[Repost - Originally posted on the Saturday after NY voted to approve gay marriage.]
Look, do Muslims expect all of us to fast on Ramadan? No! Do Jews expect everybody to keep Kosher? No! Do Mormons expect us all to wear magic underwear? No! Did Jesus say a word about gay people? No! “I apologize for those who feel offended,” Mr. Grisanti said, adding, “I cannot deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife."
[Republican NYState Senator, conservative, married 46 years]
This was not about whether to solemnize a relationship in church or synagogue or mosque or temple. It was not about who would officiate. Nobody's religious rights have been infringed.
This is about love and commitment. About family rights and responsibilities. About children being able to say their parents are married. It's like citizenship for an immigrant. Full stature in society. I mean, who wants to be viewed as an alien?
“Their love is worth the same as your love,” Mr. Cuomo said [to lawmakers]. “Their partnership is worth the same as your partnership. And they are equal in your eyes to you. That is the driving issue.”Sure I can talk about all that in a spiritual way. And I have. On numerous occasions.
Today is a day for rejoicing! The Sabbath. Even if I'm not Jewish.
4 comments:
Beautifully put, TheraP. Just a wonderful statement that gets right to the heart of the matter--of the matter of truth-telling. Thank you for this.
Bless you, Bill! I appreciate your presence here. And your encouragement!
Peace be with you.
For anyone who may read the comments, Bill has the most wonderful blog and is an indefatigable social/religious critic and analyst.
No, it wasn't. Though the religionists (and here may be one of the areas where we'll have to agree to disagree) will use their "holy writ" to drive the gullible in ways that serve the hierarchy's temporal desires, things such as the wealth and power we all know as motivators.
That it relegates others to the status of "others" (sometimes to the point of placing their very lives in danger) is just a minor inconvenience in the overall picture.
Alan, I think we're on the same page way more than you realize. I've written many critiques of the hierarchy. Indeed, they all too often "drive the gullible" - but as of 2 years and several months ago, already fully a third of those raised RC had left the church! I think the bishops have their backs against the wall - recognize they're viewed as bigots and worse.
I especially like your second paragraph as I've started rereading The Iliad in Fagle's astounding translation. From the introduction I've learned that "force" among the Greeks is considered just as you describe, treating someone as effectively a non-entity.
Religion is a topic fraught with so much misunderstanding. I personally think that in every culture there are some people who are "drawn" into the sacred. It's a like a gravitational pull. Can't be explained really. Calls forth a sense of awe, wonder, and a paradoxical exaltation together with a sense of being very tiny in the vastness of the universe. But as I've written I venerate honesty - whether one follows a faith or no faith but treads that path with integrity.
Peace be with you my dear friend. You are in my heart!
Post a Comment