The Great Wrong of the Right

Yesterday morning I found that Newfoundland is now allowing gay marriages. In fact, most of the Canadian provinces now allow such unions. Yet here in the United States it became a wedge issue that distracted voters into re-electing GWB. Now, as a result of the elections, in most states marriage must clearly be defined as a union between a man and a woman. All the while, GWB is still attempting to push this legislation on a national level. The religious right is so threatened by gay marriage, it has become their central fixation. Ignoring other obstacles that could undermine marriage, such as divorce, child abuse, and infidelity, their only battle-cry is not to allow two men or two women at the altar, and receiving the same rights as a heterosexual couple.
When one distances himself from the influence of religion, you can clearly see the hypocrisy of this issue. In this country, there is supposed to be a definitive seperation of church and state. Yet the influence of the Religious Right is so powerful that it has reached the presidential level. There is nothing wrong in believing in God. I'm not anti-religious. But keep your beliefs where they belong...in your own church or home. If two people love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together, then let them. Why shouldn't they be afforded the same rights as anyone else? If you consider the union a sin, then that is your BELIEF. And your belief should have no place in the laws that are decided in America.
So far, there has not been a complete breakdown of the social fabric in Canada as a result of allowing gay marriages. Of course, there were people that opposed it there also, but logic and reasoning won out. It annoys me that gay marriage is acceptable in the Yukon Territory but not in New York City.
The religious right really needs to find a new hobby. A good suggestion would be to stop being such hypocrites, practice what you preach, and learn to love your neighbors again. There's a good chance that one of them is gay.

Florida

I left the freezing weather of New York and travelled to Florida to spend Christmas with my family. I flew into Orlando, then rented a beige Ford Taurus at Dollar Rent-a-Car. I brought with my my worst and only cold of the year (just in time for the holidays).
On my drive north along I-95 I came across a homemade sign that stated "Thank the Lord for George & Jeb Bush". I felt like pulling over and puking. It's amazing how a president that caters so much to the wealthy could appeal to most rednecks. I'm not going to bash Florida, but the state has its share of uneducated rednecks, and the sign (judging by its appearance and penmanship) was definitely constructed by one.
This brings to mind a certain realization. Are the red states (southern, mid-west) just less-educated than the northern blue states? Are there more intellectuals living in New York, California, and New England, than Alabama, Missouri, and South Carolina? Or as written in a British Newspaper can 59 million people be so stupid? As a democrat, left-leaning New Yorker, my answer to that rather blunt question is "unfortunately yes." I'm sure there are many intelligent people living in the red states. There are also many people in those red states that voted for John Kerry, just as voters in blue states cast their vote for GWB.
I guess a southern redneck driving a pickup with gun rack watching Fox News on his DirecTV satellite enhanced tellivision believes everything the president tells him.

The Great Disillusionment

It took me many years to discover that I am not living in the best country in the world. Putting aside any issues I may have with the currect presidency (of which I have many), the standard of living in America is slipping away from us. I watch Lou Dobbs often, and he mentions a "middle class squeeze" occurring in our economy. Costs are rising, but not the salaries and wages of the American worker. It is also a fact that Americans have the least amount of holidays off than most European countries, Japan, and even China. We Americans are literally working ourselves to death, while Europeans have at least a month off a year.
In addition, many high-tech and manufacturing jobs are being outsourced, replaced with lower income (and sometimes part-time) jobs.
If there was such a thing as an "index of happiness" to measure the quality of life and happiness, I was surprised to learn that the country Sweden would be far ahead of America.
America may still be the richest country in the world (and the lone Superpower) but this does not make it the best. Should the definition of "best" mean wealth, military might, or value of life? I guess this depends on who you ask. For me it would mean "my quality of life".