There's no such thing as a bad dog, just a bad owner. ~ John Grogan

A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty. ~ John Grogan

A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. ~ John Grogan

The politically correct crowd is irritating.Their attempt to control thought through speech is no better than the perpetrators of propaganda.

But I do agree with them on one point, equality. And for the life of me, I cannot understand why there is so much opposition among supposed Christians to extending that equality to all groups, gay people included.

The Bible Says So

Some people like to defend their position of hate using the Bible. Selectively choosing passages to support their view. After all, if God struck down some people for homosexual acts, then his followers should get to do so as well. But taking specific passages out of the Bible, without taking in its overall message leaves people with the wrong picture of their religion. After all, in this same Bible are passages that would condemn even the most devout followers of Christ:

 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.” Exodus 35:2

 “And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.”  Leviticus 15:19

Combined with:

“And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean” Leviticus 10:10

Our culture defines liberty as a crowning achievement. And most of us now have deep-seated beliefs that slavery is wrong. But:

“Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.” Leviticus 25:44

The Bible is rife with passages such as these. I will not continue with them. But I hope my point is taken that selectively choosing parts of the Bible to further beliefs follows the practice of the Aryan Nations, the Ku Klux Klan, and Muslim extremists groups.

But It’s Icky

The idea of two dudes going at grosses me out. But the idea of two straight people crapping on each other is also really gross. I freak out even thinking about one of my limbs being immobilized, so you can imagine my view on bondage.

It is not appropriate to judge someone based on how they get off. As long as the only people involved are consenting (and are legally capable of consenting), they are not harming your liberties. If you must judge a person, perhaps consider doing so on how they treat others?

Family Values

“[Gay marriage] threatens my marriage. It threatens all marriages. It threatens the traditional values of this country.” – Rick Santorum

Opponents of gay equality often state the nebulous goals of family values. What are these family values?

Best definition I could find “political and social beliefs that hold the nuclear family to be the essential ethical and moral unit of society.”

I have known straight couples that have upheld the vows of their marriage for decades. And I have known straight couples that have upheld their vows for the weekend. I have known gay couples that have been devout to each other for decades, and I have known gay couples that have also had weekend flings.

Commitment is not unique to sexual preference. Nor is promiscuity. These values are not upheld nor torn down based on sexual orientation.

I have known straight people that are wonderful with children, and I have known gay people that are also wonderful with children. And I have known abusive ass holes that have pro-created. The ability to raise a child is not dependent on sexual orientation.

I have known straight people who are morally ambiguous, and some that are straight-laced. I have known morally ambiguous gay people, and straight-laced gay people. The propensity to follow the law is not dependent on sexual orientation.

Lens of History

I keep thinking back to the civil rights movement. When a group of people were organizing, and working to remove discrimination from the law. In our hindsight, most agree that this was for the best. That it was a horrible thing to have the law treat people different based on the color of their skin.

But at the time of the civil rights movement, and in the thick of it, were many opposed to the idea. They saw it as opposing traditional values and undermining society. That upsetting the social construct would have horrible consequences.

If we go back further, we had a movement to abolish slavery. And we had people opposing the idea. They didn’t want to disrupt the status quo, and what was accepted as traditional values.

I have no doubt that at some point the law will no longer allow discrimination towards gay people. And I have sneaky suspicion the hindsight of most will view todays opposition in the same light as those that opposed equality among races.