Let's start with stating that Macklemore's performance at the Grammys was better than I expected. The mass wedding ceremony was... touching; though it is not my cup of tea, I was glad that someone took a stand for marriage equality in a worldwide broadcast - Queen Latifah: well done. There has been a lot of criticism coming from the religious right, but I fear we have only seen the beginning. A lot of hate has been expressed over this public act of defiance against a broken system of thought; I wish people would learn to mind their own damn business. To those on the religious right, or what I like to call "The Wrong Side of History": Why can't you understand that if same sex couples are allowed to get married, the only thing it will affect is same sex couples getting married? A marriage certificate is merely a symbol of legitimacy that would be shown to all, a symbol of acceptance from a society which had led to the very hatred of those people, not because of a choice, because of a slight deviation in sexual orientation. In his song, Same Love, Mackelmore speaks of understanding, and progress; why can't people who pride themselves in being wise and understanding understand the idea that love can't be wrong? It is the best tool we have to understand each other, whether we are straight, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, whether we have the ability to love more than one person at the same time, or just one, there is no reason to judge each other on this basis, as love strives to not hurt people, and is an expression of respect, understanding, and, of course, affection. There is no war on Christianity, or Christian values; there is a war on bigotry and hate. If you do not agree with someone's love life, keep it to yourself. It's none of your business anyways; no one comes in and tells you that being straight is unnatural, or that you shouldn't have the same rights as homosexuals or anyone else. We are merely stating that everyone should be equal under the law. If you can't understand that, I believe it was Lily Allen who said it best: Fuck you, Fuck you very, very much, your point of view is medieval.
Some people even complained that they are being persecuted, stating that this is similar to the so-called end of days persecution Christians would endure. Let me tell you something - the morons who stated this, who live in the majority, are complaining that they are unable to persecute or torture - oh yea, some parts of the commonly used gay conversion therapy use psychological torture as well as electroshock therapy in some cases (Source). Those people swear up and down that they do this out of love. This is anything but; love is caring, attempting to prevent harm from coming to those on the receiving end. Some relatively influential preachers, and indoctrination camp president Michael Brown, even speak in favor of such harmful treatments (Source). But in countless interviews they tell you they do it out of love. This is absolute emotional masturbation, and obvious hiding of the true motives of the religious fanatics pleading for special rights, as well as working to control the political process by intimidating those in power out of their dwindling power base. What they don't know though, is that their own audience is leaving them, tolerance is prevailing, just as it did during the civil rights movement. The same bigots who claim that Martin Luther King Jr. would've been on their side, the same egotistical maniacs who spit on the grave of Nelson Mandela, those are the people who claim to be on the side of love. No, friends, they are on the side of hatred, they are on the wrong side of history. Progress can't be stopped, it can be slowed down some, but it will rise, and, as it stands, us progressives are gaining momentum. We have science and reason on our side, not the remnants of a dying archaic belief system which belongs in the history books. They liken our scientists to the leaders who imprisoned Galileo, not realizing the irony of such a statement. They tell us that we are fighting against society as a whole, and, at some point in time, they were right, but societies change, and we have succeeded at making it better. We will fight society at every turn if we need to, not only for tolerance, but for acceptance as well. I was once told that it is similar to banging a clay pot and an iron pot together. Well, the reference wasn't wrong, but it is that which we are fighting that is clay, and we are made of iron!
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