Ellen & Portia Sitting On A Tree…
I count religion but a childish toy,
And hold there is no sin but ignorance.
The Jew Of Malta • Christopher Marlowe
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The world is changing.
On Brothers & Sisters, Kevin and Scotty got married and there were no protests, no advertiser boycotts, no declarations of impending apocalyptic doom. For the first time in broadcast history, two series regulars proclaimed their love for each other in a gay commitment ceremony in prime time, and no one blinked.
Two teenage boys fell in love with each other on As The World Turns, and there was a huge controversy, with fans complaining about the producers and CNN and other media outlets headlining stories about the romance. But the complaints and stories had nothing to do with the idea of two teenage boys falling in love; audiences were enraged that the soap opera seemingly refused to show the couple kissing. 211 days after the previous kiss, the show finally let Luke and Noah kiss each other passionately again, and the world was once more safe for lovers.
After only two weeks, Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” has become a Top 40 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100. “Ain’t no big deal,” she sings, “It’s innocent.” Thirteen years ago, when Jill Sobule released a song with the same title (and the same sentiment: kissing another girl is nice sometimes), it was met with major controversy and never made it past 67 on the charts, even though it was infectiously fun. Now the idea of two women kissing is “just human nature,” according to Katy’s song.
But the more things change, the more things stay the same.
As soon as the California State Supreme Court struck down an unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriages, religious leaders once again raised holy hell. Without any embarrassment, the dictators of morality screamed about “judicial activism” and vowed to fight this horrifying turn of events.
I have to wonder, though, exactly what is judicial activism?
Is it called activism when judges decide to commission huge statues for courthouses honoring the Ten Commandments, even though the Biblical story has almost nothing in common with modern law? Only two of the commandments - regarding murder and theft - are even illegal, three of the commandments revolve around the worship of the Judeo-Christian God (don’t worship anything other than God, don’t use God’s name in vain and don’t work on the Sabbath, God’s day of rest), and one of the commandments tells you to be nice to your parents.
Some Christians claim that the Ten Commandments are the basis for modern law, as ludicrous as that sounds. You have wonder, though, why religious dictators want to put the Ten Commandments in courtrooms across America but don’t insist that they are also displayed in churches.
Is it called activism when judges decide a helpless woman must be kept alive to prove some bizarre point about the sanctity of life? Terri Schiavo was a vegetable forced to endure an unimaginable existence because her parents wouldn’t let her die with dignity. For some reason that I still don’t understand, Christian leaders and opportunistic politicians decided that Terri deserved to continue suffering, so they successfully petitioned the courts to keep her alive while insinuating that her ex-husband was evil and probably was responsible for her condition in the first place.
Christians can be amazingly vindictive. They overwhelmingly support the death penalty, even though they believe murderers go to hell; it’s as if they want to make sure criminals suffer eternal damnation before they can ask forgiveness. On the other hand, when a woman who by all accounts was vibrant and beautiful before being in a coma FOR FIFTEEN YEARS should have been allowed to die, they fiercely fought against letting Terri ascend to heaven and find peace. With friends like that, who needs serial killers?
Is it called activism when judges decide Sharon Bottoms isn’t a fit mother for her son because she’s a lesbian?
Is it called activism when judges allow churches and religious organizations to mount enormous political campaigns without revoking their non-profit status (because God forbid Pat Robertson should have to pay taxes on his mansions)?
Is it called activism when judges have no problem with children being forced to pledge allegiance to God in public schools?
I was just wondering.
Silly me, I thought freedom of religion meant the right to be free of religion if one so desired. But not in America, where God decides who can get married and who can’t.
Which bring us to one of the most ridiculous arguments I’ve ever heard. Even McCain, the man who would be President, told Ellen (right before she jokingly asked him to give her away at her wedding to Portia) that marriage was a religious institution.
Since when?
You don’t have to believe in some fictional Santa Claus and his virginal son to get married. That has never been a requirement. Hell, if marriage was based on religion, then couples wouldn’t get all the benefits from the state and federal governments that they now enjoy, since that would be a contradiction of the separation between church and state.
I don’t want someone’s fictional god to dictate what is right or wrong for me. I’ve never looked for guidance from Charlie Brown or Sherlock Holmes. Why on earth would I need approval from Jesus the red-nosed reindeer? If I want to get married to someone, I should be allowed to.
Marriage isn’t a religious event, it’s a legal contract issued by the government. And if the government decides that I shouldn’t be allowed to marry someone because the majority of politicians think homosexuality should occur in bathrooms, not bedrooms, then there is something majorly wrong with our government.
As for the argument that allowing gays to marry would destroy the very foundation of marriage, could somebody please fix the recordplayer because the LP is skipping. This is the same argument they used when black people wanted to marry each other. This is the same argument they used when women wanted to vote or own property or work. This is the same argument they used when interracial couples wanted to get married.
You want to know what destroys the very foundation of marriage? Allowing straight people to get married on a whim while denying people who honestly love each other the same privilege.
I can’t wait until Ellen and Portia get married, and I thank every god ever imagined that they are finally going to get that opportunity. It’s about damn time.
The world is changing.
And I will keep fighting for those changes, because there is so much that is good about this world, and I am so tired of seeing religious dictators actively seeking to shatter what is beautiful and natural and make it into something as dark and disturbing as their often ugly beliefs are.
