Sky Diving From the Ground Up

When you go into a dark field in the middle of the night, and lie down and turn your face to the sky, you feel like you're sky diving from the ground up. Your soul leaps from your body and goes soaring into the stars, and all you can do is feel it glide from star to star as your eyes go searching for meteors. It's strange how lying alone staring up at the night sky can make you feel so tiny and yet so immense. You feel small and insignificant, for how can you compare to the millions of stars and galaxies spinning above you? And yet, if you look straight above you, you can see the whole sky in your vision and you feel you could lift your arms and encompass it all. You can't focus on anything, because you are constantly searching for something to hold on to and there is too much to see. Thoughts skip through your mind so quickly you can't grasp even one, so you give up trying and just allow them to wander quietly through your head and then up into the cosmos. The only thing, lying there alone watching lights streak across the sky, is that it gets lonely after a while. You wish you had someone special to hold your hand and keep you warm. Some things are fine alone, but they are better to share.

Reflections on Proposition 8

Disclaimer: I know this issue may be a sensitive one for some people, but I feel moved to express my opinion on the matter. I have no wish to offend or persuade; I only wish to share my thoughts and feelings. And since I believe you all have your own opinions based on personal experiences and since you are entitled to express those opinions, thoughtful comments will be accepted and appreciated.

As of August 4, 2010, the California Supreme Court ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional, and will soon enter into further conversations about equal rights for gay couples. And I have to say I am pleased. I'm an advocate for all human rights, and I believe any two consenting adults should be given the opportunity to get married. It's interesting to remember the US Supreme Court didn't end miscegenation laws until 1967, and still some states denied legal unions between blacks and whites. This prejudice was bred out of hate and ignorance, and the same issues are arising with regard to gay marriage. I honestly don't understand how allowing same-sex marriages changes anything for anyone else. Some want to promote the sanctity of marriage by preserving it for only heterosexual couples. And yet Las Vegas, Nevada has the second most weddings in the world, where most marriages are probably based on intoxication and lust and consequently don't last very long. And that promotes the sanctity of marriage? How does that make any sense?

Many people suggest civil unions and domestic partnerships as solutions to the gay marriage question. But a little research shows that these two solutions offer only a fraction of the state rights that married couples receive, and none of the federal rights. And to me, it's about more than just rights. I believe in human equality. I believe everyone should be given the same rights regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation (rights can be lost based on action, but that's a different issue). We are singling out a group of people and persecuting them because of who they love. And that's not right.

I have heard people talk about how marriage (heterosexual marriage) doesn't seem to be important anymore. People are getting married later in life, divorce rates are up, and overall marriage has fallen on many people's priority lists. And yet there is an entire population of people fighting for the right to have their desire to commit be recognized and are being denied. That just doesn't make sense to me. For a community that has suffered from innumerable negative stereotypes regarding fidelity and sex, the fact that that community is fighting for commitment and loyalty should be recognized and celebrated.

While California's Supreme Court ruling is a step in (I believe) the right direction, there is still a ways to go. It's probably going to be a long and arduous journey, but I believe it will end with equal rights prevailing. That we would, in the future, continue to deny any rights to anyone based on sexual orientation is disheartening and unfortunate.

That said, I also think "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is ridiculous.

Changes

I took a peek at Liz's blog this afternoon and found that she has made some changes. Thinking I would try it out, I too made some changes. However, this is probably about as much as I'm going to do. I don't care enough to change any little details or add more links or anything like that. So this is it.

I should probably write more often. The trouble is, much of what I want to write about is deeply personal and probably not very interesting to others. I have been thinking about writing posts as I finish books. That's a good idea. Maybe I'll start doing that.

Doing nothing sure exhausts the brain.