I remember where I was as I sat and watched President Obama elected into office. I sat and watched the election in my home with Nate. I was elated. Then I watched proposition 8 pass in California and my stomach sank. I literally felt ill. I could not believe what I was seeing. On the same day, within the same moment, I watched one wall of inequality crashed down and another built.
Here that same day is remembered on another blog.
Equally, I will never forget where I was, 2 years ago today, when I learned that Proposition 8 had passed, taking that freedom away.
The following night, feeling powerless and alone, I attended a candlelight vigil on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco, after which I jotted down my experience of that evening, after the speeches had ended:
Over the murmur of the crowd, someone began singing “we shall not be moved”, at first a single voice, then another, and then a group. As flame passed from candle to candle, from stranger to neighbor, someone raised their candle above their head, others joined in, and 2,000 tiny lights lifted up for a common purpose. In that moment, I found my voice again, within the community; we all found our voices once more.The whole article can be read here.
I hope you are ready for a novel, cuz here goes:
ReplyDeleteI wasn’t certain if I would comment on this post or not. My convictions tend to waver when faced with an opposing idea. It is a hard thing to see one’s weaknesses; and I have many. I guess I don’t trust in my relationships enough, so I worry about offending and weakening cherished relationships. But after thinking about things for awhile, I decided I would comment for, well, mostly myself. It helps me sort out my feelings if I have to put them into words. Plus, it forces me to have a bit of a backbone.
I think the conflict over this issue is that there people are mainly in two camps: 1- those who feel homosexuality is an immoral act; and 2 – those who feel homosexuality is moral and fine. I can see why some people question how homosexuality can be immoral when it involves two people loving each other. I also see why opposing the act can be seen as opposing the people who are homosexual. That’s what makes it so tricky and difficult for me; especially when there are morons who do oppose homosexuals themselves and have appalling behavior. Such behavior is despicable.
Another reason why this is a challenging subject for me is that my niece is homosexual. She is wonderful and loving and I love her. As my feelings and beliefs have constantly churned around this subject, I’m left wondering, “So, because I love my niece, in order to really love her, does that mean I have to let go of my belief system of what is moral? Will she only believe I love her if I approve of everything she is or does?” After months, even years of soul searching and debate, I have come to the answer “no” on both accounts. Love for a person isn’t based on just one aspect of a person’s life choices. You love a person no matter what. But I don’t have to agree on everything she chooses and she knows that.
With families, friends, communities, and especially countries, people won’t always hold to the same belief system on what is or is not moral; but because we disagree, it doesn’t mean we cannot get along and find peaceful ways of settling such issues. I guess that’s why I feel that being able to vote on such issues is actually a fine way to deal with such matters (though I have never had to vote on this subject). One person casts a vote; others cast their votes, and let the numbers decide. (Can you imagine the different results to some of the problems in the Middle East if people let the vote decide some of their conflicts?) Do I see how frustrating and heartbreaking opposition to homosexual marriage is? Yes; thus my turmoil. Moral issues are rarely easy; but I think in the struggle to find peaceful resolutions all involved can learn valuable skills of coexistence in a diverse world. We don’t all have to agree to get along. Do I think people should try to change a result of a vote if they disagree? Of course. That’s the great thing about our country. We can always have another vote and let our voice be heard. We just can’t lose sight of the greater picture which is the act and the individual are not the same thing; that we shouldn’t have to agree to get along (coexistence doesn’t mean total agreement); and on the whole, this world is full of some incredible, interesting people and we should feel blessed to know one another.
I agree with so much of what you said and I love that you can write to me, knowing how polar this topic is. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI am coming around to the idea that this subject has become heated enough. Its to a point that no one listens anymore and so I will not debate your letter. Just like you did not debate my post. Thank you for that. I just want to hear people talking. I am going to try to listen and understand.
Thank you for reading my thoughts and writing your thoughts for me to read.
Angie:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your recent blog posts, I have felt that your heart-felt appeal to family and friends deserved some thought and an equally well-considered response.
Something you should know is that through the years, Dad & I have known many good people who have same-sex orientation. Dad has counseled with some of them in his roles as a counselor and as an LDS Bishop, etc. He has studied the subject and we have discussed it together many times. He has some great insights that would take far longer to express than a blog post.
Should you ever wish to have that discussion in person with him; he would welcome it. I could not begin to cover the things we have talked about. Suffice to say; Kevin is a compassionate man with great faith in God, great love for the scriptures and for the men we sustain as Prophets. I think you would enjoy sharing ideas with him.
I liked very much your mom’s response… good thoughts… much love. You are fortunate to have her. It is easy to see you understand the depth of each others’ personalities pretty well.
My personal feelings...
I liked the official response from the LDS News Room. http://beta-newsroom.lds.org/article/church-mormon-responds-to-human-rights-campaign-petition-same-sex-attraction
I have known and loved President Packer since I was a child. (He is 86 years old now and I understand is suffering from polio contracted when he was young.) I have met him in person a few times and have probably listened to all the conference talks he has given since I was old enough to sit all the way through a conference.
He does not always say words that are easy to hear. But, he says words we need to know. The conference address he gave was about far more than the couple of sentences concerning the moral issues of homosexuality. I think many people did not understand exactly what he was saying. (The word changes to me made little difference.)
Throughout recorded history as well as in the Bible and other scriptures; prophets’ and other religious leaders often stood alone… and were often rejected by the people they taught. You pretty much sign up for that possibility when you are called to be a prophet.
I believe it is our job to have the humility to really listen and decide for ourselves if what they are saying came from God. If it did come from God; it can never be changed by a protest.