Ten things you need to know about me:
As a gay rights activist, and a
humanist, I am often told that I am wrong (at best) or destined for
hell (if not worse.) As a vocal person, on Facebook, and through the
occasional blog, I've received my share of messages, some rather
innocuous, some not so much. I'm here to tell you (the people who
tell me these things) why you are incorrect.
These are some “truths that I hold
self evident.” (Please remember, this is only my opinion.)
- As a humanist, (read atheist) I am NOT a person who worships Satan. As a matter of fact, I worship nobody. Nothing. Nada. Nix...you get the idea. I no more believe in Satan than I believe in his arch enemy, God. Both are characters in a book, written a long time ago, and edited in such a way as to give certain people power on earth.
- I can, and do live a good life without God. To me, it does not take the promise of eternal glory, or the threat of eternal damnation to try to improve humanity. I help others, give to those less fortunate, etc, because I want to.
- I am not a “rabid atheist.” I will not spend my time telling you that you are wrong, or trying to “indoctrinate” you to atheism. When you ask me about my lack of belief, and I answer, remember that you asked. If your faith works for you, great. I've been there, done that, and it no longer works for me.
- Just because I no longer believe in God, or religion, does not mean I have no idea about either. Trust me, I've studied the bible extensively, I've studied religion up to my eyeballs, and the only thing these studies left me with is unanswered questions. The “real world” has much better answers for me than religion does.
- I have a great deal of trouble being part of a group that promotes discrimination against people they don't like. If you're going to use your bible to say that someone is wrong, you'd best be living by every single rule in that bible, yourself.
- Not one person is perfect. BUT...(it's a big but) genetically you are almost identical to EVERY person walking on the face of the planet. Every white, black, brown, straight, gay, male, bisexual, transgender, male, female...you get the idea...person out there. Stop focusing on a tiny bit of genetic difference and start thinking about the similarities.
- My family and friends are just that...my family and friends. NOT my (insert label here) family and friends. You may see people of different colour, I see shades of tan. You may see people with different religions, and creeds, I see people with the freedom to express their ideas. You may see people with different sexual identities, I see people. (Having said that, I will admit that a few of my family and friends should come with labels...warning labels! jk)
- People who've known me for a long time say I've changed. I haven't. What happened was that I found myself tucked away in a small dark corner of myself, and I set myself free. It was probably the hardest thing I ever did in my life, but I came to not only like me, but to love me. All of me, the “good” parts and the “bad.” I came to the realization that I'm only human, I make mistakes, and that's okay. I also found that I have a voice. With the help of a few very dear friends, I have learned how to use my voice. And now I won't be silenced.
- I will “walk the fires of hell” for people that are important to me. Cross one of these people, and you deal with me, and that's a dragon you don't want to wake.
- As a human, I'm free to do what I want with my life. If you don't approve, please keep it to yourself. Having said that, rest assured that I will not do anything to knowingly harm another. Again, my morals play a huge role in my life.
I'm just a person who's trying to make
the world a better place for those who follow. As a parent, and
grandparent, that's important to me. Teaching love, respect, and
acceptance is one of the things that every parent needs to do. If
that is disturbing to you, please feel free to ignore me. I'll still
sleep well, tonight.
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