The other night I was talking to Ben about how much I had wanted to post an angry rant about Prop 8. But that as I thought about it I realized angry rants are hardly the sort of thing that change opinions, and that most likely anyone who read my post who was planning on voting yes on Prop 8 would just end up feeling defensive, alienated, and like I was immature and misguided. So what would be the point? Instead I have decided that, as long as we’re adding religious propositions to the ballot of our separation-of-church-and-state government, I’d like to suggest a few more, just to make sure everyone gets fair representation (with the exception of the gay and lesbian community, of course).
Prop 5/24: In which five times a day, everyone must stop what they are doing to kneel on their prayer rugs and praise Allah. (If you’re not the religious type, you may put your head on your rug and sit quietly)
Prop one (is-the-loneliest-number): because we all know that housework goes much faster when there are lots of wives helping out. Various cultures and religions in all parts of the world will agree!
Prop Zen: Mandatory meditation (you know, I actually don’t think this one is such a bad idea)
Prop screaming children: Let’s put animal sacrifice back into our schools. It’s shocking how little these kids know about our religious and cultural roots.
And my personal favorite:
Prop Volcano Virgin toss: Which, I think, needs no explanation.
Ok, so I’m not writing this to express my opinions about gay rights, though if anyone wants my opinion I’ll tell you that I think real love is always a blessing. I define real love as love between two rational, mature, equal adults. With all the economic and ecological disasters and the heartbreaking human rights violations going on in the world right now I’m baffled as to why so many are choosing to focus their energies on telling people who are in love that they are wrong and bad for feeling that way.
But I digress. I’m not writing to wax eloquent about gay rights. I’m writing to point out, to anyone who might read this, that the greatness of the USA is found in the freedom and the rights our constitution offers to all of this nation’s citizens, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or sex. This country is celebrated for its freedom and it’s commitment to working toward equality. So if you’re planning on voting yes on Prop 8 for religious or personal reasons rather than constitutional ones, please take a moment to consider what this county is all about.