Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Straight Men for Gay Rights Part 2






You know, this equal rights issue has really started to get on my nerves!

This should not even be an issue. It’s so logical anyone with a pulse should be able to understand it.

EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO MARRY THE PERSON THEY LOVE!

Period.

End of story.

The problem in this country is that for some unknown reason everyone wants to dictate how others should live their lives.

If you have Facebook, and most of the world does at this point, you have read endless posts about why people should have the right to marry their loves. You have also read the stupidity of those who think Homosexual marriage is a sin, or an outrage, or whatever other bullshit excuses people are giving. Here’s my answer to some of those stupid idiots who feel that marriage should not be enjoyed equally across the board.

Excuse number 1 People are using, “Marriage is a sacred bond between man and woman, allowing homosexuals to marry within their gender would destroy that purity.”

Give me a fucking break! Honestly, marriage in this country is a joke! It pains me to say this, since I am a believer in true love, and consider myself a hopeless romantic.

But when you look at marriage in this country over 50% end in divorce.

When we see every single day of our lives politicians lie about the skeletons in their closets.

Or our athletes, you know our children’s role models cheat and divorce, and make up for it with big diamond rings…

Give me a break people! Marriage in the United States of America has lost its purity, and sacredness way before homosexuality.

So stop blaming your failures on certain members of our society. We are all to blame for the loss of the purity in marriage.

Excuse number 2, “The bible says… BLAH BLAH BLAH”

The Bible says a lot of things; it is a very thick book with very small print!

I have mentioned this in a prior posting about gay marriage, years ago when prop 8 first got passed.

But I find it so hypocritical of the Catholic church to come out so vehemently against gay marriage, when a large percentage of their priests commit not just homosexual acts, but with children…

This is not a shot at the Church, I am a proud member of the Catholic Church, I have been my whole life, but I find it hypocritical to teach forgiveness, and acceptance, and then to picket and protest the equality of love. Who are you to questions someone’s love, and commitment?

It is NOT a sin to be gay!  Let me just be clear and repeat it again, IT IS NOT A SIN TO BE GAY!

But, even if it was a sin. Even if being gay was a sin, we are taught in church, through the bible mind you, that God will FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN. So even by your small thinking mentality, if you truly feel that being gay is a sin, then do as Jesus would, and Forgive!

Excuse number 3… (This one really really pisses me off) “GOD HATES HOMO’s”

I’ve seen sign, and sign of people stating that God Hates this, and God hates that…

God does not lack the compassion to even entertain the emotion of hate. If you truly believe that God is capable of hating anything or anyone you have serious issues within.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins… remember?

He did not hate those who crucified him, he did not hold a grudge… He forgave them, and accepted that this was their decision.

Much like you all must accept that some people are gay, and some are straight. This miniscule detail does not make them good or bad, wrong or right. It makes them Unique, and HUMAN! Just like the rest of us!

There are lots of other excuses people are citing as debate topics for why Gay Marriage should not be legalized.

These three are one’s I’ve come across over and over, and over again.

I will leave you with my two cents on the issue.

Gay Marriage, should not even be a term used. Marriage is Marriage. Be it man and woman, man and man, or woman and woman. If the love is there, the commitment, the dedication, and the trust, then it should be deemed worthy of marriage.

People are associating the gay rights movement with the civil rights movement.

I would like to think that America could look back at their short history, and realize that Gay or Straight we are all EQUAL! Everyone deserves to be happy.

This should not be an issue at the Supreme Court, this should just be a GIVEN!

Love is Love, regardless of the gender associated with it.

To all my Gay friends and family. I support you! I love you! And I truly hope America takes their heads out of their asses and realize that you have been shunned, and bullied enough.

That you have taken the endless ridicule of this nation, and done so in stride.

I hope OUR (not your, because straight or gay intelligent people are all on the same side) fight for EQUALITY is a successful one!

And to those who are opposed:

Live your life to the best of your ability, and allow others to do the same. Because when you stop focusing on yourself, and start focusing on others, that's when your life begins to spiral downwards.

And I'd hate for the blame of your failing lives, to be loaded onto the shoulders of the  Gay Community too.

Friday, March 22, 2013

If sadness never reared it's ugly head, we wouldn't appreciate the beauty of happiness


(Thanks Helena)






I haven’t written a blog in a long while, and decided to start writing more, so here goes.

Today I am going to write about negative trials and tribulations in our lives.

Why do bad things happen to us? Why are we forced to endure the suffering of the daily grind, or heart wrenching tragedy in our lives? Why is it important for us to face these shitty situations?

I have very little to complain about, and let’s face it most of you reading this blog are on the same boat as I am.

I have a great life, with endless support of family and friends. I wake up every morning (thus far) and am thankful for everything I have in this life. But still, as human beings, we wonder why we have to suffer, or endure sadness, depression, pain, etc. etc.

It’s quite simple, If we didn't know what it felt like to be sad, we would never truly appreciate feeling happy.

Think about it, all of our obstacles push us towards something. We are who we are today because of hiccups, and failures that we’ve faced to get here.

Everything that has happened to us, good and bad, had to happen exactly the way it did, for us to be here today.

If we hadn’t fallen off our bikes as kids as we flirted with the idea of no training wheels, than we would never know the immense feeling of accomplishment when we finally venture off down the street without falling.

Personally, I have witnessed this in my life very recently.

I work in a very challenging field. As a behavioral therapist for children with Autism, ADHD, Asperger’s, Down Syndrome etcetera, I find myself seeing the most rewarding amazing looks in family’s eyes when their child accomplishes something I take for granted.

Recently, the company I worked for, in an act of stupidity, and jealousy, decided to fire me.

To say I was devastated is an understatement. In this field, we wear our hearts on our sleeves. I was very much attached to every single one of my clients, and emotionally invested in their program and success.

To be ripped out of their lives in the manner in which my “Situation” was handled left me empty, extremely sad, and highly disappointed.

It hurt to know these children would not be given an explanation as to why their friend, Mr. Nelson, would no longer be seeing them on a daily basis.

Writing this now, still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but I found my closure and reason why things like this happen.

As I wrote every parent a goodbye email thanking them for allowing me into their homes, and access to their children, I began to question why these things happen to good people. (I like to consider myself a good person, call me biased)

The replies I received from every single parent, lifted me up higher than I could imagine.

A resounding WTF was the common conclusion. Well they called in to my employer demanding an explanation.

But also included in the email replies, that they wanted me to continue seeing their children, that the job I was doing was above their every expectation, and that they would be willing to pay me whatever my private rate was to continue my therapy.

A few days later I received a call from my ex-employer telling me to, “Pretend this never happened, and return to my old schedule.”

As I politely declined the offer, everything came into focus. I was not meant to stay with this company. This company did not have their clients best interest at heart. They allowed their egos, and their jealousy, and their incompetence to slither to the front lines.

As I applied to other companies in the same field, and interviewed with them, I became determined to find a company I could trust, a company that had the children’s best interest at heart.

Luckily, I found just the place. I am in the process of accepting their offer as we speak.

The point here is not that I got another job, and that my former employer was stupid for letting me go.

The point is, that we must fail sometimes, to truly appreciate and understand our success.

For me, being fired, and finding another “home” in my career served as an eye opening experience.

We must never become comfortable, or complacent in our lives. Be it in terms of our careers, our relationships, or our friendships.

We must continue to be active participants in the dance we call life.

So my new outlook on life is rather simple.
Bring on the sadness, and the failures, and whatever other stormy forecasts, because I know that when, not if, I get through them, not only will I be stronger, but I will also have just that much more understanding of why things happen the way they do.

Life is unpredictable, when we try to plan out every single aspect, we usually end up falling. But if we stop and appreciate our lives. If we embrace the good the bad and the ugly, then falling wont be so bad, because the best part of life isn’t sitting atop the mountain enjoying the view, it’s the struggle and fight to get up there.