It is interesting how perceptions can change over time.  When I was a younger, gay man, my feelings about marriage were really negative.  I am a longtime believer that many of the world's problems would be moot if good-old Mother Earth did not have so many of us humans plaguing her backside.  The air would be cleaner, the waterways would be less polluted, less people would be competing for the same resources…you get the idea.  At the time I connected marriage with raising children and all of that other "breeder" stuff that I find consumes so much of our collective focus.  From hindsight, I can see that much of my feelings were in reaction to the hegemony of dominant heterosexuality that I felt perpetrated so much hate and bias against sexual minorities.  The whole idea that gay men and lesbians would want any part of a hypocritical and heterosexist institution that so optimized our oppression was abhorrent and antithetical to what I felt was the agenda of human sexual liberation.

Over the last number of years, my feelings have changed on the idea of marriage for gay people.  Today, when I focus on the idea of marriage for sexual minorities, I no longer fixate on the how the institution perpetuates sexual stereotypes or how the institution (i.e., sacrament) of marriage is used by dominant religions to control and indoctrinate the masses.  Instead, I focus on the civil discrimination that sexual minorities experience at the hands of our government because their relationships are not recognized and supported through the legal contract of marriage.  Religious organizations are free to decide under what circumstances they will perform a marriage ceremony for a couple.  Religion is about belief in the will of God, and I will not quibble about that with people of faith.  Civil government, on the other hand, is another matter entirely.

I contend that all citizens of the United States are entitled to equal protection under the law.  We have a long history of rooting out institutional discrimination and taking measures to remedy it wherever found.  I am in no way saying that we have done so perfectly, but we continue to hold this as an ideal.  Marriage equality for sexual minorities should be no different.  It is time we took our collective, civil selves out of the pews long enough to realize that there is a sizable percentage of our fellow citizens who are being institutionally discriminated against by our local, state, and national governments.  We know from our experience with other forms of discriminations in our national history that this inequality affects mental and physical health, productivity, and the sense of civic inclusion and morale.  It is not good for the people affected, and it is not good for the nation.  In our private lives we are allowed personal opinions about who should marry who (e.g., whether or not he or she is an appropriate match for our brother/sister/son/daughter); but, when we consider this same question in light of our roles as citizens of the United States of American, we need to stand collectively and say "no" to institutional discrimination and "yes" for the equal protection and equality of us all.

Marriage Equality USA is a great resource for further information on this topic.



This book by Davina Kotulski, PH.D. is another great resource to aid in your consideration of this important cultural issue. Clicking the image will take you to the book's website.

As a conscious being my awareness moves from object to object, taking in information and making connections between them.  When I am thoroughly involved in this movement of awareness, I feel like reality is a seamless flow of time.  At other times, I feel like I am muddling through my day barely able to think and perceive clearly from moment to moment.  Sometimes my awareness is focused on the outside world around me, but often my awareness is turned inside to my thoughts, feelings, and sensations.  Both worlds fascinate me.

The purpose of this journal is to allow me a space to reflect on my inner and outer experiences.  The potential for witnesses intensifies this process.  Posts may describe an event during my day, a dream experienced asleep or awake, a dialog between conflicting parts of my psyche, a rant about one thing or another, or an idea for a new project or design.  Links listed include sites that represent areas of enduring interest or pages of friends I wish to support and share. Comments on posts are welcome.  I have set them so that I can review them before they are made public in order to weed out comments that are rude and have no other pertinent value.

I expect the looks and focus of this journal to shift over time, as I become more comfortable with the technology and with writing posts.  This first post is hard to write because it is a first post.  I hope the second, third, and fourth posts, as well as those beyond, will become easier and feel less like writing a term paper.