A Gift from God?

     You know those little things that just get under your skin?  They are different for almost everyone, of course, but I have one that strikes a chord in me each time I read/see/hear/hear of it. 

     “God blessed me with a child” or “My child is a gift from God” are two phrases that get me irked.  I mean really pissed.  Let us, for the sake of argument, forgo the fact that I’m an Atheist, and let’s pretend I’m a Christian.  This would STILL piss me off…  I had a friend that was happily married. He and his wife got pregnant with a baby girl.  When the child came, she was stillborn.  I say this now, as I said long before this tragedy happened, they are far better humans than I am.  He was the guy you wished would date your sister, and she was a five foot tall kindergarten teacher. 

     What the hell do you say to them, after you just opened your mouth and declared that YOUR child was a gift from God?  What was his daughter? A practical joke?  So God was going to give them the gift of a child, but at the last second he pulled the rug out from under them, in a classic “yank the chair while someone sits” move? 

     What about the child born with a crippling disorder?  What about the child that is born, but takes the mother’s life during birth?  What the hell do you say to that now almost father, when you play the “I’m so awesome that God blessed me with a child” speech? Name a crime he could commit, that would warrant that punishment.  I can’t.

     Not long after, because of an infection, my friend’s wife lost the ability to have any more children.   Keep it classy, Yahweh. 

     God didn’t bless you with a child, because if you REALLY believe that, then the opposite must be true for families that have bad pregnancies.  Don’t give me that mysterious ways line.  You used up all your freebies with that one.

     Let us say that you are “blessed” with a child, and that child grows up.  It’s a fact that at one time all of the worst humans that ever lived were bundles of joy, just as every terrible-mean-awful human that will ever be born will be a bundle of joy.  Somewhere today, a baby was born, that will kill, rape and murder innocents.  I wonder if his parents are calling him a gift. 

     God did not bless you with a child.  You, ladies, had a man’s sperm injected into your uterus at the same time that you were pumping an egg down your fallopian tubes.   That is why you got pregnant. 

     The child may save the world, but he may also want to watch it burn.  The child could be born easily, or he could take his mother’s life while coming into the world.  Stop elevating your child to the level of divine blessing, just because you timed a 2 am fuck correctly.

P.S.  Think of anything you could get, that someone else won’t.  Now think about how many times someone thanked God for that thing.   It could be a job, making a team or not being in an intersection where a wreck has just occurred.   Apply what I said here to any of those.  Because if God is blessing you, he’s screwing over someone else.

PR

On the Recent Gay Marriage Ruling

                I received a flash on my iphone the other day from CBS News, which told me that the Proposition 8 law, voted in during the 2008 election, was ruled to be unconstitutional.  A wide and toothy smile appeared on my face.  Mark one for the good guys.

                To catch up the ones that have been living under a rock, Proposition 8 was a California ballet measure that stated “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California”.  It passed with 52% of the vote in 2008, while others (like myself) were popping champagne over the Obama win.  The bill has been through several stages, however a few days ago, it was ruled unconstitutional by a 2-1 vote in the 9^th Circuit Appeals Court. 

Don’t freak out, but when I heard about the original vote, I was elated.  Not because it passed, but because it set up what I predicted would happen; a court battle.  I knew that it would only be a matter of time before a court case would rise up.   It did shortly after, when the California Supreme Court upheld the vote.  That was step 1.  Next, the case moved to the Federal District court, with the well known Perry v Schwarzenegger.  (Note: Schwarzenegger was listed, because he was the Governor at the time, it is currently referred to as Perry v Brown.)  That was settled with a victory against Prop 8 in 2010, and the ban was set to be lifted on Aug 18^th.  That was step 2.  That decision came to a halt when the California Appeals Court stepped in, and extended that date until they could get a crack at it.  They did get their crack at the case, and their result, today’s ruling, was to overturn the ballot measure and allow equality in marriage.  This is step 3.  I hope it is appealed, and moves on to step 4- the Supreme Court of the United States.

                Here is why the thought of a longer battle fills me with pins and needles.  When Prop 8 was inserted as a ballot measure, it was a sad day.  Any day that American rights are decided on with a popular vote is sad, in my opinion.   I thought this was an underhanded way to inject religion and false information into the minds of voters, and it was done so with millions of dollars and lots of shoe leather from outside the state.  I had a strong feeling that if this issue was going to get the ball rolling on a possible Supreme Court hearing, it would start in California.  Keep that ball rolling, and keep the appeals coming.  This is how not only California’s ruling gets put under the microscope, but the constitutional right of two persons of the same sex to get married gets put under the microscope.  A very large microscope located in Washington D.C.  If the Supreme Court takes the case onto its docket, then sometime in the next year or two, we will get to hear what the highest court in the land has to say about the constitutionality of same sex marriage.  That ruling is long overdue. 

                Recently, a You Tube friend made a video elated that the Appeals Court ruled in this manner.  He said that he was glad that the supporters of Prop 8 had wasted their money.  He said that our generation “got it”.  After that, in an effort to save a friendship with a Christian, he apologized for his gloating.  I don’t make that apology. 

                I’m happy that millions of dollars were contributed to an effort which failed.  If you donate money to an effort to take away a person’s rights, you should be parted from your money.

                I’m happy that so many wasted their time talking to voters and arguing for the legitimacy of this bill.  Obviously none of them have had precious rights yanked out from under them.

                I’m happy that the younger generation does “get it”, more so than the older generation.  Many in that older generation were raised to think homosexuality was evil simply because it was evil.  The younger generations asks “why?” more often, and get the advantage of meeting homosexuals and talking about it.  I’m not saying homosexuals weren’t around decades ago, but many of them were too scared to admit it in public…

                And I’m also glad that the stigma of admitting your homosexuality is shrinking.  I think of the 90 year old woman, living somewhere in America, that got married to a man and spent her life with him, when she’s always felt more love for her long time bridge partner.

Look, I feel bad for people who can’t get married legally right now.  I really do.  But remember, the time that you have had to wait will be worth it. Your patience will be rewarded with cheers in every state, cheers from the same people who have had your backs, and who will be forever thankful that you led the way.  If the Supreme Court decision doesn’t go well, then people like myself will crack our knuckles and start a new fight.

                                There isn’t a lack of support for your cause.  We’ll fight with you, every step of the way.  Just don’t forget to invite us to your victory party. Cause if there’s anyone that knows how to throw a party, it’s the gays. 

A Reply to Bryan Fischer

The following is a reply I made to a post by  Paul Day, on the topic of Bryan Fischer.  The posting in full can be viewed HERE.  Mr. Fischer is under the impression that taking care of Americans isn't the job of the US government.  We should simply help each other. 

For those that don’t know what the Social Contract is, let me lay it out in very simple terms- partly because I don’t know how much I can type here, and partly because it’s late/early (depending on the frequency of yawns). In short, it’s the idea that the members of a community give up certain things, in order to get back other things that are important. A simplistic example is that we give up the right to kill another human, and support a criminal justice system that in part will also hold someone else accountable when they kill a person. This is a good job for a government, because when we filled that need on a private level, we ended up with lots of pitchforks, mobs and innocence lost. We give up money and rights for the betterment of the society we live in.
As the member of a Nation-State known as the United States of freakin America, I understand that this particular Nation has many responsibilities not only in domestic affairs, but internationally. However, on the domestic side, nothing cuts to our core as two fundamental needs we have. They are the two things we ask for more than any other, in this social contract that we have with our government.

Protect us.
Help us, when we need it.

The implications of “protect us” can get complicated, but luckily for me, I’m only speaking to the latter requirement. “Help us, when we need it” isn’t particularly complicated. If I don’t have a home, please help me find shelter. If I’m hungry, please help me with a meal. If I can’t find work (which often leads to a lack of shelter and meals) then I’m not asking for you to make a job and give it to me if I don’t earn it, but simply help me find work, and I’ll take it from there. With the exception of an occasional oddball, I don’t know many people that are poor, that don’t want to not be poor. People want to take care of themselves and earn a day’s pay for an honest day’s work. Sometimes they need a hand to help them up when they fall down; they don’t want someone to carry them.

Now, the question here is what is the best way to do this? If the best way is from people supporting people, then I’m all in. I have no problem with each of us helping out others in our community. But I don’t think most people grasp the concept that it’s not even close to the most effective way to help others. It’s not, because of our particular type of government. Every two, four, or six years, we hand out pink slips, or our stamp of approval, to the members of the Legislative and Executive branches of our government. It should be the defining characteristic of each member to make sure that they are meeting the two core aspects of our requirements. Protect us, and help us, when we need it.

If this government really is one made of, by and for the people, then how did we get to a place where we accept the “of” the people, “by” the people, but forgo the concept of “for” the people? We did so, with people like Bryan Fischer. I venture to guess that if you were to sit down 100 of his listeners, and ask them to define socialism, fascism, totalitarianism, communism, social contract, and then highlight major aspects of Dodd-Frank, TARP, the American Jobs Act, then most would receive a failing grade. Most don’t know what these terms mean, but they flock to Fisher and folks like him, as this group of opportunists remove the need to understand what those things are, and replace that need with emotions about which ones they should be scared of.