yesterday got me thinking about the ways we (american christians in particular) help out other nations, particularly third-world countries. when i was in high school, my church youth group would go on trips to mexico and the philippines to do nice things like feed the homeless, handout school supplies and build houses.

i have nothing against missionaries. in fact, i've been on two missions trips to china (one on which i met my fiance! ^__^) but i do wonder if the sorts of things we do on short-term missions trips are really to help the people we meet, or to just provide the mission-goers with a great experience. i think shane claiborne made an interesting observation on this, and said something along the lines of: when we go places thinking we're doing them this great favor, like building them a house or facility, we actually cripple them further by doing a job for them they could easily do themselves, had they the resources to do so. it makes us feel great because we're doing a good deed, but it belittles those we're trying to help: essentially we're saying to them, "you can't do this yourself, let us just do it for you."

and i know it's a really good thing to give food and supplies to those in need, but why don't we fix the root of the cause? help them find a way to earn a dignified income so they can put food on the table themselves and send their kids to a school. like world vision's "buy a cow for a family!" how empowering would that be? not just a quick fix; a real solution.

it is so bad. but it's so awesomely bad!
yes, bella is an awful character setting a poor example for women everywhere. she's obsessed with beauty and willing to put herself in a risky relationship where she could be killed any second. blahblahblah yes we've heard it all before. people who continuously complain about the series need to get over themselves and stop thinking they're so clever and original.
i liked reading the series because it was like a tv break for my overused-nursing-school-brain: not very beneficial, but something fun and relaxing to do to kill time over my last christmas break. i hated bella and edward for most of the four books. and there are SO many freaken grammatical errors! what were the editors doing? piloting a plane? stephenie meyer is in no way an awesome writer but i thought the actual story was interesting. it just so happened that it spawned this colossal fanbase, which makes critics hate it so much more. oh well. one of the advantages i have (having read the books) is that i have something interesting to talk about with teenaged-girl patients in the hospital.

since thanksgiving is just around the corner and i'm full of happy thoughts and hot cocoa with marshmallows, i'm just not my usual politically-charged, pissed-off self to write about my thoughts on gay marriage. but i'll try anyway...

the people who are against gay marriage are on that side for one (or both) of either two reasons: they believe it's "morally wrong," mainly because of the bible, or that "it's just gross," per my cousin's statement. here is why i believe both these reasons do not justify witholding the rights straight-married people enjoy.

first, the idea that homosexuality is "morally wrong." for argument's sake, let's say that some homosexuals are not christian/religious. this means that they don't even believe in what the bible has to say! so why are we using this argument? "you can't get married cuz my bible says you're full of sin." you can't coerce someone into doing what you think is wrong when they don't even believe it's wrong in the first place!

i mean, the bible also tells women to keep quiet in church, and it says nothing about abolishing slavery, yet in today's day and age we've learned that both ideas are outdated and fosters inequality among the human race. and here we are again, fighting oppression of another minority. what are the evangelicals hoping to achieve by banning gay marriage? that it'll somehow "slow down" the so-called "moral corruption" of america?? that it ruins "traditional family values"? (i hate that phrase!) that it will "defile the sanctity of marriage"? how exactly "sanctimonious" is marriage these days anyway? people beat their wives/husbands/kids. people cheat on each other and have affairs. why aren't these people being kept from marriage? to me, they're are waaay worse than two people, who happen to be the same sex, committed to each other, living together and enjoying each other.

in the end, keeping gay people from getting married isn't going to stop them from being gay. why can't we extend the rights straight-married couples are entitled to enjoy? rights like sick leave to care for your partner/child, "next-of-kin" status to visit their partner in the hospital, employers benefits (such as health insurance coverage): it's not fair.

the next argument is that it's gross, it's not natural. ok, so define natural then. many people say the reason it's a man and a woman is because the whole point of this union is to reproduce. but many many couples get married without ANY intention to reproduce, either by choice or because they simply are not able to. so should we exclude these people from getting married as well? "well no, but some gay people are adopting kids or getting sperm donors and stuff." so??? straight-married people do this too. in fact, non-married people do this (brangelina anyone?) "but gay people shouldn't be allowed to raise children, because it would be too traumatic and confusing for them." ok. it's "confusing and traumatic" to explain to kids where babies come from in the first place. so of course, we wait until they get older and explain to them about the birds and bees when they're ready. shit, kids don't know how to clean their ears, let alone anything about life!! that's what raising kids is all about: teaching them about what a fucked-up place the world is and how they can fix it.

the other side of the "it's not natural" coin is the whole "choice" debate. i don't think you can help being gay or straight, whether you're genetically predisposed or were raised a certain way. and even if it were a choice, it still shouldn't matter. another person makes them happy, and the fact that they're the same sex shouldn't matter. nobody should be excluded certain rights just because they're different. not women, not black people, not nobody.

to the LGBT community: i'm so sorry for the injustice you are suffering on behalf of our ignorant, intolerant, hypocritical nation. i know, that someday you will be granted the same rights that i have. it will just take some time.