It's just so amazing to me that an organization that calls itself The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints would devote countless man hours and millions of dollars to prevent the happiness of a single people. The Mormons and other advocates of Prop 8 - under the guise of One Man, One Woman, cite unfounded studies and subjectively interpreted church doctrine to claim homosexual families will undermine cultural heritage and corrupt the foundation of our society. I don't care if you think homosexuality is written in our genetic code or the blasphemous choices heretics, no one has the right to vote against the happiness of anyone. I don't even care if homosexuality was proven to be indirectly detrimental to our culture - it won't, it can't - as long as the actions do not involve the direct harm of others, we should encourage circumstance to promote contentment of ALL peoples.
I find it quite liberating that a twenty-six year old straight man from the land
of God and corn could become an advocate for gay rights. I know my sexuality
was questioned in the now infamous EasyCheese/Nipple-4 Scandal, but
that doesn't bother me and feel free to think what you want.
What drives such blatant hatred for one people? We have seen this so much in the past that it's almost becoming cliche, and what has been the end result of the majority of these situations at least in American history? Well, look at the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's and 70's. Um...we got a black prez! Guess the logical end to the Gay Rights Movement. Um..homosexual marriage. The root cause of this new form of racism is identical to the old form of racism: Fear (after all, fear is the path to the dark side). Fear of change, diversity, progression; arrogance and ego. The Mormons and the other pros of Prop 8 can be described as nothing other than ignorant, whiny children. I have heard countless anecdotes from my mother, father and sister - all elementary school teachers - telling their pupils the virtues of worrying only about thy self.
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One of my philosophical aides has been the injection of ink into the second layer of my skin, or dermis, resulting in now semi-permanent body art. People tend to make a bigger deal of tattoos than they actually are and the primary reason for my body art is a meditation of mortality. An acknowledgement that I am literally a rotting corpse and not special in any sense of the word. The following quote from Chuck Palahniuk sums up the feeling, "You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile." Harboring the feeling of my universally generic nature not only creates a sense of urgency to experience, but helps me transcend my ego, value my happiness all that much more, and in turn, truly feel for the happiness of others.
My tattoos are for my own metaphysical liberation. People often ask me for the meaning behind presumably what they view as gaudy body art. I often attempted to muster through an explanation that diminished the strength of these reminders of my relatively imminent demise. Even if my descriptions are clear and concise, they are just words - arbitrary noises assigned to articulate the human experience. Linguistics are frequently misinterpreted, as are my explanations, which often make light of the infinite number of events that have resulted in my current philosophies. These stories I mutter at your request are never not subjectified. They are as much art as the art itself.
Religion can be held in the same light. In the countless world religions, faiths, creation stories, doctrines and laws, there lies intrinsic subjectivity. Bible verses and church sermons get lost in linguistic madness, individual views change to accompany newly discovered inter and intra-faith hypocrisies and metaphysical resignation often occurs at the onset of quality education.
Religion as art is the most compassionate and least paradoxical form of spiritual practice. Any other method runs the all too documented risk of bigotry stemming from ignorance and fear. Movements such as the overtly discriminatory Prop 8, cite Divine doctrine as justification for hatred. I urge all peoples of faith to worship in a metaphorical subtext and take doctrine with a grain of salt.
Look, I will be the first to admit that our shared human experience is far from easy, and if you lack the existential ability to find meaning in struggle, you often resort to faith. I might scoff at the absurdity of religion, but I absolutely do not blame you in your practice to overcome the universal fear of nonexistence. I have just one request: Religion as art.
