Hate Thy Neighbor~~Hate Thyself!!

In can barely handle my every day life let alone worry about what other people are doing with theirs. What is it, in the psyche of some  people, that makes them feel like they have a duty to police the behavior or lifestyles of others? Why do people feel that my life, or anyone else's, needs to be managed by the influence that others, like certain religious and political groups, try and imprint on society?

Good questions that do not have easy answers. In my mind; the asking of questions like these is the responsibility of every one of us because if we do not ask them we do a disservice to not only ourselves but also our fellow citizens.

The past few weeks I have sat on the sidelines and watched people attack Chase Bono for becoming the person that he feels he was born to be. Whose business is it that Mr Bono changed gender?  HMMM!  Wait! Wait! I know the answer to this one!

It's Mr Bono's business and his alone. Not that of the Religious Right. Not that of any politician. Not that of any national, state or local organization in existence today or in the future.

Judge Mr Bono on his dance performance and on that alone and stay the hell out of his life otherwise.

What right do any of us have to tell a gay man or woman that they can not marry or raise a family. I can not stand these Religious Bigots proclaiming  God as a reason to discriminate against anyone. God, my God, loves everyone, accepts everyone and wants happiness for everyone. How dare these Bigots claim to speak for God.

I proudly served in the military and I can tell you that I did not care if the man or woman, in the fox hole with me was gay, bisexual or straight. All I cared about was if they had my back. Being gay does not make you less of a soldier than the next guy. The stupidity of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' was obvious for me from the very beginning. Why did it take us so long to rid ourselves of this discrimination?

My point here is that we all need to live our own lives and where our lives intersect with that of our fellow citizens; Just Be Respectful. Be a good neighbor. Be a friend.

Reserve your hate for those that deserve it and have earned it. I am sure that with just a little thought you can figure out who those people are.

'A good neighbor is a fellow who smiles at you over the back fence, but doesn't climb over it.'~~Arthur Baer
'If I try to understand what it means to be a Christian, I look at the two instructions that were given in the Bible that are paramount, and those are to love God with all your heart and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. That's it.'~~Bruce Cockburn

Randy