First off, I would like to say that this is not an anti-gay marriage, anti-gay, or any sort of anti-anything. I have a number of gay friends and all of them would tell you that I show them nothing but love and respect, even if I don’t have the same set of beliefs and values that they do. Just because you disagree with someone on an issue like this, does not mean that you love or respect them any less. That is right I don’t support the “gay marriage movement,” but that is a blog for another time.
The real issue here is with all of these people posting red equal signs on Facebook. If you haven’t seen them or don’t know what they are, they look like this.
This image is a stunt put on by the Human Rights Campaign (which should be renamed the LGBT Human Rights Campaign, because those are the only rights they seem to be standing up for), to show the world, through Facebook by placing this image as your profile pic, that you support gay rights and specifically in this case gay marriage. This movement is in response to several gay rights cases concerning marriage that are being heard in the Supreme Court this week.
Now, I could actually care less about this issue. I don’t support gay marriage, but I am not an anti-gay marriage activist. I believe that any sexual intercourse that is not open to life is sinful. So I am also anti-contraception (with some extreme exceptions) and anti-premarital sex. There I said it, now everyone can hate me equally.
No, my problem with this campaign is its message of “equality.” Thousands of people around the world are putting this symbol of equality as their profile picture, when let’s be honest they don’t really mean it.
Look I get it. It has become super trendy, cool, and “open-minded” to support the gay marriage cause. And changing your Facebook profile pic is a cool way to show how super progressive you really are. But do you really believe the message that your profile picture is delivering? Do you really believe in equality? If you do, if you really do believe that all people are equal, then you are truly countercultural because our society doesn’t.
If we believe in the message of equality that our profile pictures claim we do, then certainly we stand up for the unborn! Oh yeah, that’s right, we don’t. In the United States, the most dangerous place to be is in the mothers womb, 22% of all pregnancies in this country end in abortion (think about all of the people in the womb that were prevented from getting a gay marriage, because their mother, a doctor, and a few nurses chose to kill them). We live in a society where pregnancy is treated as a disease. A society where killing a pregnant woman results in a charge of double homicide, but if a doctor digs the child out with the mothers permission it’s fine. Doesn’t sound so equal does it?
If we believe in the message of equality that our profile pictures claim we do, then certainly we stand up for the poor and marginalized! Oh yeah, that’s right, we don’t. Chances are if you are reading this, you ate today. That’s great, but 13% of humanity or roughly 950,000,000 people didn’t. We live in a society that seeks to amass wealth, comfort, and abundance (think of all of the people that couldn’t get a gay marriage because they starved to death). In America we will do just about anything to get the lowest price possible. Including paying people unlivable wages all around the world to do things like pick our coffee, make our shoes, and harvest our bananas. We do this all in the name of what corporations call the “profit margin” so that their stocks will go up and the investors will be happy. Here is a stat for you. If the United States just cut it’s food waste by 20% world hunger would be erased. We live in a country whose corporations exploit people and we are doing nothing about it. But we support equality with our little red profile pic.
Here is a prime example of how American greed is marginalizing the people of La Oroya Peru.
Listen I could go on and on with examples of how our society doesn’t treat people equally, but hopefully you get the point.
You see, the reason it is so easy to support gay marriage, is because people don’t have to do any work or change our lives in order to be supportive of the cause. But the second an issue comes by that may require some sacrifice or work, it is ignored. Because as a society sure we support equality, but only when it is convenient for us. We live in a society that seeks comfort above anything else including equality.
When the rich young man came to Christ asking what he needed to do to gain eternal life the response was, “sell your things and follow me.” How are you responding to that call? The call to make following Christ the priority in your life? The call to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, love your neighbor as yourself, and so on? The call to greatness? The call for equality?
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| Me volunteering in a orphanage in Mexico. |
Logan, you're missing the point. #1 - Be careful not to lump all gay marriage supporters into a group that doesn't do anything or care about the equality of all people. Many of us do. In fact, here you are implying that unless we are doing something about equality for everyone, we shouldn't do anything at all. That doesn't make sense. If we are working toward a more just society, all steps in that direction are positive, whether they be for gays or the poor. Social justice is all inclusive. I for one, have been working with social justice projects for the last 10 years. I am dedicated to human rights on all levels. I gladly support gay marriage rights as well. Also, you are forgetting civic engagement. Many of the people who used the red equals sign on their profiles probably voted for marriage equality in their respective states if they could. That is democracy and action at work. #2 - I see that you feel that putting up a symbol on facebook is wrong, unless that symbol demonstrates a view of equality that is yours ... or exactly the idea of equality that you subscribe to. You claim that thousands of people "don't mean it" and that it is just the trendy thing to do. Isn't having a blog equally trendy? Social media is a means of social action -- just look at Egypt. Being trendy isn't always a bad thing. Sure, it may not be perfect to start, but it is place for ideas to be shared. If everyone who sees an equals sign thinks a second longer about what equality means, isn't that progress? Perhaps you want to see more of a focus in society on abortion. Why not develop a positive symbol to be used in social media? You could get thousands of people to think about the issue... right? #3 - As a Christian myself, I am very confused when others don't support gay marriage. There are two types of marriage. One that is sanctioned by the church under God, and another that is recognized by the government for legal reasons. Sure, churches who feel strongly about gay marriage should have the right not to perform gay marriages. Also, people who believe homosexuality is wrong have the right to not engage in homosexual relationships. But the government? Why do you care? People are just people -- even if you believe homosexuality is a sin... are you without sin? Why should you enforce your moral boundaries on all of society? --------- I just stumbled across your post, so I figured I would be the first to comment. Thank you for your sincere writing. I only wanted to provide some additional food for thought.
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