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Clarification
2004-02-25 10:47 am

"George W. Bush will go down in history as the first president attempting to create an amendment that will write bias back in to the Constitution" - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts).

Oh DON'T get me started - I feel I've worked this out through various deep, meaningful, and introspective conversations with friends, my husband, bosses, and relations. And by "worked out" I mean, through cognitive dissonance, at least detached myself from the rageful, seething person I turned into (a la HULK-ette) in the car when I heard W. talking about "protecting civilization" from the big, bad gay people who love each other and want to get married. THOSE BASTARDS! Indeed, who do they think they are? What's next, acceptance? An end to hate crime? Sheesh!

I'll say at least this: why is gay marriage being sold as a "threat" to hetero-marriage when it's so inherently illogical? I don't want to hear faith-based arguments; this is public policy we're talking about - not religion or personal beliefs.

If my dear friend Kevin were ever to find a man so worthy of him that he were to get married, would that suddenly threaten my marriage to my husband? Or if I were single, would I suddenly not understand what marriage was, and not want to get married? And so what if I didn't? And what is marriage, anyway, what is love? Yes, this issue calls for such cheesy, cliché philosophical/rhetorical questions, since our gov't. seems, through their rhetoric, to be presenting these terms as if they have a singular, intact definition. In fact, W said during his little speech that he was setting out to CLARIFY the definition of these terms by writing a certain perspective into the Constitution. Oh, DO use your obvious intellectual prowess and all-knowing, godly perspective to enlighten us. Why, W. HIMSELF might solve the very puzzles inherent in the "what is love/what is marriage" discourses that philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists have been pondering for centuries. GENIUS! But you already knew that, it's obvious in his public speaking skills.

Am I going to accept someone else's definition, particularly that of ultra-conservative, born-again, misogynist, ethnocentric and classist George "They tried to kill my daddy, let's go to war" Bush?

You know, name calling won't get me anywhere. I should digress. They just make me so dern mad. Sometimes I wonder what will be next with this administration. Will someone knock on my door and tell me I have exactly two months to legally change my surname to my husband's, lest I go to jail under the new policies of the Bush Administration? I don't think I'm being as melodramatic as usual. Or, this is such an explosive time, my melodrama becomes appropriate.

Lesson for today, then: It's Ok to lie, over and over, to the American people; Ok to sacrifice many lives, spend much money, cause much destruction; Ok to act violently without thinking carefully or considering all perspectives. Not Ok: being gay, wanting the same rights every other human seems entitled to, wanting the world to recognize that you love another human and that human loves you, wanting, as a tax-paying citizen, your constitution to count you as a person with rights in its language and policy.

Ok then, all straight (oh look, an intentional pun!)? Good.

In case my little stream-of-consciousness ramble made no sense at all, I can clarify in more complete sentences today: We finally booked our trip for the summer. We're going to Hungary for a few weeks, traveling around the country side. I'm really excited, as I've never been to Eastern Europse before and I've never met some of the family that Steve has still living there. From Budapest, we'll fly into Johannesburg so that we can spend a couple of weeks in Southern Africa. We'll stay in Jo'Burg for a few days and see if we can get to Durban and/or Cape Town. Eventually, we'll head to Kruger NP, through Botswana and into Chobe NP and the Okavango Delta, winding up finally at Victoria Falls in Zambia. I can't even begin to explain how much all of this means to me - to try to express the feelings I have about this trip would trivialize them, I fear, so I'll wait until I have a better way of articulating them. For now, I'll just say these are things I always wanted to do but feared may never be possible; that I'm going to see Victoria Falls, that I'm going to be in Botswana, on Safari in Chobe national park and in the Okavango Delta, camping on the riverside, is incredibly unbelievable to me. I feel blessed and lucky, and I hope I can remember that when I'm sobbing on the consulate floor because I can't obtain a Visa without bribing someone. I better bring a bottle of Schnapps, some Levis, or a carton of Cigs (heh heh heh). Ah, Africa. So happy to be returning for a third time 'round.

xoxox,