Last night I decided to just kick back with a bottle of merlot, and the Fiona bootleg first release of Extraordinary Machine, and ponder what had already transpired in recent weeks.
For the past few years it has become painfully obvious why democracy doesn't always work, and certainly isn't always in the best interest of all citizens.
Why does a majority have the right to dictate to a minority, even if it flies in the face of the so-called freedoms we supposedly share equally in the United States of America? Of course, I'm talking about the religion-brainwashed masses who somehow have taken it upon themselves to dictate to others what is right or wrong.
I find it infuriating that heterosexual right-wing activists continue to fan the flames of bigotry and fear and have voted in overwhelming majorities to put down my relationship which is quite simply just as valid and ordinary as theirs. Queer folks are small in numbers and will never be a majority (and if they were, I can assure you there would not be the same put-down of heterosexuals we are now seeing from the right-wing).
Freedom of religion (as well as freedom FROM religion) includes legislation which comes from a lop-sided and repressive religious viewpoint. In that regard, we are failing as a country that supposedly embraces the Constitution. I'm fed up with fundamentalist Christians (or anyone else) slinging their so-called belief systems in my face when they don't acknowledge even the most basic and fundamental teachings of Christ. "Judge not.." comes to mind immediately. Do you people need a pagan to teach you about your own "Lord and Savior?" It would seem so.
This is why we have 3 branches of government. "Activist" judges and the Supreme Court are here to protect us from those "masses" which, through a popular vote would subjugate a minority. If slavery had been left to a popular vote in the south, I wonder when slavery would have been abolished? 1970? 1980? Would we still have it in some states? (or do we, I might add?)
Sadly, even the judicial branch seems to be hijacked lately. This does not bode well for our nation.
Looking at the pathetic state of the Democrats and Republicans, I wonder why the hell there isn't a viable socialist or other leftest movement brewing. I've been mumbling on various blogs lately about wanting to "throw in the towel" and this is why.
I despise the two-party system we currently have. I have seen erosion on the left to the point where there's only the right-wing and a right-of-center. Nothing else. Did anyone see the John Dean interview on the Daily Show? He called himself a "Goldwater Republican" and said that's now considered left-of-center. How true.
There was a letter to the editor in our local Austin paper this morning that sums it all up. The writer was asserting that liberals, including the media, are the most dangerous force in the war on terrorism.
OK, where do I go turn myself in, or will they come and find me? Just keep me out of Gitmo.
"Be kind to me,
or treat me mean,
I'll make the most of it I'm an extraordinary machine."
I'm not the praying type, but if I were, I'd be praying for an uprising. We could sure use it.
UPDATE: Here's a classic example of what I'm ranting about. Both sides in the gay marriage debate are rallying in Boston today:
- "I think this is an issue for the people to decide," said Jonathan Gal, 39, of Lexington, wearing a sticker that read "Support One Man, One Woman." "I don't like the way this is being imposed on us by a small minority — the courts and the Legislature."
BUT... he already has HIS rights!!! One man, one woman is supported already!
- Across the street, supporters of same-sex unions cast the issue as one of civil rights. "When does civil rights get put on the ballot for everyone to vote on?" said Jim Singletary, 44, of Salem, who last year married his longtime partner, Jim Maynard.
