Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card, and Gay Rights

Orson Scott Card has been, in the past, very vocal about homosexuality.  In that, he argues that it is wrong and he was a member of the board of NOM.  He did resign in July of this year.  He's said some pretty bad things, but no worse than I have heard from any member of those organizations, be they leadership or a man on the street.

And now, people are boycotting Ender's Game, the movie, because of his politics.  Which is silly, because he didn't even write the movie, but was a producer.  Little more than an honorary one, I'm guessing.  Depending on the how the pay structure was determined, he has either already been paid, which is what a lot of people are boycotting for, or he is waiting to be paid a portion of the profits.  He was certainly already paid for the rights to the movie, which probably netted him several million dollars.


But here's the thing...when the Supreme Court ruled for marriage equality this summer, Card said that it is a moot point and stepped down from NOM.  He said that he is now the in minority and hopes that there is forgiveness.  So, what else is he supposed to do?  Are we to judge him forever on statements that he now says were wrong?  Where is his second chance?  And the worst thing is that the people judging him are those who say that gay marriage is right and to not judge.  Double standard much?

I think he deserves a second chance.  He deserves the right to say that he was wrong.  That he was in the wrong of history and now, he hopes to be forgiven.  Because that is what it is all about.  That is what the fight is for.  It is to change the minds of those who believe that homosexuality is wrong.  And if we don't allow them to change their minds?  What then?  We won't have change.

"God is so Good!" Or not...

A few weeks ago, my husband's cousin(R.) was in a bad ATV accident.  He had to be airlifted to the hospital and a few days were spent not knowing how bad the brain damage was.  It's still not known, because he has some mental health issues, so the amount of memory loss and other factors may never be known.  He also had a lot of fractures.  But he is walking and talking and leaving the hospital today.  And all of my husband's family, who are pretty religious(at least much more religious than my family), are saying things like "God is so Good" or "God's plan is amazing". 

So, if your god is so good, where was he/she/it when R. was on the ATV?  Where was he/she/it when R. crashed?  What kind of god is that?  That allows a young man who already has hardships to have an accident.  He may never be able to live alone now.  This young man may have to live with his parents until they die and then, then he'll have to live with family until he dies.  What kind of god is that?  If god were good, why is he/she/it only good in the aftermath, where was he/she/it in the before?  This is one of my biggest pet peeves about people and their god.  God was not good in the before, but oh, now that R is healing, he is good?  No.  Either he/she/it is here or he/she/it isn't.  And if you believe in God's plan, then why don't you talk about it always, as in: I ate breakfast, God's plan; I went to work, God's plan; my car broke down, God's plan?  Either God has a plan or he/she/it doesn't, but that means that God's plan is about everything, not just big things.  Because a plan doesn't work, unless the small stuff leads to the big stuff.

Here's the thing that really bothers me.  Do they really believe that by praying God will intercede for them, but not for the little girl dying of cancer down the hall?  What kind of good God is that?!?  Not one that I recognize.  Either God is good and intercedes for all, or he/she/it is some kind of jerk and only intercedes for those who pray the most.  That's not what the Bible says. 

I don't believe in any of that.  I believe in a God that is not present, that doesn't intercede, ever.  Because I can't believe in a kind and loving God that lets that little girl die or lets that boy over there live without his dad from age 4.  In order to believe in a kind and loving God, you cannot believe in one that intercedes for some, on the basis of prayer, but not for others.  Because that, that is a God who is vengeful.

Government Shutdown and My Ultra-Conservative Mother-in-Law

I am a liberal.  A bleeding heart liberal.  I believe in socialism.  I believe in government helping people.  That's me.

My mother-in-law is a conservative, possibly a libertarian.  She believes in limited government, but most importantly, she believes in Fox News and Bill O'Reilly.

So, today, she posts an article on Facebook bashing Harry Reid about the shutdown and she says, I hate how everyone is only blaming the Republicans.  As if, the Democrats looked at the bill the Republicans wanted and said, yeah, but see we'll only do this if we can pass the ACA.  But they didn't, they said, yeah, here, we will pass this not exactly great bill as long as the ACA, which was put into law over three years ago and is starting tomorrow(then), is still funded, because we have to fund it as the states are putting it into practice tomorrow.  They didn't hold the government hostage over a loss three years.  The Democrats have not repeatedly tried to repeal the ACA.  42 times.  Costing the American public time and money.  42 times they have tried to repeal the ACA and 42 times it has not been repealed.  So a few weeks ago, with a shutdown looming, they lay down on the floor and threw a tantrum.  A tantrum that has cost the American people hundreds of millions of dollars and it is only going to be more expensive.  This is not the Democrats' fault.  This is the Republicans' fault and to say anything else is to blatantly lie.

Gov't Shutdown

I keep checking CNN and MSNBC, hoping to see: Breaking News-They've Made a Deal.  But it hasn't happened yet...will the Republicans finally pull their heads out of the sand and look at the country they were hired to represent?

Pro-Life Cupcakes???

In my hometown, a group of kids baked cupcakes and handed them out at the high school today.  The cupcakes are to "celebrate" the birthday of all the babies who were aborted and thus, never got a birthday...Yep.  A little tenuous.  Especially if you are trying to convince high school students to be pro-life.

But here's the thing.  Is this even legal?  Can a school allow this?  I don't know.  I know they do things like see you at the pole, where they pray outside the school and that that is fine as long as it not run by any adults who are affiliated with the school, but what about this?  It might depend on the location of the people who gave out cupcakes, but I just don't know.

Here's the biggest problem with it.  It shames people.  It shames women, in particular.  It says, 'you know that really hard choice you had to make about whether or not you could have a child at this point in your life, well, it was a bad choice.'  No cupcakes for you!  It says to young girls, it is better to go through with a pregnancy, even if that pregnancy means that all of your dreams and your happiness and your success(most importantly) are put on hold.  Or never realized.  It says that children are more important than women.  It says that we, women, have no rights in regards to life. 

And perhaps more importantly, pro-life people don't talk about adoption.  They talk about abortion or having a baby.  As if, there are only two choices.

But the biggest problem with pro-life people is their ignorance and their egotistical behavior.  it is ignorant to believe that every woman who becomes pregnant will be a good mother.  It is ignorant to believe that every woman can support an infant, a toddler, a child, a teenager.  It is ignorant to believe that these women have no rights to life and to success.  It is egotistical to believe that all women across the nation have the exact same circumstances as you.  They do not.  Not all women can support a child.  Not all women can endure pregnancy.  Not all women can be pregnant and still have a job.  Stop looking at these women through your lens of life and starting looking through their eyes.  As Atticus Finch says, "Walk a mile in their shoes.[sic]"  Imagine, for one moment, that these women have a leg to stand on in the abortion debate and then, then tell me that you still believe that the only option is to go through with the pregnancy.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As everyone who pays attention to anything is aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Pro football players wear pink, they do tons of stuff with Susan G. Komen, PSAs, etc.  But, here's the problem, and it's a doozy.  In 2009, the latest year for data, over 40,000 women died from breast cancer.  If it is caught in stage 1 or stage 0, there are 100% survival rates.  That is, no one dies from breast cancer that is caught early.  Everyone knows about breast cancer, but where are these cases coming from?  Why are people still dying from breast cancer?  There are two answers: first, some people have fast spreading cancer that grows between yearly mammograms; second, the screening rates for women (the majority of breast cancer, although it does occur in males) are about 70%.  This means that 30% of women who should be getting screened for breast cancer are not.  So, instead of these walks, or research, for this month, all the money should go toward getting women screened.  If you know a woman, ages 50-74, tell her to get screened for breast cancer.  This is what will help end deaths.  This is what will eliminate the need for millions of dollars of research.  If we can catch all early stage breast cancer, think of what that the research money can go toward.  It can help increase the odds of end stage breast cancer survival.  Because, right now, there is too much focus on the middle stages.  Stages that should never have happened, because breast cancer is survivable.  So this month, I pledge to help educate.  I pledge to help spread the message, so that every woman is screened.