"my heart is aching/but i can always fake it/i am hypocrisy/each and every day..."
But today, I can no longer fake it. I am sick. I am disgusted. And I am angry.
I was born in Hickory, North Carolina in 1988 and I did not leave until I moved to college in 2006. I even went to college in North Carolina, and it was there that I fell in love. Not with a person, but with a region. The mountains of Western North Carolina are indescribably beautiful. Especially this time of year. While sitting on a college campus in Atlanta, GA, I can still close my eyes and see the vibrant yellows, oranges, reds, and greens that are surely pervading the campus of Mars Hill College and I want nothing more than to be there. I want to breathe in the clean, crisp mountain air. I want to sit on the quad with my friends and lay under the blue sky. And as much as I miss it, I feel my home state has betrayed me today. And I am angry.
You want to know what North Carolina thinks?
“Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.” (Raleigh News & Observer)
What makes me most angry about this statement is that it is the prejudiced, closed-minded leaders in our state Senate that lead the pack. Forget the 57% of North Carolinians who support gay marriage and civil unions.
You know when North Carolina gets to vote on this?
May 12, 2012. The day of the Republican Primaries.
The most ironic part of this is the deterioration of marriage in this country. In 2009, it is reported that there were 36,708 divorces in the state of North Carolina. That's 100.5 divorces every day.
Every day, 100.5 men are leaving their wives. 100.5 women are walking away from their husbands. 100.5 families are being torn apart.
But how dare we let two people, regardless of gender, try to reverse this by proving their love for one another. As my friend Rachel pointed out this is not a religious fight. This is a deeply personal fight for millions of people who are God-loving people. Love is love. Atheists are capable of loving just as passionately as even the most fervent Christians. Who are we to say they are not allowed to do so just because they love someone of the same sex? Regardless of whether or not you "believe homosexuality is a sin," you are denying the basic principle on which this country was founded - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for every single person.
I am a Christian. I go to church every Sunday (because, sadly, this is all it takes to prove to most how "strong" of a Christian I am). But this is not a Christian nation. If God blesses America, so too does God bless Mexico and China and Iran and Libya. We are to uphold the basic rights of our citizens and when we neglect to honor their right to be happy, we neglect what our country is founded on.
To any of my LGBTQ friends who may be reading this, move away from North Carolina. Support another state's local economy for no other reason other than they support you. You are loved somewhere, and I am heartbroken that it is not the state in which I was raised. You deserve better than what North Carolina is offering you.
Well said. And thanks for the shout out. Wish it were a better subject matter, but it needs to be discussed.
ReplyDeleteMary Kate,
ReplyDeleteI love the fervor in your writing almost as much as I love what you have to say. I am blessed to have watched you grow into the strong confident Christian woman you are today.
My prayer is that you will continue to follow your heart and your God. You have made Him proud today.
Very well said my friend. I have made a similar plea on my blog as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this, Mary Kate. I'm hoping that the new generation of thinking Christians can override the bigotry and hate. It may take until the middle of this century, but I think the tide will turn. Here's hoping, anyway.
ReplyDelete