My Apology Letter to America

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

My fellow Americans,

I am very sorry.  To the people in the United States and elsewhere with beautiful brown skin that are now facing more and uglier discrimination than ever, I’m so sorry. To the Muslim people who live here in fear of hatred, I’m sorry. To the white-looking citizens who speak with a foreign accent and are ridiculed by the ignorant, I’m sorry.  To the families that may lose their healthcare because a few who can afford everything refuse to help the many who can afford nothing, I’m sorry. 

To the LGBTQ youth who consider, or god forbid, commit suicide because the progress we’ve made may soon be erased, I’m so terribly sorry.   To the rape victims who may be assaulted because we choose leaders who laugh at the very idea of consent, I’m sorry.  To the pregnant teen who must choose between raising a child while still a child, or giving up that child because the doors have been locked to other choices, I shed tears for you and your baby. To the innocents who will die from the bullets of automatic weaponry that shouldn’t be allowed in civilian hands, I beg your families’ forgiveness.  And to the little girl who gives up her dream of becoming President of the United States, not because she doubts her abilities, but because she doubts that her country would ever elect her, I’m truly sorry.

And for the folks celebrating today I’m also incredibly sorry.  I’m sorry that no one has shown you what great actually is. I’m sorry that your view of this country is so pessimistic or limited that you didn’t already see how great we are in so many ways.  I’m sorry that your mentors failed you by not teaching you that kindness and compassion and diversity are the greatest and most valuable aspects of humanity and religion.

Photo courtesy of jclk888 at Pixabay.com

I’m so deeply sorry.  I should have done more… I should have knocked on doors or written another blog or commented on more nonfactual posts and memes on social media.  I should have done more phone surveys or attended a rally or two.  I should have had more conversations in the break room at work or put a bumper sticker on my car or something!  Because now I can’t believe how sorry I am that I didn’t do more.

My heart is broken.  My patriotism is shattered…  Right is wrong. Wrong is right.  Now all I can do is apologize and seek the light.   

(Feel free to share.)

Is America a Hypocrisy?

Image Courtesy of Pixabay.com

I feel like I’m missing something.  Something BIG.  Where was I on the day that everyone got the bucket loads of whatever I didn’t.  Was it that day I went to the DMV?  Did I miss an emergency broadcast that was an actual emergency, followed by very important instructions that I never got?  This is the only explanation I can come up with.  I’ve Googled my brains out and I either missed something, or half the country is now legally insane.  Seriously.

Most conservatives identify as Christians.  Christians are supposed to help the needy.  But giving people affordable healthcare is bad?  It is bad because it comes from the government and the government should be small.  The government shouldn’t be a giant babysitter that takes care of us and tells us what to do.  We should take care of ourselves.  Screw your neighbor.  Why should you help them?  If you help them, it will only make you weaker.  They should help themselves, dammit.  If they can’t make it on their own, they must be doing something wrong!  United we stand?  I am totally confident that Jesus would agree with the conservatives.  Or am I missing something?

People believe that legislation based on religious beliefs is justifiable, even though the First Amendment expressly forbids it.  The same people flip out about their Second Amendment right to bear arms.  People simultaneously cling to AND ignore the Constitution.  Is THAT what makes America so great?

People believe that homosexuals are to blame for the decline in American family values.  I suppose all the heterosexually explicit content on television, pornography, exotic dancers, strip clubs, prostitutes and marital cheating websites are all a part of the dastardly homosexual agenda.  The gays are clearly responsible for all of the straight people fornicating everywhere they shouldn’t be…

 

While we are on the subject, if under ANY circumstances I end up pregnant, it should be decided by an elected official (who I may or may not have voted for) and is not my family member, medical provider, or church affiliate, whether I should carry this child to term?  I must have blacked out and forgotten that women are nothing more than baby ovens.  It’s okay though, because I know the generous men in charge will be happy to assist me with diapers and groceries because I can’t afford groceries, diapers, transportation and daycare on my current salary, which definitely should NOT be higher than it is.  If I get paid more to do my job, the terrorists win.

Of course there are grants and scholarships available to me, and if I wasn’t such a lazy freeloader I could go back to school, finish my degree and get a better job that pays more money so that I can afford to feed and raise my child without mooching off the government.  People do it all the time right?!  Great. Who is going to watch my baby after I’ve worked a full shift so I can study?  Who is going to watch my baby while I go to classes at night and on the weekends?  Hopefully whoever it is will take lots of pictures because I won’t have time to be there since my education is far more important than my daughter or son’s childhood.  But wait, isn’t that putting the mother’s needs before the child’s?  So why did I have this baby?  No, no, no I am working for my child’s future, not mine!  My life no longer matters.  I am nothing but a baby factory.  If only marriages were still arranged so I could stay home with my kid while my husband goes out to earn a living much much more monetarily sound than I EVER could! 

On to a different subject.  Legalizing marijuana is going to ruin everything!  I mean just look at the influx of money into Colorado, Washington, and Oregon.  That cannot be good.  Money can fix problems.  Money can pay for education. People will be driving recklessly with their children in the car to 7-Eleven to buy Cheetos and Beef Jerky!!!  If we don't come up with a solution, this will surely cost us jobs.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh we are in so much DANGER!!!!!!!

The 2016 Presidential election.  That’s it.  I am definitely missing something on this one.

I realize it is bold of me to admit that I’m confused by a lot of what’s going on.  Maybe the liberal media is mind controlling me.  Maybe if Sunday School was graded, I would have failed.  Maybe when I was a 19-year-old kid I could have made better decisions and stayed in school and finished my degree and I would be a part of the 1% now and wouldn’t have to be concerned about petty problems like mass shootings and GMOs. 

Has something gone terribly wrong?  Was America dropped on it's head as a baby, or is it just me?  I’m asking…

Jesus said WHAT?!

“If I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13: 2, 13

In light of the Supreme Court win regarding same sex marriage, those of us celebrating the decision are coupling our delight with preparation for the backlash.  There will be memes and rants and church signs with clever sayings about God being the only judge, not the Supreme Court.  So, what would Jesus do?

Image courtesy of Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I think Jesus would be against hate crimes.  I think Jesus would be opposed to protest signs with foul language on them.  I think Jesus would disagree with those who say homosexuals should be killed or locked away.  I don’t think Jesus would be happy that so many LGBT teens have taken their own lives because they suffered more undeserved hate and anger and confusion than they could endure. 

That’s what I think.  I don’t know for sure what Jesus would think or do because Jesus never said anything about homosexuality.  Of course, there are many things Jesus never spoke about… The Bible does appear to condemn certain sexual acts.  But here’s the kicker:  a person can be gay without being sexually active.  Sexual behavior is a choice, but sexual orientation is not.  Same sex love is not entirely about sex, just like heterosexual love is not entirely about sex.  Think about it.  If the Bible only addresses certain acts, then how are people drawing the conclusion that God is against loving same sex relationships and/or that God views homosexual people as bad? 

Of course the next ‘logical’ argument against homosexuality is that it’s an ‘abomination’ because it is ‘unnatural’ and goes against Gods plan.  See God created man and woman, meaning that Gods design is strictly heterosexual and anything that deviates from that plan is ungodly.  For me that's reading between the lines.  Besides, aren't Christians supposed to be Christ-like?  The goal is not to emulate Adam and Eve.  Adam and Eve are the original sinners!  Christ never married.  Christ was celibate.  That’s the general consensus anyway. “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)  So, how do people reach the conclusion that being gay is against God simply because God created straight people first?!  Yes 'God made them male and female'.  That's how procreation works.  Nothing about this includes an exclusion of homosexuality.  

Image courtesy of Adrian van Leen at openphoto.net

Some would say that the Bible actually speaks positively towards same sex relationships.  Read the story of David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel, or Naomi and Ruth in where else? the book of Ruth.  "Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me." (Ruth 1:17)  The story may be about friendship, or the women may have been in love.  We can’t know for sure based on the text but the women were certainly not condemned for their closeness, or looked down on for journeying together for a time without husbands or sons.

 

The point is that the Bible says very little about sexuality. A few extremists have taken what little it does say, drawn some pretty big conclusions, and used those conclusions to hate, discriminate, retranslate, and lead others through that gate.  Jesus never approved that message.  My hope today is that believers will pick up their Bibles and read them for themselves.  Anyone who believes that God feels that LGBT people are lesser human beings, or should be treated as such, is either misinformed or mislead.  Jesus taught love, acceptance, forgiveness, and closeness to God.

"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." 1 John 4:20

Just for fun, here's the debunking of those pesky 'Clobber Passage's haters use to convince folks that the Bible says gays are abominable:

* Genesis 1: 27 (OLD Testament) Yes God created them male and female.  Nothing here implies anything about the sexual orientation of future peoples.

* Genesis 19:(OT)  Sodom and Gomorrah is about hospitality, pride and rape, not homosexuality.  Ezekiel 16:49 will clear up any confusion.

* Leviticus (OT) is part of Mosaic Law which does not apply to Christians or Gentiles in general.

* Mark 10:6 is Jesus speaking against divorce, not sexuality.  Read the chapter, not just a verse or two.

* Romans 1: 26-27 is about idol worship and people turning their backs on God, not about people who are naturally oriented towards the same gender. Read the ENTIRE chapter.

* 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 has been retranslated over and over to become more and more homophobic.  Original translations use the word malakos, meaning "effeminate" or "soft," which refers to someone who lacks discipline or moral control. The word is used elsewhere in the New Testament and never with reference to sexuality.

* 1 Corinthians 6: 17-20 is Paul speaking against prostitution.  Read the verse in its full context, meaning read the whole chapter.

* 1 Timothy 1:8-11 has also been retranslated to include homosexuality in the list of offenses.  Original translations use the word arsenokoitai, referring to exploitive, unwanted, forcible sex between men.  It is the lewd that is detestable here.  Other mentions are slave traders, liars, and kidnappers.  

Thanks for taking the time to read the fine print.  Don't take my word for any of it.  Do your own homework and lots of it.  Peace & Love

What of Marriage?

Stupid people are smart sometimes.  Same sex marriage is headed to the Supreme Court this year.  The lovely but ignorant folks that oppose gay marriage have updated their argument, saying gay marriage is not in line with ‘natural law’ and as such, states have the right to ban it.  Because we all know that unnatural things naturally lead to other awful unnatural criminal things, don’t we?  Wait a minute…………. what is ‘natural’ when it comes to marriage?

Is it natural for a person to have many spouses?

Is it natural for a 60 year old to marry a 20 year old?   What if the 60 year old was the woman?  Didn't think of that did ya?

Is it natural for people of different religions or different races to marry?

Is it natural for people with disabilities to marry?

Is it natural for people with children to marry people other than the parents of those children?

Is it natural for free roaming citizens to marry inmates?

If you answered no to any of these questions, congratulations on your closed mind and lukewarm heart! 

A great many folks find many many marriages other than their own “unnatural”.  If we only knew what situations those friendly faces at the grocery store really went home to…  In the grand scheme of life, what does it matter if my spouse and I shop on the same side of The Gap?  How can a country so diverse even fathom a definition of what is ‘natural’ when it comes to a marriage between legally consenting adults?

Wake up call:  marriage is for more than baby making!   When can we ALL do what comes naturally?

 I’m asking…