I just received an email from Bishop Gene Robinson, who has been invited by President Elect Obama to give the invocation at one of the inaugural events tomorrow night.  I am posting the letter here to you as a reminder that there is a new and hopefully better time coming for GLBT Americans as Obama takes office AND to remind you that…

HRC’s Blueprint for Change is a wonderful place to focus your support as this project will hold Obama’s ‘feet to the fire’ so-to-speak in the weeks, months and years ahead.  Obama has made some wonderful promises to the GLBT community but we must be sure Obama follows through….

Have a great weekend (GO RAVENS – I’M BLEEDING PURPLE PASSION TODAY)!!!

Barb

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Right now I’m taking a lunch break.  I turned on the T.V. to find a live broadcast on CNN of President Bush, Speaker Nanci Pelosi and other officials awarding the Dalai Lama the Congressional Medal of Honor, which is called the ‘highest civilian award’.

The Dalai is now speaking to the audience, from a prepared speech.  He started off with much humor (mostly about himself and his English).  He states he insists that he speak today in English, although his command of the language is poor!  He says he started learning English in the 1940′s and, at 72, still doesn’t speak it well.  I disagree.  He is having alot of fun making light of his mistakes while reading.

We should thank him for respecting Americans enough to put his ego aside in this way!  This is no small feat, is it?  Put yourself in his shoes:  if another country was awarding you a medal, could you go there and do a speech in their language?

By the way, there was a hysterically funny (to me at least!) moment.  Dalai was very gracious and thankful to those who gave him the award, but he was able to sneak in, without really offending anyone (too much I hope!) that ‘these people’ (meaning politicians) have a tendency to lie, however most of them have many strengths and need to be appreciated for their contributions.  The Dalai has a courageously funny spirit, doesn’t he!?!

I am impressed that we are awarding the Dalai Lama this medal.  I like that we are acknowledging a very visible, NON-Christian leader/figure!  I am especially happy our republican president is a part of this ceremony.  Yes, there are political reasons – President Bush spoke earlier today and, while I didn’t hear his speech, I did catch him saying something about improving relationships with China and I am hoping he will follow the Dalai’s lead in his message of ‘Prosperity and Peace’ (perhaps diplomacy?) and not up the ante with a threat to go to war.

Again, what I really liked upon hearing about this event, is the honoring of a spiritual leader other than a Christian one.  Christianity is a major faith on the planet and, in America, but it is by far the only one.  There are hundreds of faiths.  In honoring the Dalai in this way, American leaders show their respect for having diverse faiths work together and find their commonalities (instead of their differences), which is the usual order of the day.

I am glad to see American leaders openly associate themselves with the Dalai.  We need this in America.  I’m sure this award rankles some Christian fundamentalist leaders.  Too bad!  We are a nation founded upon religious pluralism and individual freedom and privacy to practice our spiritual faith as each of us desires.

Here are some of the compelling values/principles the Dalai mentioned in his talk that I think bear repeating…

• non-violence
• inter-religious understanding
• spiritual freedom
• liberty
• truth
• justice
• costs of democracy
• respect for human rights

Wahoo!  Here’s a victory for humanity today!  A bright light indeed…Does anyone know if Richard Gere was there!?!

For those of you who wonder where the Dalai Lama stands on the issue of homosexuality, he is affirmative!  He’s spoken openly about his support of the human rights of GLBT’s for years and has often met with the GLBT community.  He is particularly concerned about violence perpetrated against GLBT’s due to people’s prejudices and misunderstanding.

I don’t usually rant on this blog.  I usually strive to keep it positive.  I’ve created blogs in the past that got into endless rants and criticisms, so I guess I am digressing here, but I just wanted to share with readers something I’ve thought about here and there for awhile that I just needed to comment on.  I’m sure some of you will be nodding your head ‘yes’ furiously as you read this post!

So, here goes…

Why is it that my human rights are subject to endless public and/or political debate?  Why are my rights ‘up for grabs’ or ‘needing to be negotiated’ rather than ‘inalienable’ or ‘assured’?  After all, straight folks don’t have to go through all this crap.  Why in the world does someone outside myself have power over my PRIVATE thoughts, feelings and decisions when it comes to who I love, and how I express my love towards that person?  Why is it that no one seems to care about the many ‘costs’ associated with denying me my private right as a citizen of the United States to create the love life I desire?

If you are straight, just imagine for a moment, what it would be like to live in a world where people discuss your right to be, to love who you want, to work where you want and be your self, etc.  Even worse, imagine a world where people dictate to me who I can love and prevent me from openly doing so?  Can you imagine what it would be like to fear walking down the street holding your spouse’s hand because you know if you did you might be mocked, beaten up or even killed???  Welcome to my reality and the reality of all GLBT Americans.

If you are straight, imagine what it is like to have to lie about who you are, when you profess to be a truthteller?

Welcome to my world!

Now, some of you might be saying: well, we get to tell you who you are and how you can live your life because sexual orientation is chosen, unlike other minority statuses such as gender, ethnicity, age, etc.

I beg to differ.  We really DON’T know, FOR SURE if sexual orientation is something people choose or, have control over.  Even if studies show that sexual orientation, to some degree, is the result of environment, that still doesn’t prove that a person has control over their sexual feelings and/or who they fall in love with/are attracted to.

There are many studies coming out (and being done) right now that seem to indicate that a person’s sexual orientation is a very complex part of who someone is.  Thankfully, I doubt we’ll ever be able to absolutely control for sexual orientation.  Thank the goddess or god and goddess or gods and goddesses for that!!! 

We humans may be smart but thankfully we’re not THAT smart!

Studies are showing some very strong evidence that sexual orientation is largely NOT CONSCIOUSLY CHOSEN.  Many credible studies are showing strong PRE-NATAL influences, meaning, if anything, we need to blame mom (or the parents)!!!  Just kidding…

Why is it that people get their panties in a wad about that reality? 

And, if you believe in a literal translation of some religious text, just know that not everyone does so and, we live in a country that separates religious belief and practices from individual civil rights (and it should separate religious beliefs from the rights of two individuals who love each other to form a bond that protects them from the vicissitudes of life). 

Also – we could get into a great discussion some day on the ‘infallibility’ of your religious text.  But, regardless, I respect your right to practice your spirituality as you wish.  But that doesn’t give you the civil right to deny me my equal rights because of your religious beliefs.

There are lots of christians who believe gayness is a natural and normal variation on the human race.  If you are someone who used to believe all gays were sick or going to hell and you’ve changed your opinion on that, I’d love to hear from you.

We need to continue the dialogue, overcome lack of information, etc. and share with the world how you can come to believe that it’s okay to be gay and that the biggest tragedy is in denying gay people their right to pursue happiness as everyone else.

I’d love to hear from you if you’ve come to understand…