Big Love

The article I am reposting for you here(below) came from MSN.com's front page today in the Politics section. Promising news for gays and lovers of freedom everywhere.

Talking about politics with my ten year old son a few nights ago I realized something monumental- Americans are, at heart, anarchists and rabble rousers. That says something as to our state of mind even five centuries after Columbus landed on our eastern shores. We broke from Europe, gave them the middle finger, and said "hasta la vista, baby." We're not afraid to create a new system of thought when it suits our desires.

And yet where are we today concerning gay rights, after five centuries of bloodshed for our immense freedoms? Way behind other nations. The only thing holding our nation back from proclaiming in one voice that all people - everyone - regardless of race, creed, and SEXUALITY, are all created equal and have the same inalienable rights is literalist religion. Namely Christianity.

Some gnostics may disagree with me here and say they've seen some scripture from such and such book which proclaims gay behavior is a sin against God, immoral, etc. etc. But I ask you this: if God is love and we have a mandate from God to love then how exactly are we loving our gay/lesbian neighbors, friends, and family by telling them that they are less than equal? That they should not have the right to love who they wish however they wish as long as it is not hurting anyone else?

I commend Obama for this action. I truly believe it is a step in the right direction toward Big Love, which is our first priority not as "God fearing" but "God loving" people. We must love each other as much as we love God. How can we do less? We are a part of Pleroma's body and to do less means hating and hurting ourselves.

Federal benefits extended to same-sex partners
Obama orders extension for workers under existing law

updated 9:11 p.m. ET, Wed., June 2, 2010

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is extending child care, medical leave and other benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

Obama on Wednesday directed federal agencies to immediately begin allowing domestic partners and their children some of the same rights available to spouses and children of employees. That includes child-care services and subsidies, expanded family and medical leave and relocation and other benefits.

Obama's memorandum covers only benefits that can be extended under existing law, without congressional action.

Obama said in a statement that while his directive was an "important step on the path to equality," existing federal law prevented him from taking further action to provide same-sex domestic partners with the same benefits offered to heterosexual married couples.

He called on Congress to swiftly pass a measure that would address that discrepancy.

It's the president's latest step on gay rights. He's also supported a rollback of the military's "don't ask don't tell" that governs gay service members.

Rose Colored Glasses

There are a few people I've been talking to who swear that gnostics should just off themselves and quit bitching. I'm serious! "Make room for those of us who want to enjoy life." I have a rebuttal to that. And the definition of one single word is going to be my defense.

I accused them of seeing life through rose colored glasses; that is to see it in a sugar coated sweetness that simply doesn't even exist. They said, "But life is a gift. How can you not appreciate it?" I replied, "Because life isn't a gift. It's a prison sentence that we didn't do anything to deserve. The trick is searching out those things which make it bearable but aren't addictive or change your perception of reality."

After much gnashing of teeth and arguing back and forth, it is plain to me now that gnostics are destroyers of the sugar factory. We pour bleach in it. And we really can't help it. Once the glasses come off the stark reality is deep and lonely in a multitude of ways. But not when it comes to our immortality. That is where the line is drawn. Regarding our immortality we are unshakable.

Some of us are nicer than others about it. But it all boils down to the same thing. Life isn't fair. It's not that we're trying to be downers. It's that when literal religious people try to convince themselves that all bad things are "Satan's fault" and all the good stuff is what God should get credit for- it's absolutely rubbish. Wiki's search results for "rose colored glasses" redirects to the page enlightening us on what "optimism" is. I found it quite humorous.

"Optimism is "an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome".^[1] It is the philosophical opposite of pessimism. Optimists generally believe that people and events are inherently good, so that most situations work out in the end for the best.

Alternatively, some optimists believe that regardless of the external world or situation, one should choose to feel good about it and make the most of it. This kind of optimism doesn't say anything about the quality of the external world; it's an internal optimism about one's own feelings.^{[citation needed]}

A common conundrum illustrates optimism-versus-pessimism with the question, does one regard a given glass of water, filled to half its capacity, as half full or as half empty? Conventional wisdom expects optimists to reply, "Half full," and pessimists to respond, "Half empty" (assuming that "full" is considered good, and "empty", bad).

Another paradox sometimes associated with optimism is that the only thing an optimist cannot view as positive is a pessimist. Pessimism, however, as it acts as a check to recklessness, may even then be viewed in a positive light.

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Taking another peek at a particular line from above:

"This kind of optimism doesn't say anything about the quality of the external world, it's an internal optimism about one's own feelings."

Hmm... Interesting, yes? The world is so fluffy and sweet because... I think that it is. There are the rose colored glasses I'm speaking of and originally searched for. Wanting something and actually getting it are two completely different things.

Drive sober. Take the glasses off.