Proposition 2009

"It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions. "
- Harvey Milk (1973)

As this amazing year of dreams, hopes, and possibilities comes to an end and we begin to plan for 2009, I would like to take time to offer Proposition 2009. I propose that we have a community for all people regardless of their sexual orientation. We are a society that can agree to disagree and engage in real dialog about issues that are important to us. Let me be clear that bringing people together for real conversation is very different than inviting an Evangelical Minister who has publicly made anti-gay statements to speak at one of most important events in history.

I would like to take a moment to express how disappointed I am at President Elect Obama’s choice to have Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the 56th Presidential Inauguration. The rationale about having Warren speak is that Obama is keeping his word about inviting more evangelicals to the table. This however is no ordinary table. The Inauguration is a huge event that will be televised around the world. There are many people who do not believe in same-sex marriage, including Obama. Everyone has a right to their point of view. I ought to have the same constitutional rights as all, including, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and once we start dividing up who has the right to marry, then we create subset groups of people.

Rev. Rick Warren not only opposed same-sex marriage, he has campaigned against it, including campaigning and supporting California’s Proposition 8. He has also publicly said he does not support gay marriage because he believes it is similar to a brother marrying a sister, a man with six wives, or a man with a little girl. It is one thing to not believe in same-sex marriage, but these statements bring it to a whole new level when same-sex marriage is compared to incest, polygamy, and pedophile. These statements go against not only our rights but our human dignity.

I am asking that as we enter this New Year, this historic time, this national attention to our new leader, we reflect upon the rights and dignity of all of our citizens. Proposition 2009 is about hope and in order to promote hope, we must remove hatred, division, and inequality. As a nation, we were willing to examine our views of racism and vote for an African American to bring our country together. Now, I encourage everyone to look at our views of homophobia. Proposition 2009 supports a community for all and as Harvey Milk said, “Hope will never be silent.” May everyone have a happy and healthy 2009.

Bored and Board

I have recently been inspired by my five year old nephew. While riding in a car, my nephew asked his parents to say words that sound the same, but are spelled differently. At five, he was asking for homophones! When was the last time you had a conversation about homophones?

At first, coming up with homophones became just another game to play with my nephew. I wanted to see if I could discover some that he had not thought about and could help him spell. Much to my surprise, his list was pretty long. Then my mind went to town and I started thinking of as many words as possible. This led me to the words bored and board. With great joy, my five year old nephew looked at me and said, “Wow, Aunt Mary Anne, that’s a good one.” There is nothing like getting affirmed by a five year old. I realized how this little boy is rarely bored and how easy it is for him to be amused by the simplest of games. We can sit for hours and do math, reading, or word games. Maybe life really is that simple. Maybe when I create my own Board of Directors, I would invite a five year old to be a part of it. Maybe it is time to shift our thinking away from everything going on outside of us and remember to see the little things. It is all perspective. My nephew looks for the new idea, for a new word, for a new game to play, and for new places to go. Everything is a new possibility. Maybe it is time to look through a new lens of awe and wonder. What new ideas are just waiting to burst out?

There is a sea of possibilities if we are willing to see life in a new way. Play with new words, ideas and, dreams. What word that sounds the same, but is spelled differently, resonates for you? Listen to yourself. You know exactly what you want, and if not, ask a five year old.

Special thanks and love to George who always makes me smile and who I love this, this, this much!