19
Aug
2009
2009
This story really struck me and I wanted to share it here. It’s posted to Digg and I’ve made a comment there so I’ll leave it there instead of reposting it here. Here is the link.
Just as a final note, I’m going to be away in Minnesota over the weekend so you won’t see any new posts or comments from me until Monday. I hope to partake in the Minnesota Renaissance Festival while I’m there and will certainly be down in Red Wing on the 23rd to celebrate 150 years of the Amundson clan on these shores. Going to visit some old haunts while I’m at it and generally revel in the free air of the gods’ own country 
Best to you all until then!
Well, welcome home then from a fellow Minnesotan! Will you be at the Ren Fest over Labor Day weekend? Sat. or Sun? Ah, I wish I would have known, I would've asked if you wanted to meet up! I plan on going on Saturday of Labor Day weekend.
Have a wonderful time.
Unfortunately, I have to miss the State Fair, which I was really hoping to go to for the first time in a decade. I have yet to see a decent one outside of MN. I'm going to try to squeeze in the RenFest on opening day, Saturday. It will always be my favorite faire.
Enjoy your trip and have a safe journey!
We're anxiously anticipating RenFest here too. It's our favorite family activity.
Thank you, Pom! Yep, it's our modern day harvest festival, to be sure. I'm hoping to hit the Bristol Faire in Wisconsin this year too. Not sure I'm going to haul all my gear to Minnesota to dress up but I can sure do it for the short trip to Bristol.
Have fun in Minnesota! 150 years, wow.
As to the artical, it really brings hope how we tend to pigeon hole people on political lines. We tend to think that Republicans do this and Democrates do that but really, everyone has thier own motives and beliefs. And was anyone else insulted by the stupidity of the "marriage is for procreation" argument? Does this mean that infertile couples shouldn't be allowed to marry, or those with no intention of ever having children? That argument holds no water. Religiously, people may think same sex marriage is wrong and while I disagree, that's fine. You can believe whatever you want but you can't legislate you religious convictions in this country.
*brings home*
Well put, Ulfrun, and some good examples of how silly the procreation argument is. What bothers me most is just what you said, that people want to dictate to others their own moral standards. Don't like it? Don't do it! It's as simple as that. And that's the other canard, that same-sex marriage will destroy heterosexual marriage. No, cheating, drug using pentecostal preachers are doing that just fine themselves.
Yeah, and don't you love it when they try to say, "Well, we do legislate morality. Look, murder is illegal!" You know and they always say it like, "Huh, huh…what do you think of that?"
People fail to understand that the law *DOES NOT* exist to tell us right form wrong. The law is in place so that most (if not all) members of the society can function as fully and as freely as possible.
Once people understand that, opposition to things like gay marriage just falls apart. Whether or not I agree with someone's sexual choices is irrelevant when it comes to law. Gay people are citizens and that means they deserve the same rights as the rest of us.
Arbitrarily picking an aspect of someone's behavior and trying to legislate against it, *THAT* is discrimination equal to that of being a racist or sexist.
Well put, Gran. What I love most is the "so next we'll be letting pedophiles marry children!" Someone once said of Christianity that it's a shame that Romans didn't have enough lions. Though the Romans didn't actually persecute Christianity like the Christians claim, I sympathize with the feeling that lay behind those words.
I think Christians *want* a government that tells that what's right and wrong just like they want their god to give them personal memos about morals and ethics. You know the whole, "Jesus/Yahweh is our king just like he personally ruled the Hebrew people at one time." And yes, I have a friend who actually believes everyone heard Yahweh speaking directly to them at one time. He also told me that that's the kind of government he wants…a monarchy with Yahweh as king with no in-between humans doling out his commands. I was like, "How the F does that work considering all of you are currently in disagreement about what he wants right now?" He says, "Well, it would be different then." Yeah, Christians have been killing each other and others for F-ing centuries and some how one day it's going to be different? I'll take my secular government and freedom of religion…thanks.
I suspect, Gran, that few of these Christians ever consider the possibility that one of the million denominations they think is unholy or heretical will be the one to control the theocracy they pray so hard for. Given the fanaticism of most of these groups, I suspect he (and most like him) would be less happy with the outcome than we would be, since nobody hates another Christian like another Christian.