Posts tagged politics

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

Yesterday American President Barack Obama finally revealed his stance on the whole gay marriage movement, stating that he supports the right for gay and lesbian couples to get married. In a shocking turn of events - the world did not end! 
I know this is a touchy subject, and I’ll probably receive angry messages just for posting this, but I feel like I should say SOMETHING. 
I have gay friends, they’re all pretty cool people. While being a Canadian Christian I’ve fully supported Obama’s decisions throughout his term, I think the man knows what he’s doing. That being said; to take personal views on Biblical theology and try to apply them to politics doesn’t work, in my opinion. And that’s whats happening with the American election right now (let’s face it, it always comes down to who’s the biggest Jesus “lover”).
I think equal rights is important, for everyone, always. Does that mean we won’t all see eye-to-eye? Yes. Does that mean we can still love each other? Yes. Fifty years ago racism was being dealt with in the same fashion, and look where that is now. Why do we live in a world where old, white, rich, men get to tell us that we need to love everyone…except the ones that they don’t like?
No politician is going to dictate how I live out my faith. No person, regardless of power, can TELL me what it says in the Bible. I know what it says because I’ve read it. Therefore, I have the right to make my own decisions, love those I choose to, and disregard your bigotry…name calling…bullying…ignorance…etc.  
Everyone, regardless of what you choose to believe/follow, is called to love others. While I may believe that being gay is the wrong choice, I don’t believe that it makes you a bad person. Just like I think that drinking Tim Hortons coffee is a bad choice, I prefer Jonnys Java, but hey I still love you. 
And this whole ‘sanctity of marriage’ thing is CRAAAP! Anyone that has ever had a divorce automatically veto’s their right to have a negative vote on this topic. If you think gay people getting married would ruin marriage as a whole, then shows like Maury need to be taken off the air…the ability to get a divorce should be abolished…and stupid people shouldn’t be allowed to leave their homes.  

What are YOUR thoughts on the subject?

Tom Morello on “Real Time” w/ Bill Maher
*warning: some mild cursing near the end*  

Normally I’m not a fan of Bill’s (mostly for his stance on religion) but the combination of two of my heroes, Tom and Michael Moore, brought some real/raw words to the show. 
Now obviously I’m not American, but I think the facts that are coming out hold true for us on a global scale. More and more we’re seeing how people are getting fed up with how their government is treating them. We saw it in Egypt, in Wisconsin with the union workers, we’re seeing it in Libya, you could argue that it happened in London, and is now taking place in New York. 
I think the interesting thing is, and maybe it’s so obvious it doesn’t need to be said, is that all these problems seem to be the same no matter where you go. Those in charge, are doing a crumby job, and as unemployment goes up with stories of hunger and homelessness…more and more you’re going to see desperate people do desperate things.

A strong thing to take note of is that these aren’t all angry college students protesting and causing trouble. If you pay attention you’ll see these are middle aged men and women fighting for the simple right to survive. While the rich get richer the poor get poorer.
Something my dad and I will always disagree on is the voting system. I think we’re in need of change (one could go as far as to say I think it’s pretty much useless). And like Moore says at 2:28 “do we write to congress” and when she replies “vote” he says “for who, tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber?”
GET INFORMED. We are living in an age of lazy excuses, and while I am blessed enough to live in the middle of Canada, where we have it so easy…I’m smart enough to see that, and to see that change is on the horizon for everyone. Listen to Bill at the 2:00 mark, where he talks about people being outraged that Netflix raised their prices. Take note of this…you, the people that make a stink when Facebook changes it’s layout, or complain that we have to pay more to sit in an air-conditioned building to watch multi-billion dollar productions on a 3D screen with our mounds of food. Did you act when those in power turned you into an obnoxious, greedy, slave? Or did you act because your hockey team lost?  

Now, I’m not saying burn everything and kill the police. I stand firm in the belief that we should respect those in charge. I love the work that the WinkCity Police do for us at The Bunker. But let’s remember to not let ourselves get lazy, to stay informed, and to always walk in love.