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Recently, the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on gay marriage. In light of this joyous occasion for gay rights activists, I’d like to share my thoughts on the topic and, perhaps, give some advice to those who aren’t simply seeking the uninspired ability to say that they’re married. I don’t mean to tread on your “progress” but just because some people get married doesn’t mean you should, too. Besides, religious people are allowed to do heaps of outrageously dumb things but that is no reason to petition the government to let everyone behave in a similar fashion. Why not try to fix the problem rather than make yourself become a part of it; sure, it might feel good to be accepted into some big system but at what cost?

Let’s begin at what appears to be the immediate problem. The American government recognizes marriage as something more than just an expensive and boring dinner with bad speeches. In fact, marriage has a heavy impact on a couple’s financial status, and it imparts numerous rights to the couple with regard to each other and their family as a whole. These rights usually consist of child custody, joint finances (which, in some cases, leads to a significant decrease in the amount a couple pays in taxes), monetary assistance in the incident of death or injury of a partner, rights to make medical decisions in the case of an emergency, full inheritance when no will had been prepared, etc. What many people feel is wrong with this policy is that not everyone has the capability of gaining such rights and benefits- namely, those the church doesn’t care to see married. Certain gay rights activists argue that this is a violation of the “separation of church and state” principal and that everyone should be allowed to have these rights.

I agree that everyone should be allowed to gain these rights and benefits, I also agree there is a serious problem with separation of church and state but not in the same way as the person who is happy to see the California ban lifted. In fact, I believe that the government should play no roll in who is allowed to go through the holy act of matrimony because it is a part of religious institutions. By forcing the church to recognize a homosexual’s right to marriage is itself a violation of the principal of separation of church and state. Who is allowed to get married should be decided by the church which conducts the marriages! If those in the administrative hierarchy of the church do not believe that their religion should support homosexuality through marriage, it is unconstitutional for the California supreme court to have any power over their ability to implement these beliefs.

What we must petition to change in the American system of government is the legal status of marriage. There is absolutely no purpose for a religious practice to have any consequence on legal matters. Those who currently oppose same-sex marriage insist that homosexuals take the other route to partnership and get a civil union. The problem is that a civil union is not a federally recognized partnership and it does not benefit the couple in the way a marriage would even in the state where the union was done. A civil union is a half-ass version of marriage that has little to offer to couples when compared to marriage.

Therefore, I propose that several steps are in order for the american people and their government: First, marriage is to be entirely stripped of all legal influences on a person’s life and property. Second, the government must cease and remove any alterations to the mandates of a religious organization. Obviously, no crime committed can be excused with a religious affiliation but a religion is entitled to their desire to commit such crimes. Third, civil unions will become federally acknowledged to provide the very same rights and benefits as marriage does (as we know it to be today). Lastly, there should be no restrictions on a person’s freedom to become part of a civil union whereby these limitations are the result of characteristics with no significance to the civil union process.

Gay rights activists have to stop empowering religious ideology and practices in politics. If you want equality, you must first eliminate the entity that is responsible for placing bigotry into our laws. Once you remove religion from our laws, then you can work without ignorant and hateful resistance to your cause.

It recently dawned on me, surprisingly, that the greatly established and worldly popular religions of today are many centuries old. I was sort of in awe of the fact that so great a nuisance could not only survive these thousands of years but, amazingly, that it has dilated in nearly every spectrum. The majority of the world today is associated with three religions in all that have become more organized and wealthy than ever before. What saddens me is how religion is unaffected by the vast improvement of society, the explosion of scientific inquiry, and, consequently, the massive evidence brought against the foundations of religious ideology and implementation of it into social affairs. No other unnecessary and viciously brutal aspect of that time has, or could have been imagined to, still exist today. Nietzsche wrote in Ecce Homo that he finds it necessary to wash his hands after coming into contact with religious people, and now I can see why - they attest to a rotted tome of ignorance that was destined to be extinct long ago. It is a corpse of a murderous thug that has too strong a resilience to the betterment of mankind.

It seems to me that religion is sort of like the living dead, but with stupid rules and the strange tendency to pray. Religion has opposed most scientific discoveries and has been consistently trying to get us to stop using common sense. Religious people are usually found in groups, and almost always saying the same thing as everyone else around them. This is the reason I have little hope in resolving this discord: zombies are fucking hard to get rid of. They go around killing real people. And, apparently, an infestation of the mindless can go on for thousands of years with no end in sight. This is serious because they target the only tool we have against them - our brain. I like my brain, I try to use it often and I advise that you do the same. Maybe, one day we’ll figure out a way to save humanity from this virus.

No, the title of this entry is not referring to a new kind of extreme underground sport that involves some kind of cage. Instead, it’s about something that has been quite popular for discussion recently- the unusual relationship between the Muslim world, notably in Middle-Eastern and African nations, and the politics of the western world. This is, of course, not something new. The war between these two societies had been raged for longer than most can remember or even imagine. But, in more recent times, there has been more attention brought not to the violence of radical muslims but, rather, the cause and effect relationship of this violence with the western world.

It appears to have started with a sort of infringement of land; Holy land tainted by the infidels and too many hands in the affairs of the Islamic countries. As problems began to stack, places like Egypt, Iraq, and Iran began to react to the influence of the western world with an unconventional means to regain what was lost. This reaction was martyrdom through sacrificial violence and subsequent death. It brought great attention and admiration to does who committed acts usually seen as evil. Patriotism ran like a hormone through the veins of muslim people, eager to commit themselves to their lord entirely.

It is, without a doubt, expected of western leaders to add the Islamic nations, especially those associated with radicalism, to the black book of politics. As soon as a suicide bomb reaches the 10o’clock news in America, every politician is stumbling to get attention by discussing what it means for the average American and what needs to be done. It is of no surprise that western countries began isolating Muslim countries and treating them as dogs that bite; they do, in fact, bite at the culture of the average westerner. Radical muslims threaten and terrorize and countries like America cannot bare to simply turn the other cheek. In the world of international relations, force may not be agreed upon or anticipated but is always returned.

So, we have America pushing nations like Iran. Radical Muslims react with violence, then and now seen as appropriate (depending on who you ask). America then counters with further pressure which only leads to further retaliation. They see us as immoral dictators and we see them as barbaric maniacs slaughtering innocent people. It was once the “murderous ping pong” suggested in the title but has, today, turned into a conquest to annihilate the evil enemy (which is the view shared by both parties). We both see the other as the obviously malevolent society, driven by ignorance of some high truth that only death can cure.

In my own opinion, America has to get a fucking clue and realize that long term goals are more important than immediate gratification. It has supported too many brother governments with disregard to the people of that country. What else can be the result of overthrowing leaders in order to push a friend into office simply for a short sighted goal. International allies and peace, doesn’t America consider that to be a reasonable goal? What’s the point of oil and political influence of a country that produces it if you start a war that will last for over several decades?
Muslim people have to stop complaining. It may be true that America and other western influences had a negative affect on your nation but radical religions that breed terrorism against the leaders of the world is only working against your interests. If you continue using threats and violence every time a westerner is responsible for death in a muslim land, the result will only be death for all.

Religious people in general need to shut the fuck up. Unless you prove to the world that what you say means anything more than an old book written by someone hundreds of years ago about what you have no real understanding of, keep it to yourself. The day an organized religion can significantly improve the quality of life in some systematic way that isn’t obvious and already accepted by everyone should it be even allowed to exist. So far, all that has been done by religion is limit the power of those who actually use science, logic, and meaningful application.

I’m no longer tired of the problems of religion in the world today, I’m exhausted of it. All I can think about is how bad life must have been in order for religions like Islam to become so widely loved and implemented. Fortunately, life involves time which does not stand still allowing something called information to flourish. No more do we rely on tales and mystical bullshit to make life seem interesting. In fact, making life interesting is not even a problem anymore (especially with all the war you people have caused), now we are trying to make life simply better. Please, stop fucking it up for everyone.