I've never watched this show before but someone posted this clip on one of the writers' forums I frequent, and I was really moved by it. Unlike Olbemann, I do have people close to me who are gay, and I have seen them struggle with discrimination and shame that stems from ignorance. Some of them have even died because of it. To say those deaths were senseless is a gross understatement.
Why, why, why are straight people so threatened by gay marriage? One devout couple said to my husband recently that the Bible clearly states homosexuality is "an abomination." When challenged on it and asked where that particular passage is - my husband being fairly familiar with the book in question and having discussed this very topic with the Archbishop of the Anglican Church who said unequivocally there isn't any such passage - they backed down. Not that we believe it's a sin, they said, but the gays (as in "those people") will have to answer someday to God because He is the one who is apparently harboring the grudge.
I've said it for years and I'll say it again. Love is love. It doesn't matter if body part A fits into part B. Love is love. A heterosexual couple with children is no more or less a family than a grandmother raising her grandchildren or two committed men or women raising their biological or adopted children. Family is defined as "nearest and dearest" in the dictionary.
Nearest and dearest.
I can't say I'm against ignorance per se. Ignorance has value when it is recognized for what it is, and used as a step forward towards wonder and curiosity and ultimately, knowledge. Have a look at John Shelby Spong, a Christian theologian, Biblical scholar and former Bishop who wrote JESUS FOR THE NON-RELIGIOUS amongst many other worthy books. He says:
"All human beings bear God's image and must be respected for what each person is. Therefore, no external description of one's being, whether based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, can properly be used as the basis for either rejection or discrimination."
Yeah. What he said.
Have a good weekend. Love one another. Remember, 'tis the season of love and goodwill, and that should extend to every last one of us.
Oh, and a GIANT P.S. Have a look at this (thank you kc dyer and Susan A. for passing it on. I LOVE IT!) This is too good to be buried in the comments:
