Quasi-Political Rant

As a general rule, I try to avoid posting about politics.  Modern politics has devolved into a distractionist, obstructionist, bullshit contest to see who can yell the biggest lie the loudest.  It would be sad if it weren't so frustrating to see what I normally consider intelligent people get sucked into impossible arguments over issues that will never be fully resolved in the first place.  However, with it being an election year, it's simply not possible to avoid the parade of complete lunacy that is modern political discourse.  With that in mind, I will address what appeared to be the biggest news on my social media feeds yesterday:

President Obama, in his desire to add to his growing collection of Presidential firsts, became the first U.S. President to openly support same sex marriage.  Why this is or was news worthy is another rant for another time, but it stirred up a shit storm of both support an opposition.  This announcement came quickly on the (tar) heels of North Carolina formally outlawing such legally recognized unions, because in a shit economy with our servicemen being killed daily in a shit country boys kissing boys is obviously the foremost issue on everyone's mind.

I have no problem with North Carolina's law, because the law was proposed and ratified by a legally elected state legislature, which was elected to act in the interests of their constituents.  Each state is entitled to determine qualifications for state recognized institutions such as marriage.  This is why other states such as Iowa and New York have chosen to formally recognize same-sex marriages, as well.  Marriage has always been an area in which each individual state determines eligibility requirements.  This is important because of the variance in social norms from place to place.  What constitutes acceptable behavior on the streets of New York City may not be acceptable on the dirt roads surrounding Pittsburg, Kansas, so the governing regulations will obviously vary.

In 2004, same-sex marriage became a hot button issue, but on the other side of the coin.  The sitting President at the time, George W. Bush open supported a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as an institution between only a man and woman.  His opponent for the Presidency, John Kerry, also voiced a moral opposition to same sex marriage, as any good Catholic would, but also stated the determination of policy related to the legal institution of marriage should remain with the individual states.  This is important, again, because somehow Kerry's position was distorted into being for same sex marriage, and mobilized the Evangelical base of the GOP.  Regardless of the truth that Bush's position was untenable, given the inherent difficulty of amending the Constitution of the United States, this became a rather large issue as the general election approached.

Much like abortion and capital punishment before it, same sex marriage became the moral issue du jour.  The thing with moral issues, though, is they're unresolvable.  People believe what they believe.  If you believe abortion is immoral based on a religious conviction, no one is going to convince that it isn't immoral.  If you believe homosexuality is immoral because because of a passage in your Bible, then it may as well be set in stone.  However, one of the first things you must realize is that not everyone shares those beliefs, and the essence of freedom and free will is being able to choose what is or isn't right for you and an individual.

What Obama is doing is really no different than what Bush did in 2004.  He's pandering to the base of his party based on a hot-button, moral issue and hoping it will help swing some more voters to his side come November.  Bush proved it could work, so I don't blame him.  However, if you vote for any candidate based completely on their stances on abortion, gay marriage, or capital punishment, you're being manipulated into ignoring other issues that have a much greater impact on your everyday life.  In short, you're letting the political media machine trick you into voting with heart instead of your mind.

Introduction

This is attempt numero dos at me creating a blog.  I created one on a different site way back in 2010, and, after a few short blurbs abandoned it like a bastard child.  I can't promise that this blog will survive where the other one failed, since it's all dependent upon my level of commitment to said blog.  What I can say is that I will try to stay interested in sharing my random observations and high opinion of everything I do with the masses for as long as it doesn't feel tedious or stupid.  I give it five days...

If you're here and reading this, I've likely invited you.  Not because I value your opinion, but that I feed off your praise like a junkie feeds off his addiction.  In this, I don't really feel all that different from everyone else.  Generally, we don't occupy ourselves or our time with people who provide negative feedback.  We crave affirmation to the point that we'll block out the obvious just to feel some level of self esteem.  That term drives me fuckin batty, by the way.  Our preoccupation with how we feel about ourselves, more often than not, keeps us from having any feelings for others beyond how that person makes US feel.  What a vain and silly species we are...