Proposition 8

As we all know as Californians there was a proposition made to try and ban gay marriage in 2008. Proposition 8 also known as the “California Marriage Protection Act”, was a good indication of the beliefs of Californians, because we voted for it. Californians vote that marriage should be between a Man and a Woman, no same sex marriages allowed. The fact that such a radical proposition was supported by Californians was quite a shock to say the least. California is known to be very accepting of other cultures, and other states view us liberal left wing democrats, which is usually the case, or it has been in the past couple of elections. That’s why this proposition was such a shock, because it showed our true colors. I’m not trying to criticize our state, and that that our majority is wrong, but I am baffled as to why we care so much about this particular subject.

            This seems to be a very sensitive issue, and no matter who you talk to they have an opinion about this. I love that people get fired up and have opinion, it keeps our voters aware and involved, that being said I think there are bigger problems within our country and within California, that we don’t need these laws and propositions to distract us. I think if two people love each other then it should be their right as human beings and especially as Americans to get married. It says in our constitution that we as Americans have the right the “Pursuit of Happiness”, and marriage in my eyes is part of that pursuit. Who are we to take that away from people? How in any way would it affect me if two Women or two Men decided to marry each other? It wouldn’t, plain and simple. That’s why I don’t understand why this is such an issue. Banning Gay Marriage is a form of institutional racism; the government is discriminating against a minority group and throughout history when this kind of thing took place it never turned out good. If the government can tell us who we can and can’t marry, what’s next, what other freedoms are they going to control or take away?

            I remember seeing commercials on this very issue trying to sway people one way or another. Think about all the money that went into campaigning for this proposition. People for Proposition 8 would say things like “think about the kids”, “family matters” and “family values”, meaning that if you supported gay marriage you didn’t care about kids, you didn’t care about families, and you had no family values. This is pretty harsh and can certainly sway a person into supporting this proposition. On the contrary people against Proposition 8, would say nasty inhumane things about people who were against gay marriage. My point is that this kind of language set us back rather then taking us forward as a state, and as a Nation. I am against laws that infringe on our rights as Americans, and this proposition did exactly that. I think if we viewed it more as something that would take away a right rather than the actually subject of the proposition; we might have had a different outcome.

Sources: Reliable or Unreliable?

            Every generation seems to have that one outstanding event, where each person can relate, and tell you exactly where they were and exactly what they were doing when said event took place. For my Parents generation the assassination of president Kennedy seems to stand out as that unforgettable moment, for my grandparent, the attack on Pearl Harbor seems to stand out. Well for me, and probably for anyone in my generation, the event that we can all relate to and tell you exactly where we were and exactly what we were doing, as well as where or who we heard the news from, is the attack on the World Trade Centers in New York City. I remember I was talking with my friends at school, and they were all talking about the “explosion” and the “plane” and the “attack”, I was very confused, until class was back in session and our principle got on the loud speaker. She explained what happened and we all had a moment of silence. I will never forget that moment as long as I live, or the expression of worry on everybody’s faces when they found out.

            For me I heard this news first from my peers at school, which were all a bunch of elementary school children. As you can imagine the stories were embellished a little, and usually very flawed, but they still knew what had happened, just not all the facts. Being a young child, I didn’t really understand the magnitude of what had just taken place in our country, in fact it wasn’t until many years later when I realized what exactly had happened to our country, physically and psychologically. I was in my own little world in Palmdale, so I didn’t realize the kind of panic that our country was going through.

            Hearing a million different stories from people, I turned to my parents for enlightenment on the situation, which I think is a normal thing for children. They explained to me the actual events and told me about it then they turned on the news. I remember they kept replaying the collision, over and over, as if they didn’t believe it, and then the building collapsed which was even more difficult to comprehend. I didn’t realize it at the time but now thinking back I realize how vulnerable everybody was on that moment, nobody knew how to react, because how can you plan for something of that magnitude to happen.

            The reason that I believed the News, is because it was actually happening, all the events were taking place and they didn’t leave it up to interpret, it just was exactly what it looked like. There was no room for embellishment, because it was happening in real time. I know now that those children at school were not a good way of obtaining information they were in fact not a credible source. When you are young you are very naive and susceptible to lies. I know now not to believe everything I hear, and before reacting I do research of my own. The way you know something is a credible source, is because it is recognized as a credible source. Major news networks and newspapers have to have facts and not opinions (for the most part) because their reputation is at stake.

We Just Don't Get It

I agree for the most part with what Lakoff says about hat speech, and the people who haven’t had to hear it or be subject to it. Lakoff says that people who haven’t had to deal with hate speech “just don’t get it”. In my opinion I think no matter whom you are, no matter your cultural background, your religion, your gender, heritage, or whatever, I still think you experience hate speech. Granted some hate speech is far worse than others, it is still hate speech. I know for a fact that not many white people realize the significance of the n-word; we know it is wrong to say it but we don’t actually know what it feels like to hear it or be called it. The same goes for everyone, any click or group or class you are not in, you don’t know what it feels like to hear or be called the derogatory terms given to those select groups. This is why I think people can rationalize these terms in their minds, and be able to say them, because they don’t realize the significance of the hate speech that they are giving. If people truly knew then they wouldn’t say these derogatory, demeaning terms and hate speech. I just wish we could live one day in someone else’s shoes, someone of a different race, religion, background etc, and see these things from their perspective and vise versa, I think that would change a lot of hate speech and if nothing else it would give some perspective on what we are actually saying. All that aside I think people have an idea of what they are saying and what it means, just because people “just don’t get it” doesn’t rid them of the responsibilities that come with the kind of hate speech they are using. Just because people who haven’t experienced hate speech don’t have perspective on the actually hate speech doesn’t mean that they don’t know it is wrong. Hate speech deals with morals and character and I think everyone is aware of these lines and not to cross them. It is the responsibility of all of us as human being to know what we are saying, know who is around us, and know that what we are saying might offend someone. It’s funny when people say forms of hate speech in a joke, and because they said it and didn’t actually mean it, then it’s ok. That is a common misconception, because again like Lakoff said we “just don’t get it”. This is the whole ideal that I’m not offended so you shouldn’t be. People are all different and just because someone of a certain group isn’t offended by a certain form of hate speech, doesn’t mean that someone else of the same group will have the same opinion. This is why it is best just to avoid racial and ethnic slurs, because even when joking they can still be very damaging.

Self-Respect or Happiness?

Living in America we strive for happiness, it is even written as one of the fundamental ideas in our nation’s constitution. That alone should give us perspective on the importance of happiness in our country. When our forefathers came here, they wanted to be independent from a monarchial system, so they wanted everyone to live for themselves and give each one of us the chance to find our own happiness. This is very different in other countries, especially nondemocratic ones. Some countries (especially in the Middle East) don’t have these kinds of freedoms and privileges, so they strive for reputation, image and self-respect. I personally think self-respect and happiness go hand in hand; it is hard to be truly happy if you have a poor self image. I know when I feel down on myself, I am not particularly happy, in those times. That being said I think happiness is vital and it needs to be the priority of anyone’s life. When you are happy you don’t just coast through the days, you actually live life everyday to its full potential. For example: if I had a job that made me a ton of money, and in that process I was miserable and all I strived for was a “good job” from my boss and recognition from all the upper-management, that job would certainly give me a strong sense of self respect and worth, but I don’t know if I would be truly happy, or if I would necessarily enjoy it. As opposed to if I had a job that I absolutely loved, that paid me a little bit less, but was a lot more fun and enjoyable for me, I think I would take that any day of the week. That’s why I think parents and teachers always push kids to do what they want, and not what pays the most. I think people can get lost in self-image and self respect; it can become more of a task. When you ask a 3^rd grade class what they want to be when they grow up, I doubt any one of them will say: “I want to be an executive who works one hundred hours a week and makes at least six figures”. I remember when I was younger and all I had to worry about was school and sports, It was so carefree, there was no stress involved I just went day to day thinking of what I was going to do that was fun. Now that I work, go to school, play on upper-level sports teams, I have a lot more people that I have to impress, and a lot more things that I must succeed at in order to get respect from others as well as earn self-respect. I like when people like me, it is comforting to know when you make a good impression on someone, it gives us self-respect and self-worth, but it also makes us happy. So I think the ultimate goal is happiness, self-respect is very important and we must strive for it, but it does not stop at self-respect, it stops at happiness.