Hi. I'm Martha, and I'm a left-wing, bleeding heart liberal.
And NO, that is not a problem! At least not for me.
So today, I was having lunch with some trail running friends. They are this amazing couple who live in the area where I grew up in Texas. I met them through the trail running community on Facebook when they planned a visit to Boise 2 Christmases ago. We have remained friends on Facebook ever since. We seem to have a lot in common, so I was excited to have lunch with them today.
They are vegan and a bit hippy-ish, so naturally, I suggested Shangri-La Tea House and Restaurant. Yummy food and great vibe!
Unfortunately, for them, I had JUST watched the trailer for the Add The Words Documentary.
Add The Words Movie Trailer
In case you have been living under a log and not reading my blog for the last month, Add The Words in a Human Rights Movement in Boise, Idaho, asking the legislature to add 4 words, "Sexual Orientation" and "Gender Identity" to the Idaho Human Rights Act. (Watch the trailer from the link above.) Anyway, I had just watched the trailer and I was an emotional wreck. And I had just stood vigil a few hours earlier at the Idaho State Capitol for this very thing while elementary school kids were a floor below me singing a song that said "Freedom is coming. My Spirit Knows it." So, ya, I was already in a political frame of mind. For that matter, my mind has pretty much been on this for over a month now. My heart has been in it for a LONG time. It's a touchy subject.
So anyway, sitting with my friends, our original conversation started out rather political. And I know from my correspondence with this couple that we are pretty much politically aligned so it was safe to talk about this stuff. But what I didn't know was that my friend, Brandon, is much like me in that this kind of thing sends his brain spinning into anxiety and emotional break down almost. It affects him in ways that he needs to be careful how much he pays attention to it.
And THAT is when it hit me! I'm a freakin' left-wing, bleeding-heart, liberal. Ya, I have known for a long time that this was the case. But in the last month, I have cried more than my share of tears. I have been angered to outrage. I have been ecstatic and excited. I have felt EVERY EXTREME emotion you can feel and I live that way. I have NOT been feeling anything in between. Everything I have been feeling has been on one extreme or the other. Why? Because I wear my heart on my sleeve. And more importantly, I FEEL the next person's pain and/or joy. I am way too empathetic. Which is why, when you see me in TV clips or videos from vigils, I am more than likely crying!
In the trailer, there is a shot of me walking in line, and I was crying. Just a couple of days ago, we held a candle lit vigil and our Channel 6 news was there and they got a close up shot of me and Omi singing, and I was crying!
I feel for people. I feel for the man on the street asking for money. I feel for the people I see in wrecks as I drive by them. I feel for the child who gets bullied (and I don't actually see it, just hear about it). I cry at freakin' hallmark commercials! It's just who I am. I am a bleeding-heart liberal who will fight for human rights. I believe everyone should be treated with respect and kindness. I believe everyone should share the same rights as their neighbors. I realize that the world isn't fair, but there are some things that we can MAKE fair and human rights is one of them! I do not understand why this is so hard for people to understand.
Then I thought about a young man who is going to be running for Idaho Government. He is running as the very first openly gay Republican in Idaho. That alone is news worthy. Yet, in Idaho right now, it is the Republicans that are blocking us from getting a hearing to add the 4 words to our Idaho Human Rights Act. So this young man is running. And he said he supports "adding the words" but would make religious and government organizations exempt. Part of me is hopeful that this young man is strong enough to be "out" and run for government in a state where Republican almost always = anti-gay. But the other part of me really hurts for this young man. How can he allow discrimination against himself at ANY level and be okay with it? I have said before that people have a right to their religious beliefs (which includes thinking LGBT is a sin) and that no one is trying to change the churches with this bill. We have churches that accept us and we can go there. But to imply that a Christian Book store could refuse service to an LGBT person because of their sexual orientation is completely wrong. So my bleeding-heart kicks in for this young man who at some level thinks its okay to be treated like a second class citizen because of his sexual orientation. My heart breaks for a young man who wants to run for government under the Republican umbrella who has put a lock down on ANY talks regarding the Adding of the Words that would protect him.
So yes, I am a card-carrying, left-wing, bleeding-heart liberal and I am proud! I am glad that I have a heart that aches for others and wants to see this world become a better more accepting place. I am happy doing my part to make this world a better place for our future. If that's wrong, then I don't want to be "Right".
No comments:
Post a Comment