The world that we live in today has sadly declined it ’s standards and allowed an unlimited amount of hate, bigotry, and pure nasty behaviors and attitudes towards people of all kind. We discriminate against those who are the same as us and those who are different than us. We discriminate against those who do not share the same lifestyle choices, or the same values.
When I moved to the U.S. in 2002, a little over a year after the 9/11, I saw a nation that stood proud and joined together, whether it was color, religion, ethnicity — it didn ’t matter. If you believed in what USA stood for, then you stood together as brothers and sisters and defended a nation that fought for, and continues to fight for freedom and justice.
Now, it is 2014. Though this nation of us still stands proud, it does not stand together. I know I will get a great deal from several ends about what I am going to say, but I think this has been on the minds of many.
One of the most controversial situations that I have witnessed is the discrimination against homosexuals. I have heard and read several conversations regarding the use of religion to go against homosexuality. My simple thought on using any religion, whether it be Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc., is religion and religious texts were written by man. Man is flawed, therefore religion is flawed. Being raised as a Catholic myself, I was taught that the word of the Lord is written in the Bible. After having several friends who practice Islam and Hinduism, I read their religious texts as well. I personally felt all three were flawed, not only because they were written by man, but because none of it justified human rights.
There are more than a handful of passages within the Bible that not only discriminate against women, but out right state that women are to be submissive to men. Their rightful place is under a man. Even though, in Genesis it states that when God created Eve she was from his ribs to be made his equal, yet throughout the Bible we read that women are submissive, women with no authority, women to be non leaders (religious and community), etc. This alone contradicts what God essentially states regarding the creation of Eve and his image for her and the teachings of what we have grown up with.
When we have the Bible being contradictory towards women ’s rights and their roles, how can I expect to believe that what it says regarding homosexuality will not contradict?
Passages in the Old Testament book Leviticus states that “lying with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination”. Yet, the Bible teaches us to be kind to thy neighbor? Oh, I ’m sorry they didn ’t clarify to be kind to thy heterosexual neighbor. The Bible teaches us that homosexual acts are considered to be unholy because the act is considered sodomy, yet when the Catholic Church has numerous reports of priests and bishops abusing young boys — this is somehow not considered unholy?
Do I blame our nation? Yes, I do. I do because we have allowed mainstream media and religious extremists to brainwash our common sense. We have allowed mere folk tales written by flawed mankind to alter kindness and compassion to the point where we discriminate against our fellow brothers and sisters because they chose to love their own gender versus the opposite. I do blame the nation because we have allowed ourselves to forget that loving thy neighbor is a phrase from all religions, but it is a phrase that does not discriminate.
The nation that fights for justice and human rights is failing today to fight for the rights of homosexuals to get their justice and their human rights. Marriage is a legal recognition of a relationship, all it is a piece of paper that says Jane and John are now a couple. So, if Jane and John can get a piece of paper that say they are a couple, and, in most cases, they love each other and wish to spend their life together – why can ’t John and Adam get a piece of paper that says the same thing? Or Jane and Jessica? We have to stop looking at the world from such a conservative point of view in thinking that anything new will destroy us.
Change is a part of life, and those creatures that can adapt to change are the ones who survive. Change is good, adapting to change is good. I hope to see this nation one day to be the nation that it was – the nation that once stood tall and proud to fight for freedom. USA is a nation where freedom rings because freedom does not see race, gender, creed nor sexuality.
, Once Nation, Under God www.ozeldersin.com bitirme tezi,ödev,proje dönem ödevi