So you wanna change the world. Big Deal. Unless…
Upworthy. CNN. Foxnews. Twitter. Hillary — Obama. Gay marriage. OMG does it ever stop? Everyone wants to change the world.
Why?
Seriously. What the hell do you know about what the world should look like?
I’ve written my take on the gay marriage thing and have been delighted with the personal messages that I’ve gotten. People really love that even gay people can marry the person they love. I’m happy for them — really I am. You want to get married? Go for it. (Sucker…just kidding. Sort of.)
I’m shocked, though, at the vitriol gushing from the mouths of otherwise decent human beings regarding this POTUS decision. You’d think the supreme count had just legalized human sacrifice. Which, of course, is rarely seen today and really only still exists — well, I really hate to point this out — in the pages of the “holy” book they use to condemn faggots. (Sorry, their word, not mine.)
Seriously (again) what the heck do any of us know about what the world should look like.
I doubt any of my Christian friends would condone human sacrifice and view the story of Isaac as more of a parable teaching a lesson about how important faith is. I also seriously doubt that any of them take serious the stuff about slaves, rape, the sabbath and stoning people who find themselves at odds with their god.
Except when it serves their purpose. Which brings us back to homosexuals. And the end of the world, now that POTUS has said it’s OK for gays to get married.
This rant about changing the world springs out of a conversation with a “Christian” friend who insists that (and I quote, again) “faggots should be lined up, be presented with the truth of the Bible, and if they reject it — stoned.” I don’t think he meant pot. Or LSD. Horrible. (And if he (you) happens to read this — chill dude. Seriously.)
What would his world look like? Try being a Catholic in the mostly-Protestant America in colonial times — even well into the 1800's. The Seventh-day Adventist church had as a fundamental theme the fear and hatred of the Roman Catholic church. What would his world look like? Well, if one believes just like he does it’d be great. But not so great if one were a different sort of Christian — or Muslim, or an Atheist. How about an Anabaptist in Lutheran Europe? Fire would rain from heaven.
Want to change the world — be nice. To everyone. Just be nice.
My last essay on “Marriage Equality— my take” surprisingly motivated a couple of invitations from some of my gay male acquaintances to go on a date. I guess the thought is that if a man defends gay marriage he’s probably still in the closet. I’m not — I’m totally out as a straight man, and I defended it because it needs defending. It needs affirming.
You want to change the world? I’m trying not to think so provincially. I’ve stopped letting fundamentalist preachers think for me. I’ve stopped viewing the world through Fox News. Or CNN. Or any other single, slanted, commercially-ratings-motivated source of information. Think. Ponder. Muse. Explore. Experiment. Make mistakes — be wrong. But try.
Want to the change the world? Don’t over react about every damn thing. Chill. Smile. Kiss a boy. Or a girl. You probably won’t like either — cause most of us simply don’t kiss very well. But one thing we all do pretty well — if we let ourselves. We really do friendship well. We love to smile. To laugh. To hug. To encourage. To cheer people on. Sure — there are the haters. Screw ‘em. Most of us really love to see people win. Succeed. Achieve. Conquor. Overcome.
You want to change the world? Become the #1 cheerleader for everyone -EVERYONE — that you know. Someone posts something on Facebook? Like it — takes a quick click and can mean the world to that person. Click that star on Twitter. Forward it. Share it. Say “damn good job dude!”. A quick “you’re so pretty — love that hat” means so much.
Let me tell one final story: 1993, at a fundamentalist college. We invited a guy who was dying of AIDS to come tell his story to the University at the chapel. Or was it vespers — I don’t remember. I was one of the organizers, so I picked him up from the airport. We had the day free, so I took him to see the sights in Chattanooga. He had AIDS. I didn’t care. He was such a warm, positive and caring individual. I hadn’t heard his story but from the moment I met him I liked him. He was still gay. I still was not. But I was so attracted to him — to his warm and courageous personality. We had a great time that day. Friday night he presented his story to the student body.
Due to his ailment he sat for the presentation. His HIV/AIDS was advanced far enough along that his strength just was not sufficient to stand for 1+ hours for his presentation. His presentation. Students — even those who normally dispised this sort of religious gathering — were spell-bound. Silent. Pin drop silent. They drank in every word.
He was a wonderful person. Warm. Deep. His faith in God was real. That I don’t believe in what he believed matters not. I did then — but even if I did not I would have kept my thoughts and feelings to myself. This was a wonderful person who deserved respect and kindness.
A year later I called his hospice. He was gone. He had passed away just a couple of weeks earlier. I still can feel the loss — the pain. I had met him once, and spent only a couple of days with him. Yet I loved him. Not *that* way — but the way humans love each other. He is missed.
You want to change the world? Feel. See the value in other people and feel it. Feel their pain. Their courage. Their joy. Feel through them. I don’t ask that you relinquish one cherished belief. You have faith in God — keep your faith. Feel my humanity. My joy. My pain. You think homosexuality is wrong and a sin? I don’t ask that you abandon that idea (well, … ) but only that you understand him. Or her. Or them. And understand that your public condemnation causes them pain.
You want to change the world? Change how you interact with it. Then your world will change. Their world will change. Mine will. The world will change. Hopefully, for the better.
