The Light is Shining on Me, Why Not Maine?

American Rights were lost this past week in Maine. Yes, right here in the United states of America, the Land of the Free, the people of Maine took away the rights of some Americans to wed. Citing their religious rhetoric about marriage, saying that marriage is only between a man and a woman, religious groups spread their ignorance and hate to those who themselves are, well, ignorant, and the right for some Americans to wed was lost. I find this grossly un-American.

First of all, I do not believe that anyone's basic rights should ever be put to a popular vote. That is very un-American and just plain wrong. You do not ever, ever vote on the basic rights of anyone, especially your fellow Americans! I am still shocked that this was even put to a vote.

Second, how can you take your neighbor's right to marry away from them? How can you find it in your heart to think that this is right? How can you look them in the eye and tell them that they have no right to wed? I cannot fathom it but I will try to look at the possible reasons why some people think that this is right.

Number one is the religious right wing. I am referring to the right wing Christian element of the United States of America. Somehow they think that they are on a mission from God and that they are doing their God's work. They think that they know what God wants and no one better get in their way. This reminds me of those religious fanatics who drove the planes into the twin towers and the Pentagon. These folks were sure that they were doing "God's work". I think that they were extremists who committed horrible crimes against God. I see a similarity between the plane crashers and the anti marriage people.

A quick aside, I don;t understand when these religious people say that their Bible is the word of God. I have looked through the Bible and I have not ever found one entry credited to God. I see the Corinthians, the Romans, Leviticus, etc, but no God. Let's face it, God did not write any of the entries in the Bible, The Bible was written by men, not women, but men, thousands of years ago. These were stories and words meant to control people, tell them what's right, what's wrong, what to do, what to say, what to wear, how to act etc. The Bible really is a code of conduct for people to follow and it was written by men thousands of years ago. Please keep that in mind when you hear someone say that the Bible is the word of God.

Back to the reasons why people think that it's ok to take rights away from fellow Americans.

America is getting enlightened but there still is homophobia which is still very alive in the U.S. I often ask myself, why is that the case? I believe that it is because many Americans think that they know what a man should be and what a woman should be and if they see a man who likes another man they somehow think lesser of this man. Why? Women can like men, why can't men like men? Could it be because they think that this man is somehow "lowering" himself and acting like a woman? Might I ask what is wrong for a man to act like a woman? Even further, dare I ask what is wrong with being a woman? I think that there is a huge, silent element of misogyny in our American culture. That is a big shame on our culture to even think this way!

Another possible thought along the same vein as the reason above is the very closeted Gay man who will not come to terms with his own homosexuality. This person may be so horrified that he is really Gay that he overcompensates by publicly showing his distaste for Gays. These are usually the Gay bashers, the religious and government leaders who speak publicly against Gays then they secretly have sex with Gays behind closed doors and bathroom stalls. This type of person can be the most vocal against Gays. Sadly, they are Gay themselves but somehow will not or cannot accept it.

Another possible reason to take away fellow American's rights is that the ignorant might think that Gay couples will somehow "infiltrate" neighborhoods and rape their children similar to the way that a certain percentage of Catholic priests do. Why do they think this? I believe that it is fear of the unknown and as a result, fearing the worst. Of course this is not true and their fears are unfounded.

So I have examined some of the possible reasons to think that it's alright to deny your fellow countrymen their rights. I see them but I still don't understand them. Instead I see ignorance, hatefulness, fear and a need to control. I do not see moral Americans and I surely do not see moral Christians.

I hope that someday people will understand what I am speaking of and see how terribly wrong these people are who are willing to take away rights of their fellow Americans.