Dear America, when will we realize that separate is not
equal. It seems that throughout
our history, we have always tried to come up with institutions that allowed us
to divide members of our society and treat them as identical, having the same
rights. When will we realize that
this is not the case? Every time
it results in the same thing, the disenfranchising and persecution of an entire
culture of society to the point that violence erupts and lives are lost. George
Santayana has warned us that, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed
to repeat it.” If we do not wake
up, we are destined to repeat the same violence against our friends and family
that we have perpetuated since the civil war. Now, just think about that. Since the civil war, we have had a history of conflict and
bloodshed as a result of not giving people the rights that our constitution has
promised ALL OF ITS CITIZENS!!! Not
just the wealthy, white, heterosexual…but all. I fear that if we don’t recognize this as a right to all
citizens, then we are dooming ourselves to repeat the same fate as all of those
who have come before us.
Now, let me preference everything by saying that I am a
Christian. I was raised in the
Christian church and in a Christian home.
My parents were Christians before I was born. I do not believe homosexuality is a choice. I believe that practicing anything, be
it homosexuality or heterosexuality is a choice. What I mean by this is; that by being heterosexual, I have
the choice to practice heterosexuality and engage in heterosexual relationships...or not to do so. If I were
homosexual and Christian, and if I believed what a lot of Christians believe the bible
says, I could choose not to engage in a homosexual relationship; maintaining this same definition of what a Christian should do based on the Law listed in Leviticus. Now, the issue here is what does the
Bible really say about government.
If we all look at Romans 13:1-7, it tells us that God has established
governments and that we should subject ourselves to it. It goes on to say that if you do not
subject yourselves to the authority of our government, then you should, “be
afraid…They are God’s Servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the
wrongdoer.” Nowhere does it say
that me, as a Christian, should be against the rights protected to all citizens
under the law. In fact, if I want
to be a good Christian then I need to make sure that, “I do unto my neighbors
and I would have done unto me.”
And I know that I definitely do not want anyone to say that I can’t
marry anyone that I want to marry and having the same rights as someone else
has. However, read the verse yourself to make sure that I'm not lying to you.
So here’s my point America, or the three of you that read
this in America, the law is clear.
All citizens have the constitutional right to get married. If everyone didn’t believe this, then
Republicans would not continue to try to rewrite the constitution, defining
marriage as being between a man and a woman. And heterosexual, Christian, Black people, we need to get over ourselves as a culture. It's not like we are the only people in American society to be discriminated against. If you can't see the parallels between what blacks went through after slavery to what homosexuals are going through, then you are in denial. It took us until 1967 until we had the freedom to marry anyone we wanted, as long as they were of the opposite sex. Here we have the opportunity to make sure that every citizen has the same rights as far as marriage is concerned. We need to understand that just because people say it’s ok
for someone to do something does not mean everyone has to do it. But separate is not equal, civil unions
will never be marriages. Sorry if you find my message offensive, I’m just thinking out loud.
