The Republican Big Three
Last November I went into a tailspin of depression following the election. My depression did not stem from anything I could personally prevent. I had invested a great deal of time, energy, and money into working for candidates and causes I believed in. What I watched in horror on election night was Kentucky handing Republicans a resounding win of the big GOP three. No, not Bush, Cheney, and Bunning, no candidate can top the trio of God, Gays, and Guns.
I don’t think God holds a formal membership in the Republican Party. I could be wrong about this. I have not had any divine revelation of God’s political affiliations, but he did not strike me dead when I disapproved of the Republican Injustice Sunday Carnival. Although I pray daily, and actually take the time to meditate upon how I could better serve the divine purpose of life, God has never seen fit to speak to me in the moral absolutes used when talking to such godlike personages as Senator First and President Bush. Perhaps it is because we serve different gods.
We serve different gods because I could not serve a god that values the unborn above those already here. I have heard all the abortion arguments. Don’t get me wrong. I detest abortion. When I had to make the decision for myself, I chose to have my baby. My daughter is nearly 30 now and I only regretted my choice a few times…probably about the same number of times those who have abortions wish they had made a different choice. The one thing I have never regretted is having the ability to choose. No good parent can honestly say raising a child is easy. Everyday across America parents are making sacrifices to give to their children.
Nobody else should be able to visit unwillingly on another the responsibility of giving birth. Doing so makes for bad parents, bad children, and a bad society. We must for the sake of our children do everything we can to see that no woman has to give up her life for that of her child. Get rid of the guilt and social stigma faced by single mothers. Provide support within the community for children so the entire burden does not fall on the mother. Teach responsible sex education. Provide birth control. And for all our sakes, pay women enough to afford to raise children above the poverty line. This will do more to stop abortion and child abuse than all the laws we can pass. The family values folks would have you believe otherwise, but if we want to save the unborn we must first save the ones falling through the cracks now. But, like I said, my god spends a lot more time loving and a lot less time judging than the one running the Republican Party these days.
I know I serve different Gods because the one on the Republican Right has me listed in the “burn in Hell” category. Yes…I know it will shock everyone but I am a lesbian. I can’t say I really mind the fact that they expect me to burn forever for loving my wife. Yes. I said my wife. Sarah and I are married. I am deeply saddened by the fact that our marriage and the marriages of other Gay and Lesbian people have been used to create a legal fiction under American law. The state may legally pretend we are not married and treat us differently than it does other married people. Condemnation and ridicule by the Right cannot take away from my relationship with my wife or the sacred vows we made before our chaplain, our families, and God. So, if the God they hold so dear must torture me forever, I will go to my grave grateful for the life I lived blessed by love.
Now it is time for everyone to get out his or her guns. Come on, we know you have at least one. The great commonwealth of Kentucky has even given you permission to carry them concealed into your local church. Altogether now, find the liberals, the gays, the single parents, the pro-choice, the poor in your congregation and fire. It is for the moral good of America to send those unworthy of God’s love to Hell now. Otherwise, they might vote for Democrats next year.
I realize that the sarcasm of that last paragraph may offend some readers. But it is time we faced the truth about this hyperbole being spouted by the Right. This week a UCC Church in Florida was vandalized because they welcomed gays into the congregation. It is only the most recent assault upon those who disagree with Right. The speakers may not bomb the abortion clinic personally or set fire to a church parish house, but claming divine justifications for smaller injustices paves the way for larger ones. We are better than this. For all our sakes, let God speak for you rather than trying to speak for God.
I don’t think God holds a formal membership in the Republican Party. I could be wrong about this. I have not had any divine revelation of God’s political affiliations, but he did not strike me dead when I disapproved of the Republican Injustice Sunday Carnival. Although I pray daily, and actually take the time to meditate upon how I could better serve the divine purpose of life, God has never seen fit to speak to me in the moral absolutes used when talking to such godlike personages as Senator First and President Bush. Perhaps it is because we serve different gods.
We serve different gods because I could not serve a god that values the unborn above those already here. I have heard all the abortion arguments. Don’t get me wrong. I detest abortion. When I had to make the decision for myself, I chose to have my baby. My daughter is nearly 30 now and I only regretted my choice a few times…probably about the same number of times those who have abortions wish they had made a different choice. The one thing I have never regretted is having the ability to choose. No good parent can honestly say raising a child is easy. Everyday across America parents are making sacrifices to give to their children.
Nobody else should be able to visit unwillingly on another the responsibility of giving birth. Doing so makes for bad parents, bad children, and a bad society. We must for the sake of our children do everything we can to see that no woman has to give up her life for that of her child. Get rid of the guilt and social stigma faced by single mothers. Provide support within the community for children so the entire burden does not fall on the mother. Teach responsible sex education. Provide birth control. And for all our sakes, pay women enough to afford to raise children above the poverty line. This will do more to stop abortion and child abuse than all the laws we can pass. The family values folks would have you believe otherwise, but if we want to save the unborn we must first save the ones falling through the cracks now. But, like I said, my god spends a lot more time loving and a lot less time judging than the one running the Republican Party these days.
I know I serve different Gods because the one on the Republican Right has me listed in the “burn in Hell” category. Yes…I know it will shock everyone but I am a lesbian. I can’t say I really mind the fact that they expect me to burn forever for loving my wife. Yes. I said my wife. Sarah and I are married. I am deeply saddened by the fact that our marriage and the marriages of other Gay and Lesbian people have been used to create a legal fiction under American law. The state may legally pretend we are not married and treat us differently than it does other married people. Condemnation and ridicule by the Right cannot take away from my relationship with my wife or the sacred vows we made before our chaplain, our families, and God. So, if the God they hold so dear must torture me forever, I will go to my grave grateful for the life I lived blessed by love.
Now it is time for everyone to get out his or her guns. Come on, we know you have at least one. The great commonwealth of Kentucky has even given you permission to carry them concealed into your local church. Altogether now, find the liberals, the gays, the single parents, the pro-choice, the poor in your congregation and fire. It is for the moral good of America to send those unworthy of God’s love to Hell now. Otherwise, they might vote for Democrats next year.
I realize that the sarcasm of that last paragraph may offend some readers. But it is time we faced the truth about this hyperbole being spouted by the Right. This week a UCC Church in Florida was vandalized because they welcomed gays into the congregation. It is only the most recent assault upon those who disagree with Right. The speakers may not bomb the abortion clinic personally or set fire to a church parish house, but claming divine justifications for smaller injustices paves the way for larger ones. We are better than this. For all our sakes, let God speak for you rather than trying to speak for God.
posted by Gwen Mayo | 3:01 PM
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