R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Before anyone reads this, please be aware...it is never my intention to offend, but I will not censor this to spare anyone's feelings, nor am I going to soften the blow of what I have to say here even though I know a lot of people don't agree. So...you've been warned.

I am well aware that my views are vastly different from the majority of people in this area so I expect to "agree to disagree" most of the time. I have a "live and let live" philosophy...as long as your beliefs aren't hurting people, I think you should be able to believe whatever you want. This is a philosophy I have fiercely defended, truly believing if everyone could just have RESPECT for each other, it would work. I still believe that. But something I'm quickly realizing is that the day men all have mutual respect is most likely gonna be the day hell freezes over. Therefore, I cannot live and let live because those who feel differently than I do are not going to let me. This is not how I want it to be, but I can't change it.

There are several things that have triggered this post...recent comments by "religious" guru Pat Robertson as well as Rush Limbaugh regarding the Haiti earthquake (and the Olbermann clip condemning said comments...kudos to you, Keith!) and the Massachusetts election/health care reform shake-up, to name just two. I have found myself surprisingly alarmed by what is happening and feel I can't be silent any more.

Really though, the straw that broke the camel's back was a discussion I found myself roped into with a co-worker a couple weeks ago. I had no intention of talking about anything controversial, but this particular individual loves to "poke the bear"...I usually know better than to take the bait, but apparently I had a moment of insanity that day. The comment that started it all was him saying, "Salt Lake City is getting too diverse, and that's a really bad thing."

Um, seriously??

I told him that I most enthusiastically disagree w/his statement because diversity is something Utah DEFINITELY needs more of...the conversation took off from there and eventually we got into the issue of gay rights. You all know how I feel about gay rights...so I was like, bring it on. We talked for a solid 2 hours (while we worked, of course)...and honestly, it was really frightening. Here are just a few of the things he said:
-He doesn't want his children taught acceptance and tolerance of gays
-The day our government stops being run by only Christians it will fail because the founding fathers were Christians (not true--Franklin and Jefferson believed in a higher power...they were deists but were most definitely NOT Christians) and that non-Christians shouldn't have a say in government
-Governments in Muslim countries work only because they are solely influenced by Islam (WHAT???? I did bring up the fact that women have no rights whatsoever and he did agree that was wrong, but he said "the rest of it works," whatever that means)
-Once gays are allowed to marry our society will fail just like ancient Greece & Rome (he refused to even listen when I pointed out how Europen countries such as Denmark have allowed gay marriage for several years now (since 1989 to be exact) and society over there is still completely intact to say the VERY least)
-When I asked him exactly how allowing gay marriage was going to hurt anyone, he said in lots of ways. I asked him to name just one...and after thinking for a few moments he said "I don't have an answer for you"
-This wasn't said during my conversation w/him, but on another occasion when asked why he decided to start learning karate, he said in all seriousness, "because I know that one day I will have to fight off the homosexuals"
-Again, not said during our conversation, but he told another co-worker he thinks progressives are narrow-minded and carry Satan's agenda...he knows this because he has a relationship with God and God tells him that's right

I am aware that he is obviously an extremist...but the thing is, how different are his views from other religious conservatives? I'm finding when it comes down to it, not that much...and that truly frightens me. Why do they fight so hard against gay marriage? Why do they fight against stem-cell research when it could save so many lives (did you know Orrin Hatch supports it?)? Why do they insist that we not abort babies (for the record, I am NOT in ANY WAY advocating abortion) but they are willing to deny health care to millions of people who need it...what makes an unborn human so much more valuable than a born one?

Ultimately, here is my question: do people actually think about this stuff, or do they simply oppose it because that's what their leaders...religious or otherwise...tell them to do?

I've gotta be honest with you, I think I know the answer...it seems to me that people like my co-worker are sheep...sheep who believe they are following God's will. And if someone believes they are doing something in the name of God, it is pretty much impossible to reason with them (you're not going to be able to talk a suicide bomber out of blowing himself into smithereens). For example, he couldn't give me an answer as to how gay marriage is going to hurt anyone because he's never thought about it, he just knows that they tell him in Sunday school that it's wrong. The same could be said for any of the issues I mentioned and more. Now, am I right all the time? Absolutely not, that's ridiculous. Bottom line is, I'm not asking anyone to change their morals...I'm not asking anyone to share my views. I just want people to think.

So...what do I do about this? Good question. I refuse to shove my views down other people's throats. If it really makes you uncomfortable to talk to me about something, we can change the subject. If you don't want to read my blog entries, I'm not going to hold a gun to your head and make you. Basically I'm going to continue to try to live and let live...but I will most definitely not be silent while my gay friends are denied marriage, while people are dying because someone is afraid of "murdering" an embryo (an embryo without any nerves or consciousness), and so on. It's a difficult balance.

Maybe someday we'll be able to realize that our differences won't hurt us. Maybe someday we will respect each other. I truly, truly hope so.