For the next few weeks, I am going to be discussing different amendments to our constitution, my take on them, and how they are playing a role in our daily lives.
Day One: The First Amendment
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Freedom of religion. Freedom of speech. Freedom of the press. Freedom of assembly. Freedom to petition. These are the rights guaranteed to us by the first amendment. The bottom line is that someone can be standing next to you proclaiming at the top of their lungs for something that you have been proclaiming against at the top of yours...and there is nothing either of you can do about it. The law doesn't say that you must agree with what everyone thinks or says, but that's the beauty of the first amendment. It allows people with differing opinions to be heard equally. It allows people to voice their opinions to our political leaders. It allows us to practice whatever religions we wish, or to not practice one at all. We don't get to decide who has free speech and who doesn't. If we want free speech then we have to accept that our neighbor, our enemy, and our friends can have it too.
I belief in the equal treatment of others. Period. The end. I think that a restaurant should make the front page just as quickly if they refuse to serve people who are blatantly bashing gay marriage as they would if they refused to serve people who were advocating for it. Just because I don't agree with people who hate someone based on their race doesn't mean that I don't believe that the first amendment protects their freedom of speech to proclaim their beliefs.
This brings me to the one thing that people get into it most about in the news in terms of the first amendment: religion and homosexuality.
I'm completely respectful of people who have varying opinions from me. In fact, for those of you who have red my blog in the past, I completely advocate for it. I like having discussions with people who see things differently from me. If the world was full of people who believed the same thing, how boring would that be?
I can name 10 very close friends or relatives off the top of my head that are openly gay. So many of my dad's clients, my cousins, friends, you name it, are gay. However, and this is the biggest thing for me, that's not how I define them. Just like you wouldn't define me as the red-head, I don't define my friends and family by their sexual orientation. These men and women have done so many incredible things throughout their lives that it's a shame that people choose to only see them as gay or straight. They are business owners, lawyers, athletes, chefs, models, parents, and friends.
I have grown up believing that all people are treated the same way. Having seen first-hand some of the excruciating heartbreak that people have endured simply because they're gay, I have chosen a stance on the issue that is in complete support of equal rights for homosexuals, or as I like to call them, people. I've seen so many people, both in person, on social media, on television, in churches, in schools, and in public proclaiming against equal rights for gays because "It says so in the Bible." Honestly, how does someone being gay affect you personally? I'm straight. One of my best friends is gay...well, several actually but anyway. If they decide to get married, how does that effect me? Does it make my water pressure weaker? Does it make gas prices go up? Do I have to wait longer to receive a letter in the mail? Does it change how I see my significant other? Does it change my religious beliefs at all or the relationship, or lack there of, that I choose to have with God? No. It doesn't. But what it does change is the life of those two individuals who can finally receive the same benefits that other married couples receive. It may not change my life at all, but for them, the whole world changes for the better.
If people want to stand on the street corner and proclaim that civil unions and gay marriage is wrong and means the couple is going to Hell, fine. Let them.
Stand together and preach love and not hate. Accept do not condone. Judge yourself and not others.
For one day, try and see things from a different point of view. Try to understand someone's argument without fighting with them. Allow them to educate you about their beliefs without passing judgement or telling them they're wrong. If we can all do this, we can truly make the world a more peaceful and understanding place, and isn't that what we all want to begin with anyway?
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