Found This And Love It:

Somebody used this as a comment on aintitcool.com about a MILK review of the movie AND i loved it. Check it out (Thanks Le Viscious Fishus)

 

“A Marriage Manifesto… Of Sorts”

By Tom Ackerman

From http://tinyurl.com/5zbh5j
< BR> November 17, 2008

I no longer recognize marriage. It’s a new thing I’m trying.

Turns out it’s fun.

Yesterday I called a woman’s spouse her boyfriend.

She says, correcting me, “He’s my husband,” “Oh,” I say, “I no longer recognize marriage.” The impact is obvious. I tried it on a man who has been in a relationship for years, “How’s your longtime companion, Jill?”

“She’s my wife!”

“Yeah, well, my beliefs don’t recognize marriage.”

Fun. And instant, eyebrow-raising recognition. Suddenly the majority gets to feel what the minority feels. In a moment they feel what it’s like to have their relationship downgraded, and to have a much taken-for-granted right called into question because of another’s beliefs. Just replace the words husband, wife, spouse, or fiancé with boyfriend, girlfriend, special friend, or longtime companion. There is a reason we needed stronger words for more serious relationships. We know it; now they can see it.

A marriage is a lot of things. Culturally, it’s a declaration to the community that two people are now a unit, and that unity should be respected. Legally, it’s a set of rights and responsibilities. And spiritually, it’s whatever your beliefs think it is.

That’s what’s so great about America. As a Constitutionally secular nation, or at least in reality a vaguely pluralistic nation, we can all have our own spiritual take on what marriage is. What’s troublesome is when one group’s spiritual beliefs deny the cultural and legal rights of another.

But, back to the point. They say their beliefs don’t recognize my marriage, I say my beliefs don’t recognize theirs. Simple. It may seem petty, and obviously the legal part of the cultural/legal/spiritual trilogy is flip-floppy, but it may be the cultural part that really matters.

People get married to be recognized as a permanent couple. To be acknowledged by friends, family, and strangers as being off the market, in a relationship, totally hooked up, yikes… it’s impossible to say without saying ‘married.’ We wear rings to declare this! So, we can take this away. We can refuse to recognize marriage in the cultural sense. It is totally within our rights, as Americans, to follow our beliefs and recognize or not recognize what we like.

I guess this is a call out to all Americans with beliefs similar to mine.

If you believe that all people should have equal rights, and if you believe that marriage is one of the greatest destinations of a relationship, then perhaps you believe that nobody should have marriage until everybody does.

That’s what I believe.

—

Cou ldn’t resist.

Checking Into The Himan Hotel..

And………..I’m back to blogging.

 Decided to take a break from blogging for a bit because I didn’t know what to talk about it. Well, that is all cleared up considering that I finished touring, recorded a live show for a future live cd, just made a big bowl of pasta salad, got a blurb and pic in DNA Magazine, interviewed with GCN in Ireland and Sirius Radio’s OutQ station with Larry Flick, jumped up and down when Barack Obama became our President-Elect, watched two entire seasons of Dexter on DVD (I love this show), and decided to write a book.

Now with all that said, I am still trying not to sleep the days away after being on the road most of this year. It is strange though, after all that craziness and running around, it is hard to be still and quiet. I feel I need to learn how to do this better than being in constant motion.

I figure I still need to do a few things to round out this year: go to more movies, read more books, watch less TV, and take up yoga.

 Ok, back to rearranging my house~E

Protest Song (election Edition)

Tomorrow is election day and I am so excited for the outcome. It has all come down to this and in some states the propostions have been weighing on my mind especially the ‘preserving’ marriage ones. So I am posting this youtube video of me performing Protest Song with an added bonus part at the end. Check it out and happy voting!!!:)

~Eric