The other day, I logged into Facebook to discover that much of my newsfeed was smattered with these little red squares with the “equal” sign in them. I was curious and did some research about it to discover that the Supreme Court was in the process of hearing two high-profile same-sex marriage cases this week. In light of the momentous occasion, the Human Rights Campaign has asked that everyone “paint the town red” and so… the movement began. Everywhere in the social networking world, profile pictures are being changed to reflect that person’s support of equality in marriage.
I’ve seen several people ask questions like, “What good will come of changing profile pictures to this red equality sign?” What I see happening is the growing power of the social consciousness. As an energy healer, I am well aware of the exponential power of combining energies. I know what happens when people come together in a specific focus – magic happens. Because, really, there is no other option due to the magnanimous power of combined forces. One of the incredible things about our social media networks is things are moving so fast and people are immediately updated, so things that need to cause an uproar of influence can do so in a very short amount of time.
As I see it, the more times someone sees that red equality sign, the more times they are thinking of marriage equality. Multiply the number of red equality signs by the number of people who are seeing them by the number of times and you have a product of enormous size, which is a lot of focus on one specific topic. Yes. Those red equality signs as your profile picture are significant. And, whether you change yours, or not, doesn’t matter. The signs are everywhere.
Now I’m seeing more than just the simple red equality logo. Artists and designers like myself have began creating their own versions of the logo and those are popping up everywhere. I created the one above because I wanted to make the message my own. While being in support of this movement of equality, I still wanted my own voice to be heard.
One of the questions that came up on this front was in a group of entrepreneurs of which I am a member, “I have changed my profile pic today in support of marriage equality. This is not something I usually do but this week is huge for this issue. Do you ever join these things or do you think, as entrepreneurs, that we should not talk about issues of equality etc?”
My response was: I choose to be an entrepreneur so I can have my own voice and be heard as an individual, rather than be squashed within the confines of corporate America. If I am passionate about a cause, I definitely speak about that cause. And, I choose to speak about causes with which I am professionally and personally aligned.
Anything related to the LGBT community is a hotbed of emotional volatility. As heated as the discussion of abortion, same-sex “rights” and “privileges” cause an uproar louder than pretty much anything else these days. I often tend to heavily research the side of the conversation that is opposite of where I stand, so reading through miles and miles of vehement protests has been in order. One could spend days reading through all the differing viewpoints.
What I’ve come to understand is this… a lot people who are “against” same-sex marriage actually don’t really care if two guys or two gals get married. What they care about is if the government recognizes that as a legal marriage. So, they’re okay with the marriage taking place, but not okay if it’s “real.” In this instance, the same-sex couple is the proverbial monster in the closet… it’s okay if you talk about it and think that it may be there, but when you open the door, it better not be.
Whether marriage is a right (a natural gift you are born into) or a privilege (something you earn) is up for debate. Some want marriage to be a privilege, stating you have to earn it and it is granted by a civil authority, like a driver’s license. That seems to make sense to me. I mean, ya have to get a license to get married and it has to be signed by a specific person of authority. So, that sounds like a privilege to me. However, getting married, these days, for most people, is an act of “love.” Love is everyone’s divine right. And, if marriage is an expression of love, then shouldn’t it also be a right?
Either way, we’re simply arguing semantics… it’s sorta six of one, half dozen of the other. Because, on both fronts – be it a right or a privilege – it should be supported equally for all people. As soon as the government gets involved and says who can and cannot legally get married, then we are creating a world of prejudice and bias, which will only breed divisiveness and eventual destruction of the human race.
If two men or two women sleep consensually together and choose to marry one another, it does not effect what is happening in the house next door. It doesn’t take away from your job, or decrease retail sales, or increase government expenses. It doesn’t add to the burden of the education system. It doesn’t effect country borders or national security. Any two people marrying in love only lifts up humanity. Why would we want to deny equality in that?
And, to the people who quote scientific studies about how much better a child will do raised in a household with a mother and father, I say, show me the evidence of the opposing studies. Where are the studies on the magnificent children who have been raised in same sex households? And where are the contradictory studies that are out there, but not being quoted, about the effect on a child in a marriage of a man and woman who hate one another or who are abusive? In every race, creed, religion, education level, sexual orientation, and financial class there are bad apples. A man loving a man or a woman loving a woman does not indicate they are monsters or perverse or perfect any more than a man and woman loving one another does. A child is going to thrive in a household where there is love. Plain and simple.
Throughout the illustrious history of humankind, people have been extremely inhumane to one another all in the name of “protecting rights.” They’ve tortured, murdered, hunted, hung, slaughtered, burned, quartered, and drawn people simply because they were different. We have, right now, the opportunity to rise above that hatred and truly be human. We have the opportunity to live up to our potential to be great. And we have the chance to erase bullying, now.
Change, any change, only happens when there are people to stand with the cause. It is how slavery ended. It is how America gained its independence. It is how science has moved forward with incredible discoveries. It is how automobiles and planes came to be. It is how women gained the vote. And it is how equality in marriage will also change.
It is time. What are you afraid of?
