Comments on: My ‘Infantile’ Views on Gay Marriage

By: Earl

Earl — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:08:05 +0000

Thanks for commenting Cody. That’s unbelievable that you heard those words about gay marriage and murderous dictators, and just plain sad. I’m also right there with you about war and the fact that it has become so commonplace in our society that nobody seems to mind that actual human lives are needlessly being destroyed. It’s the ‘real’ problems of the world that go unnoticed (such as the murderous dictators) as we focus on religious- or fear-driven issues that never should be issues in the first place.

By: Cody McKibben

Cody McKibben — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:02:43 +0000

I love where you say “everyone, whether they worships cows, dance the Macarena in the shower, tattoo themselves to look like a lizard, live in an igloo or want to enter into a gay marriage, as fellow human beings and as equally deserving of the same respect as everyone else.”

You don’t need a complicated or intellectual argument when you’re just simply dead right. I haven’t traveled for 10 years quite yet, but I’ve been to about 20 countries, and I share your feelings—much of the rest of the world just seems to live and let live, and their societies haven’t spiraled out of control by any means. I love my country, but sadly, when I look at what’s going on in the US I frequently feel like it’s completely ludicrous. Fighting ridiculous wars (we haven’t evolved much—still killing each other because it’s simply easier than diplomacy). People wasting their time on such insanity—the religious right would rather prevent gays from living as they please than prevent murderous dictators from committing genocide. I’ve heard that from people, verbatim!

I’d argue it’s their mindset that’s completely infantile. Most humans are so insecure with themselves, so afraid of what’s different, and constantly trying to rationalize their own ideas of reality that they’ll eat each other over it.

Excellent post.

By: Yo

Yo — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:25:23 +0000

One question

What do u think about the word “tolerance”?

Have we tolerate all ideas?

By: Brian Wadman

Brian Wadman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:01:09 +0000

Good post!

By: RoByn

RoByn — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:09:44 +0000

I am not sure how open-mindedness, respect, logic, and human decency are synonymous with infantile. It is sad to me that people would expend so much energy and (negative) emotion over the private lives of strangers. Ignorance and intolerance are much bigger problems in this world. Besides the fact that it is cruel to deny consenting adults the right to love like everyone else, if people are doing something that doesn’t directly hurt my heart and/or soul, I really don’t care what they are doing or see how it is a battle that I have business entering into. Marriage is birthed from the greatest human emotion. How can you can tell someone they can’t express an emotion? You should not feel stung by the comments of a weak insect with an ignorant stinger.

By: Earl

Earl — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:01:52 +0000

You’ve basically come up with the perfect definition for travel – “the elimination of worry, stress and over-complication through experiences of discomfort outside of one’s normal boundaries”. And it’s reverse (the addition of worry, stress and over-complication through experiences of normality within one’s comfort zone) could be the perfect definition for a routine life.

If you gave people a choose to follow one of those definitions, we would definitely see some different attitudes towards change.

It’s funny, these days, friends and family sometimes tell me I’m TOO worry-free! And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Thanks Clay.

By: Earl

Earl — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:34:55 +0000

Ash – I always wondered what it would be like if travel were a required part of education. Imagine the problems that would be eliminated by having all young adults benefiting (along with society in general) from a much broader view of the world – and then extending rights would never even be an issue.

By: Clay

Clay — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:01:17 +0000

Three things the average person seems to do, in my experience:

1. Worry about too many things.
2. Stress about too many things.
3. Overcomplicate too many things.

Whoever called your succinct point of view “infantile” likely suffers from the three things I’ve listed above.

In fact, if anyone tries to poke holes in what you argued – “I believe that everyone deserves equality and that since such a change wouldn’t negatively affect the lives of anyone else, people shouldn’t stand in the way of other people’s rights” – then they likely are sufferers of the three criteria I listed above. Because, the truth is, nothing will change negatively if marriage rights were amended.

Those of us who travel and experience discomfort and push our limits don’t really have those three issues. Why? Because we know there’s no need to worry, stress, or complicate things. If we had done any of those three, we would never have left our boundaries. Once you drop the habits of worrying, stressing, and complicating, you realize that change doesn’t lead to discomfort. You realize that change, in almost every case, really doesn’t affect anything in your own life that you can’t control.

By: Ash

Ash — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:09:15 +0000

Travel should be a required part of the education system. It enrages me that there are people who have nothing better to do than sit in judgment of another’s sexual preferences, and then use that judgment to withhold or extend certain privileges, when in fact they should be rights. That is what’s infantile. This is what Wikipedia had to say: “In modern democracies, a privilege is conditional and granted only after birth. By contrast, a right is an inherent, irrevocable entitlement held by all citizens or all human beings from birth.” So perhaps we should name it “The Bill of Privileges,” because I always thought that The First Amendment of Freedom of Religion included Freedom FROM Religion….but not so much the case when it comes to gay marriage, eh?

By: Earl

Earl — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:08:11 +0000

Thanks for that Mara! I’m happy to see the overwhelming support for this point of view.