degradation

recently, new jersey granted gay couples some of the same rights as heterosexual couples--rights such as sharing health care benefits and being granted longer visitation rights in hospitals. and talk about the "degradation of american values" has, of course, followed suit. in fact, good ol' W travelled to Iowa to condemn Jersey on their verdict. good one...speak big words while hiding behind some of the most conservitive people on the entire planet.

i have nothing against iowa. i have nothing against new jersey. and i hold the institute of marriage with the highest of respect. i believe that God intended a man and woman to be together. the end. but, do not talk to me about the "degradation of american values" and then add homosexuality to the same sentence. let me tell you a little something about the degradation of american values...

in the last month or so brett and i have witnessed some horrendous behaviour in our neighborhood. i watched someone smash the window of my local mechanic shop and proceed to steel items obviously not belonging to him. brett found a kid hiding under our car after hearing his small posse talk about tampering with a trans am parked at that same mechanic. i watched a young man repeatedly whip a woman with his belt as she followed him, screaming, up my street at 2am. she had no pants on, was bare foot, and it was not warm outside. i do not know why she continued to follow him, but i blame "degradation." and finally, brett watched our innocent young neighbor, the cutest little boy you've ever seen, be hit repeatedly by his caretaker through our window last night. i doubt any of these people live in homes with homosexual parents.

homosexuality does not cause the degradation of american values. sin causes the degredation of american values. and we all live under this same category. maybe it's time to start thinking differently about our values. perhaps our values are suffering because too many of us choose to hide behind our comfort zones. we choose to not see the degrade all around us unless its something so big that we can speak out about it, but not actually have to do anything about it.

i'm not saying i'm perfect. i overlook things all of the time. i often open my mouth to speak without putting any action behind my words. but today, i'm taking a little boy to the library to hopefully give him some relief from the degradation of american values.

in the next week we will have the chance to excercise one of our greatest freedoms, a freedom that millions of people around the world do not have--the freedom to vote. i hope all of you make the effort to vote. and i hope you all vote in a way that advances value--true value. please vote for someone who you believe cares about my little neighor, his single mother who has to work long hours to provide for him, and the blue collar guys who work hard down the street at my local mechanic shop. -sn