Who Are We To Say?

I try not to go on rants about..well, about anything--outside of my journal--but this thought of the day, I guess, has been sitting in my inbox for over 4 months now, and I can't seem to delete it without saying something about it. So here goes:

From Jerry & Esther Hicks:

When that which is god -- or that which is that which man wants to call "God" -- is being understood by man, man has to translate it into the format he understands. But this Energy -- this Source that man is giving the label of "God", cannot be quantified in anything that man understands. And as man attempts to do it, the distortions are enormous.

Are we (humans) really so arrogant as to believe that we know we are right about who and what God is? About what God's intentions are with the world? Are we really so arrogant as to distort those beliefs and amend them to fit our lives? To suppose that we know who and where and how God has intervened into our lives? And that we ought to make sure everyone else understands just what we understand so they can be just as right with the world and God as we are?

I believe there's something strong, something profound about faith and believing in a power greater than ourselves. There must be, in order for life to be what it is, with all its eccentricities and life forms and microorganisms and coffee flavors. This is my belief, and I hold to it. That being said, my belief in no way diminishes or replaces whatever your belief, no matter how strongly you or I believe in them; they neither cancel each other out nor are in absolution, the Truth of what is. 

We cannot possibly know who and what we don't understand. And when we attempt to say that we do understand, we end up distorting whatever Truth that is unknown. Much of what is written about God comes from an archaic age, and has not changed with the times. Would we conduct business the same as we did 2,000 years ago because that's how someone who said he heard God speak said we should? 

So much is written about God, and even more so, translated. The bible is the most translated book in the history of books. Translation is neither simple, nor exact. Anyone who is fluent in more than one language knows that there is often not an exact word or phrase  when translating from one language to the other. Each language has its own idiosyncrasies and groupings of words that don't make sense when separate but ring true in their original form.

I find it interesting that we, "man", hold God in such high regard and say that He is all knowing and then promptly decide that we know what He's talking about (or what He even said to begin with). We allow ourselves to believe that our vision of God is the (only) Truth, rather than opening up to the idea that there may be many Truths, or at least that our Truth may not be all there is to it. 

Sheryl Crow, Hard to Make A Stand:

We got loud guitars and big suspicions,
Great big guns and small ambitions,
And we still argue over who is God
And I say, "Hey there Miscreation,
Bring a flower time is wasting
We all need a revelation"

But I wonder if part of the problem is that we're all trying to make a stand instead of listening, learning, being open to what someone else has to say instead of creating a space in which others must conform to. It is not possible to understand what we think of as God. I hope I am not so arrogant as to say that what I believe is the only Truth. 

Seek first to understand, and then to be understood. Love thy neighbor. And stop trying to be better than everyone else. Just try to be better than who you were yesterday. The world will be a much better place.

Hope. Change. Open Mind.

Someone in my network wrote this morning that she felt a little less free today. I feel the same way, but quite possibly for very different reasons. She is a McCain supporter, I am an Obama supporter. In all likelihood, she voted yes on Prop 8. I most certainly did not.

The workplace has often provided me with an opportunity to broaden my social network with people I may not have willingly befriended had I simply been handed a list of their life's agenda and personal beliefs.

I understand that people have ideas about what's right and wrong, that we all have the right to our views on such things, and that there will never be 100% agreement on every issue. What one believes is right or wrong does not decipher a good or bad person. The parts only tell some of one's story. The sum of those parts tells the whole story.

If someone looked only at my teenage years, they would see drugs, theft, sex, deceit, lack of motivation to do more good than bad. If someone looked only at those years, they would see a girl in turmoil. A girl who looks like she will never recover from her choices. A girl who ought to be disregarded and deemed a liability to society.

And then comes the growth. The learning. The changes. Slowly but surely, a new person emerges. She begins therapy. She graduates high school. She holds a job. The drugs are gone. The theft is gone. The deceit dwindles to near nothing. The sex is responsible. A shift in motivation happens to do more good than bad. All this in the midst of becoming an adult and figuring out that there is more to life than just what she knows.

I believe in the good of people. I believe that the more people know, the more good they can and will do. I believe that when you offer an opportunity for someone to think and do the right thing, 9 times out of 10, they will do the right thing. If they have an open mind. We must all believe in the possibility that we are wrong. If we do not, our minds are not open. And certainly unwilling to hear the other side.

In light of my friend's comment this morning, I thought about the possibility that I am wrong in my elation of the election of the presidency. I considered the idea that I am wrong in my sorrow that Prop 8 passed. And I questioned whether or not I ought to remain friends with this person who is so openly against many things that I support. And I have made some decisions.

I am not wrong in my elation of Obama being elected our 44th president. This act proves that dreams are possible with hard work and the encouragement of open minds. Obama's landslide victory proves that the people of the United States of America are capable of change and actually believe in the diversity that we live in, versus simply talking about it.

I am not wrong in my sorrow that Prop 8 passed (all though there was a report on KTLA this morning that some 4.5 million vote by mail ballots have yet to be counted in LA County...there is still hope). My sorrow is less in the Prop 8 being (potentially) passed, and more in the Proposition even landing on the ballot. Civil rights ought not be debated, but protected at the highest level. More eloquently, Fannie says: 

"...the civil rights of minority citizens should not be up for majority vote and that it is profoundly un-American to restrict people's rights in constitutional documents that are usually used to grant people's rights."

As for my friendship with this person who feels less free today, I can say that my mind is open. She is a good person and I respect her opinions. I also respectfully (and strongly) disagree with her on some of those opinions. That being said, I cannot look at just the parts, but must sum up her parts to see her whole. She is passionate and humane. I believe she is misguided in certain aspects of her opinions, but overall she means well and has a healthy, kind, giving heart. The fact that we are friends at all gives me hope that one day she will open her mind just a little more and see more of what I see—more of what millions of Americans who voted for Obama see: hope. And change. And the possibility—the probability—that there is more to this life than we can even imagine.

Less Than A Week

I keep thinking about Prop 8. And everything it stands for. And everyone it lets down. It's impossible to me that there are people who still believe in the idea that one type, one kind, one way of thinking, of life is right. And yet, the fact that the Proposition even exists is proof of that. 

A friend of mine has been working on a beautiful love story almost since I've known her. And this love story allows her and her business partner to show us (the choir and all others), one more reason Prop 8 is out of line. The documentary is not yet complete, but you can go to www.OrinBernardoMovie.com to see what it's all about.

As much as I believe we should all be able to be ourselves, to love whomever we choose (which, contrary to popular deluded belief, will not lead to underage children, multiple partners, or goats), and to have the right to marry that person, this is not a matter of simply being who we are, it's a matter of the right to be who we are. The God-given right, if you will. Or more appropriately, the civil liberty. 

Remember that line in the declaration of independence? ...all men are created equal... (I'm sure they meant women, too, right?) Did they mean just white men? Did they mean just Republican men? Just conservative men? Just straight men? If you're looking for translation to "all men", it means ALL men (and since the 1920's, women). All of us. The white ones, the black ones, the mixed ones, the pure bred ones, the women ones, the rich ones, the poor ones, the Independent ones, the Libertarian ones, the Christian ones, the Jewish ones, the Buddhist ones, the smart ones, the handicap ones, the illiterate ones, the graduated ones, the gay ones, the straight ones, the blind ones, the deaf ones, the autistic ones, the patriotic ones, the politically savvy ones, the native ones, the transplant ones, the short ones, the really, really short ones, the overweight ones, the alcoholic ones, the drug addict ones, the hard working blue collar ones, the corporate America ones, the honest ones, the loyal ones, the ones who love pets, the ones who want kids but can't have them, the ones with high school diplomas, the ones who go to work every day and do jobs others don't want to, the left handed ones, the little league playing ones, the hockey playing ones, the football playing ones, the baseball playing ones, the tax paying ones, the melting pot ones...you know...the American ones. 

We're all people. And we all deserve the same rights. The same civil rights. This is not question of morality, it's a question of equality. I'm no Martin Luther King, but I have dreams of my own. That one day I will not be judged by the person I love, but by the content of my character. I'm not suggesting that the brutality against blacks through the '60's (and still to this day, in some places) is the same, but there are certainly parallels. Parallels of inequality (Prop 8), of oppression (Prop 8), of segregation (gay schools are a nice idea...), of hate crimes; these all lead to the truth that the LGBT community is not treated the same as those outside that group. Isn't that discrimination?

Personally, I'm not ready to get married. It doesn't mean that I don't want to, or that I won't. It doesn't mean that I want others who are ready to lose the right. I don't want ANY of us to lose the right on November 4th. It's just civil, equal rights.

cat, dogs, and dolphins

i wonder if catholics will follow the same ideology for animals that they do for humans. 

meaning??

there's a new law going into effect soon in l.a. stating that most pets 4 months and older must be spayed or neutered. one has 60 days to comply upon being "found out" with no penalty, otherwise pay a $100 or $500 fine for the 2nd and 3rd offenses, respectively. apparently there are 3-4 million animals euthanized in shelters annually in the u.s., and the humane society says that's too many.

soo...how does this pertain to the ideology of catholics? my understanding of the catholic faith is that they do not use birth control. can't really force them to use birth control. so now it's the law to use birth control on their pets. on all of our pets, really.

my guess is that most people won't bat an eye. we'll think it sucks because we have to pay for the operation. we'll think that if the county wants to enforce a law, then that county should somehow pay for it. but in the end, we'll do what we always do, which is complain about it and follow the rules. 

i just wonder why people think it's okay to treat an animal like an animal and not a human. we're different species, sure. and i've heard the argument that when animals earn a paycheck or clean up around the house, then they can be treated like a human. (i might have made that argument myself on an occasion or two. or just this morning.)

so rather than let the feline and canine populations grow out of hand, we're taking it into our own hands and solving a problem before it really becomes a problem. right?

so here's what happens. too many strays, so they get picked up and put in a shelter. that shelter can't afford to take care of all the animals. so if the animals don't get adopted within a specified amount of time (in some shelters), those animals get euthanized. so sad!

we don't do that with humans though. imagine this: an orphanage. unable to afford to take care of the kids. so if the kids aren't adopted within a specified amount of time, those kids get euthanized. riiight.

i realize it's not the same thing. i just wonder why. 

i digress.

but that's not even the issue. that's talking about euthanization. killing a human. killing a living being. unacceptable, i get it. 

the issue is birth control. god doesn't want catholics to use birth control. that's god's decision on whether or not anyone should or should not have a baby. but with animals we can do whatever we want.  no 10 commandments for the animals, i guess.

and of course, animals can't speak up and say, "hey human with the food and the sandbox cleaning: i've talked to god and god says i should just do whatever i want. so thanks for that snippit offer, but no thanks. now go clean that sand again and give me a treat." 

can you imagine? non-birth control users have 60 days to comply with a new law that says population is getting out of hand. first offense: $100 fine. 2nd offense: $500 fine (and all fees and expenses that go along with having a child). the perfect defense to this is clear. just in case they bring this law into effect, i'm prepared. i've gone ahead and "gone gay" just so i don't have to worry about that whole "procreation" thing. i've always thought of myself like a dolphin.

helpful creature. likes to swim. sex for pleasure. 

not necessarily in that order.