mean Gore vs Bush, wouldn't you want brains over somebody who mangles his native tongue? The author's contention was that the candidate that was most true to himself, who didn't hide aspects of himself, who could joke about foibles, that was the person who got elected. It was an interesting viewpoint. And clearly McCain waffled so much from his stands 4 years ago. Obama has a wicked difficult job ahead of him, but let's hope he can really make some good changes!

Anonymous said...

I never really viewed the fight over gay marriage as a power struggle before, though I agree that for those like Dobson, it is. So much for the deadly sin of pride.

I figured that for a large number of those that vote against such measures it is about resistance to change, which is a type of power struggle now that I think about it. I believe that these people feel that if they allow gay marriage to go ahead, then they will be forced to change their long held views and accept something that they were taught at a very early age was unacceptable. Change is difficult for anybody. Holding stereotypes about gays and ignoring the fact that they may know any gays allows them to keep what they have been taught and not make the change. Our big challenge is to show these people that their refusal to change is hurting people that they know and love.

We are making progress, but it will always be too slow for me.