My cousin Lindsey returned earlier this summer from a 2-year jaunt in South Korea, where she worked as a teacher. She posted the following link on facebook:
http://postmasculine.com/america
The link leads to a blog article entitled "10 Things Most Americans Don't Know About America." Now, granted, it's an opinion based article--there are no footnotes referencing any actual data--but it is written by a person who is apparently well-traveled and has immersed himself in many different cultures. I took the time to read the article, mostly because of a recent discussion my cousin and I had regarding gun control, about which we strongly disagree. I was interested in finding out what there was about America that I didn't know as an American.
The answer? Not much.
As I read the article, I found myself nodding and realizing that much of what the author said made perfect sense. While I would have never been able to sit down and put everything he said to paper myself, I wasn't surprised by what had been written and realized that much of what he had said had been floating around in the back of my subconscious.
Which got me thinking about the word "patriotic." According to freeonlinedictionary.com, "patriotic" is defined as "Feeling, expressing, or inspired by love for one's country." I have always considered myself an extremely patriotic person. My favorite holiday is the 4th of July. I cheer relentlessly for the U.S. Olympic Team and I grew up in a household where the American Flag was publicly and proudly displayed.
However, I'm starting to think that maybe my sense of patriotism is a little displaced. What I love most about 4th of July is seeing those who have served in the military be acknowledged and honored, rather than the fireworks. My favorite part of an Olympian winning gold is hearing the National Anthem played, which I associate with freedom, which is gained primarily through our military. When I see the American Flag, I am reminded of all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for the freedoms I currently have. I support the American military. But in this day and age, I'm starting to question just how much I support America.
I will not try to sound more intelligent than I am--I openly admit that in the past I have not taken a large interest in politics. I have in the past often been one of many suffering from what my husband calls a "sheep mentality" in which I spout off whatever the person next to me is saying. But I don't want to be that kind of person anymore. More and more I find myself trying to get to the heart of debates that rage across the internet, and I like to research my facts before I declare an opinion, because I do not want to be accused of following a crowd.
There are many things going on in this country right now that lead me to believe it is on a downward spiral, headed towards destruction, most likely internal, rather than external. Our economy sucks, but nobody wants to talk about that or what they plan to do about it. Minor issues such as gun control, abortion and gay rights flood the newspapers, political ads and internet while issues that affect everyone are left on the wayside. **And may I just say, before anyone jumps down my throat, yes, I understand that gun control, abortion and gay rights are not minor and are very important to a lot of people--I myself have specific thoughts about each one--but overturning Roe v. Wade or outlawing the carry and conceal laws are NOT what we need to be overly concerned about right now. We have bigger fish to fry.** No one can agree on what's best for health care--the only thing that isn't argued about is that it's too effing expensive.
I think one of the biggest issues we have right now is that our government has morphed into something it was never intended to be--and until it is changed, we will continue on in this downward spiral, getting nowhere. Now, as to how to change it? I'm not that smart. I think that the laws regarding term lengths in Congress need to be re-vamped, I think that members of Congress should be required to follow all the laws that they pass and force the average American to follow, I think the salaries of those in Congress and the White House are just as exorbitant as those of professional sports players--as to how to change any of that, though? No idea where to start.
But I don't believe that our government has the country's best interests at heart--and honestly, I don't give a flying you-know-what about whether or not you're Republican, Democrat or Barbie--nobody can say anymore what they stand for, only what they stand against. They can't use their ads to defend themselves, only to attack others. And personally, I don't think that's the best way to inspire confidence in those you plan to lead. And quite frankly, I think most politicians do that because deep down, they all know that they're all full of shit, saying whatever it's gonna take to get them elected and then doing whatever they wanted to in the first place.
The electoral vote process is crap. I live in Illinois. The majority of Illinois' electoral votes are in Chicago. Chicago is primarily Democratic. It doesn't matter how many people in the rest of the state vote Republican--Illinois is going to whatever Democrat is running for office. I still vote because I'm a firm believer in "If you don't vote, then you have no right to complain, so STFU" but do I feel like my vote counts for anything? Absolutely not. Not living where I am, anyway.
The point to all of this, I guess, is that I support our military and respect what it does. I respect those who choose a life of service so that I can be a stay-at-home mom and take care of my girls. I take pride in the fact that I'm an American because I've been raised here and have had a pretty decent life here. I've got it better than a lot of people, American and non, and I've been provided with a freedom to believe and speak as I so choose. But in this day and age, it is possible that my pride is placed more in an ideal, rather than reality.
I will never say that I hate America, because I don't. I love my country. But I'm not a big fan of what my country is doing and where it is headed. It is my prayer that things change before we become Rome and self-destruct due to our own sense of self-importance.
God bless America--because surely we need it.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
A Shade of Grey
I used to view homosexuality in absolute black and white. There were no shades of grey. You were either gay or you weren't, and if you were, you chose to be and therefore you were wrong, because homosexuality is a sin condemned by God. That used to be my thought process. I would hear people who were gay say things like, "God made me this way," or "I was born like this" and my mind immediately rebelled against such statements. I looked at homosexuality as a choice--and choice was the only option available.
I've matured in my thinking abilities a little bit since then. I've taken a step back from everything I was taught to believe as a child. Rather than taking everything on blind faith because other people said so, I've attempted to find valid reasons for why I believe the way I do--and if I can't find one, I've asked myself if perhaps my belief needed to change just a little bit. Some beliefs I still hold firm to, such as the presence of God, the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, and salvation through grace and faith. I have no concrete evidence that any scientist would accept--but I still hold firm to them for reasons and personal evidence of my own. But that's a discussion for another day.
What I want to discuss now--and I welcome thoughts and opinions from both sides, because I honestly do want to know--is a...theory, for lack of a better word, that I have developed regarding homosexuality.
I think, perhaps, that homosexuality is much more complex than most people believe. I think there are many different facets surrounding the issue and I think there are a number of reasons that people either are or become gay.
For example....
I do still think that for some people, homosexuality (or bisexuality) is a choice. Note that I say some, not all. Being a person that has in the past briefly wondered about what a sexual encounter with a person of the same sex would be like, I would like to think I'm safe in saying that some people do choose those sort of sexual encounters. We are all sinful beings and I think most people (whether they would admit it or not) are curious beings, especially when it comes to sex. We are obsessed with the unknown--aliens, the paranormal, what our sister told our brother but didn't tell us--why should it be any different when it comes to sex? I admit to suffering curiosity about sex with a woman--yet I would never have sex with a woman. And that is my choice. I have considered and weighed options and made a decision in how I want to act. I chose against a life of homosexuality (or even a homosexual encounter). Therefore, it makes sense to me that just as one can choose against something, they can also choose for it. So yes, I do think that in some cases, homosexuality is a choice. **I will elaborate briefly on this in a moment.**
As for those people that claim that "God made them this way," I do not believe that. And that is simply based on the fact (or what I believe to be fact) that God created a man and a woman. "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth..." Genesis 1:27-28. God created men and women with the intent that through a man and a woman, procreation would occur. If creating humans in His image had entailed creating two men or two women rather than one of each, He would have done so. He didn't. So for those who say to Christians who condemn them (my opinions on which I have stated in a previous blog), "How can you say God is sending me to hell, He made me this way?" I say, "No, He didn't."
But now I come to the crux of the matter. This is where my thought process shifted. Many gays claim that they are "born this way." While I used to immediately argue against such a claim, I now wonder if it might not have merit.
When God created the world, He created it in perfection. He gave Adam and Eve only one rule--that they not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They broke that law and sent all of their offspring spiraling down into a world of sin. A world of evil, disease and death. Polio would not have existed before the fall into sin. Down's Syndrome would not have existed before the fall into sin. And homosexuality would not have existed before the fall into sin.
I do not claim to be an expert on all of the studies scientists have done regarding homosexuality, so please correct me if I'm wrong. As far as I know, scientists have not found a "gay gene" in which if you have it you're gay and if you don't have it, you're not gay. But I believe that some scientists have done studies that showed "biological differences" in those who were gay and those who were not.. Whether there has been fast and hard evidence that is the same across the board, or if differences have been found, I cannot say. But I do know that not all people who suffer from autism suffer the same severity of it. Some people born with illnesses that predict an extremely short lifespan live decades beyond it and some people, perfectly healthy, die for no apparent reason. Biology adapts, just like everything else. Micro-evolution. It's inevitable.
So, is it not possible that just like other genetic diseases and defects that only came into effect after the fall into sin and have adapted and changed over time, homosexuality might have done the same? And for those of you who are taking offense at the term "disease" or "defect" please, let me finish. I'm not saying that homosexuals are diseased, as a person with leprosy would have been termed diseased. What I'm trying to zero in on is that I honestly think that genetic differences may occur that allow for a homosexual to be born a homosexual. I think it is logical to consider that homosexuality can be a product of biology in certain cases, just as any other condition, such as hermaphroditism, Downs, autism, or schizophrenia, is biological in nature as well.
What really got me thinking about this initially, was of all things, a scene out of Glee, in which Kurt, an openly gay boy who is tormented relentlessly at school, says to one of his fellow students regarding his homosexuality, "Who would choose this life?" Meaning, who would choose a life of torture and torment and bigotry when another option was available? And it got me wondering--I wondered if what he asked didn't make sense. So then I wondered if there was another way to look at homosexuality? Was there a way for people to actually be "born that way?" And now I am of the opinion, that yes, in some cases, there is a way.
It would take many, many studies done over many, many years to determine if this is a viable theory. I'd be interested in finding out what such studies would say. Right now, I'm interested in what others have to say about it.
While as a Christian, I still believe that homosexuality is wrong, I feel that as a Christian it is my duty to try and understand what's underneath the surface and come to a place of love and forgiveness, as Christ did, rather than spewing hate about something that in all honesty, a person may in some cases really have no control over. Murder is wrong. But how do you a judge a schizophrenic who kills a person because he believes that person is trying to harm him, those thoughts and beliefs being a biproduct of an underlying biological defect?
Perhaps the old saying, "hate the sin, not the sinner" is too simple in this case, but at its heart is how I have come to feel about homosexuality. I honestly believe that not all homosexuals can be thrown together in one bunch and dealt with as such. It's not black and white, as much as some would like to say it is.
Christ's love is absolute and it covers black and white, as well as every shade of grey in between. As Christians, I think we need to do a better job of remembering that.
I've matured in my thinking abilities a little bit since then. I've taken a step back from everything I was taught to believe as a child. Rather than taking everything on blind faith because other people said so, I've attempted to find valid reasons for why I believe the way I do--and if I can't find one, I've asked myself if perhaps my belief needed to change just a little bit. Some beliefs I still hold firm to, such as the presence of God, the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, and salvation through grace and faith. I have no concrete evidence that any scientist would accept--but I still hold firm to them for reasons and personal evidence of my own. But that's a discussion for another day.
What I want to discuss now--and I welcome thoughts and opinions from both sides, because I honestly do want to know--is a...theory, for lack of a better word, that I have developed regarding homosexuality.
I think, perhaps, that homosexuality is much more complex than most people believe. I think there are many different facets surrounding the issue and I think there are a number of reasons that people either are or become gay.
For example....
I do still think that for some people, homosexuality (or bisexuality) is a choice. Note that I say some, not all. Being a person that has in the past briefly wondered about what a sexual encounter with a person of the same sex would be like, I would like to think I'm safe in saying that some people do choose those sort of sexual encounters. We are all sinful beings and I think most people (whether they would admit it or not) are curious beings, especially when it comes to sex. We are obsessed with the unknown--aliens, the paranormal, what our sister told our brother but didn't tell us--why should it be any different when it comes to sex? I admit to suffering curiosity about sex with a woman--yet I would never have sex with a woman. And that is my choice. I have considered and weighed options and made a decision in how I want to act. I chose against a life of homosexuality (or even a homosexual encounter). Therefore, it makes sense to me that just as one can choose against something, they can also choose for it. So yes, I do think that in some cases, homosexuality is a choice. **I will elaborate briefly on this in a moment.**
As for those people that claim that "God made them this way," I do not believe that. And that is simply based on the fact (or what I believe to be fact) that God created a man and a woman. "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth..." Genesis 1:27-28. God created men and women with the intent that through a man and a woman, procreation would occur. If creating humans in His image had entailed creating two men or two women rather than one of each, He would have done so. He didn't. So for those who say to Christians who condemn them (my opinions on which I have stated in a previous blog), "How can you say God is sending me to hell, He made me this way?" I say, "No, He didn't."
But now I come to the crux of the matter. This is where my thought process shifted. Many gays claim that they are "born this way." While I used to immediately argue against such a claim, I now wonder if it might not have merit.
When God created the world, He created it in perfection. He gave Adam and Eve only one rule--that they not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They broke that law and sent all of their offspring spiraling down into a world of sin. A world of evil, disease and death. Polio would not have existed before the fall into sin. Down's Syndrome would not have existed before the fall into sin. And homosexuality would not have existed before the fall into sin.
I do not claim to be an expert on all of the studies scientists have done regarding homosexuality, so please correct me if I'm wrong. As far as I know, scientists have not found a "gay gene" in which if you have it you're gay and if you don't have it, you're not gay. But I believe that some scientists have done studies that showed "biological differences" in those who were gay and those who were not.. Whether there has been fast and hard evidence that is the same across the board, or if differences have been found, I cannot say. But I do know that not all people who suffer from autism suffer the same severity of it. Some people born with illnesses that predict an extremely short lifespan live decades beyond it and some people, perfectly healthy, die for no apparent reason. Biology adapts, just like everything else. Micro-evolution. It's inevitable.
So, is it not possible that just like other genetic diseases and defects that only came into effect after the fall into sin and have adapted and changed over time, homosexuality might have done the same? And for those of you who are taking offense at the term "disease" or "defect" please, let me finish. I'm not saying that homosexuals are diseased, as a person with leprosy would have been termed diseased. What I'm trying to zero in on is that I honestly think that genetic differences may occur that allow for a homosexual to be born a homosexual. I think it is logical to consider that homosexuality can be a product of biology in certain cases, just as any other condition, such as hermaphroditism, Downs, autism, or schizophrenia, is biological in nature as well.
What really got me thinking about this initially, was of all things, a scene out of Glee, in which Kurt, an openly gay boy who is tormented relentlessly at school, says to one of his fellow students regarding his homosexuality, "Who would choose this life?" Meaning, who would choose a life of torture and torment and bigotry when another option was available? And it got me wondering--I wondered if what he asked didn't make sense. So then I wondered if there was another way to look at homosexuality? Was there a way for people to actually be "born that way?" And now I am of the opinion, that yes, in some cases, there is a way.
It would take many, many studies done over many, many years to determine if this is a viable theory. I'd be interested in finding out what such studies would say. Right now, I'm interested in what others have to say about it.
While as a Christian, I still believe that homosexuality is wrong, I feel that as a Christian it is my duty to try and understand what's underneath the surface and come to a place of love and forgiveness, as Christ did, rather than spewing hate about something that in all honesty, a person may in some cases really have no control over. Murder is wrong. But how do you a judge a schizophrenic who kills a person because he believes that person is trying to harm him, those thoughts and beliefs being a biproduct of an underlying biological defect?
Perhaps the old saying, "hate the sin, not the sinner" is too simple in this case, but at its heart is how I have come to feel about homosexuality. I honestly believe that not all homosexuals can be thrown together in one bunch and dealt with as such. It's not black and white, as much as some would like to say it is.
Christ's love is absolute and it covers black and white, as well as every shade of grey in between. As Christians, I think we need to do a better job of remembering that.
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