My Migraine Battle: On The Forefront

Self-righteous Hypocrites

Ok, so today's blog isn't about pain or migraines. I just want to bitch about something that really sticks in my craw.

I have a couple of friendswho are either vegetarian or vegan. They are so obnoxious sometimes. I mean, if you don't want to eat meat or animal products fine, that's your business, but don't try to force your opinions on me! It is so annoying to go to lunch with them, because they sit there and critisize my choices or make faces. If I talk about eating, say, salmon, like, "I had the best salmon dinner last night. It was so good." They get all weirded out and go into their whole speech tangent about why they don't believe in eating animals, and they're animal rights activists, blah, blah, blah. Do I really have to hear this EVERY SINGLE TIME? I'm about to drop them as friends, because it's just so obnoxious!

Which brings me to another and different subject. I was at my mom's house yesterday for my daughter's b-day party and EVERYONE from my family was there. It was SOOO much fun! Now, everyone in my family is Christian and conservative, and most of them are more conservative than me. Anyway, my mom loves to watch the Ellen DeGeneres show, as do I. So, she brought up the subject of Ellen somehow (I think she does it just to bug everyone, tee-hee, good for her). And, man! The conversation that followed was absolutely heated.

I mean, there were sentences tossed around like, "I can't stand her! She's nasty!" Why? Because she's gay. What she does is a sin! She's such a sinner (aren't we all?). I hope she gets converted (as if they can CHOOSE their sexuality). Etc. You can imagine.

So, I'm sitting there and I said, "Well I LOVE Ellen. I think she's great!" And one of my sis-in-laws, standing next to me, says, "How can you say that?" And I say, "Because I do! I think she's a generous, sweet, thoughtful person, not to mention the funniest person on the planet. And I love it that she has always had such a clean act. She never gets into profanity or disgusting subjects in her act." To which she said, "How can you say she's clean? She's totally dirty and her act is disgusting!" I said, "Have you even SEEN her act? Have you ever watched her program?" Of course, she never had and said she never would want to.

My brothers were saying how it's a sin, it's a demon, and she needs to get "saved" so she can be converted to heterosexuality, blah, blah, blah.

For one thing, no one can say whether someone knows Jesus or what their personal relationship is with God, so I never assume that someone is or isn't. Secondly, what bothered me the very most about the discussion is that there was so much venom in everyone's attitudes and to me that doesn't seem like a very Christian attitude.
Thirdly, the idea that you wouldn't even like someone just because of their sexual preference or any other superficial reason like skin color, haircut, where they have what pierced, etc. smacks of prejudice so profoundly that it makes me sick to my stomach. It's one thing if you don't like someone because they're mean to you personally, or they terrorize others (ie Hitler, Stalin, Bin Laden, Hussein, etc.), or because they're a serial killer or rapist, etc. But, to just make up your mind that you don't like someone just because they don't share your particular religious or political beliefs, as well as the other traits that I mentioned, is assinine!

I have questions about the gay lifestyle that I still haven't answered for myself, but I don't go around hating gays because I don't "approve" of their lifestyle (which is not true in my case. I really could care less what people do in their own homes, etc.). I find that offensive and pretty self-righteous.

Let's just take the premise that it's a sin. Is it any bigger sin than any of the ones that we commit all the time: lying, cursing, hurting someone's feelings on purpose, committing adultery, not honoring out parents, etc. Why is it that it's a worse sin, because someone's gay? I really don't get the attitudes.

Here's another thought to chew on: The bible actually says that God made Eunuchs. What do people think a Eunuch is? I mean, some became that way because they were enslaved in those days, but most of them were that way because God made them that way. Here is one of the great mysteries of the bible, to me, that I can't explain and this is why I am not opinionated about them. Because then the bible has other passages that say it's an abomination for a gay to act out on their instincts. Why would God create someone a certain way and then expect them to deny completely what comes naturally to them. It doesn't make any sense to me. I'm not saying that the Bible isn't true, because for a Christian, it is the Source of Truth and Wisdom. I'm just saying that I don't get it.

Anyway, I digress. I just basically want to say that if you have an opinion on something, I don't see anything wrong with speaking your mind about it. I do see something wrong in critisizing others opinions though. It's childish, like you have to have your own way and no one elses opinions matter as much as yours. That if someone's opinion is different than your own, they're obviously wrong.

I feel like our country is becoming a nation of self-righteous punks, beginning with Hollywood on down to us "commoners". And I'm getting kind of sick of the intolerance. It seems like everyone preaches tolerance, but hypocritically, no one actually DOES it. We are quick to judge, say the first thing that pops into our heads, and lazilly, don't spend any time actually thinking about the subjects that come up. It's a sad statement on our society that shows that we haven't come as far as politicians would like us to believe since the days of the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to get us to understand the concept of not judging someone on a superficial plane, but to judge a man's character. If the person's character sucks, then you just avoid him. But, if they have a good and kind character, then that's a person worth exploring a relationship with.

So, next time you want to give me your opinion, I expect you to return the courtesy of listening to my opinion, just like I listen to yours. And if we don't agree, and can't persuade each other through a kind debate, then we just agree to disagree and change the subject. Agreed? Let's not be such hypocrites or so self-righteous.

Whew! Felt good to get all of that off my chest! Ok, I'm climbing down off my soap box now.

posted by Jessica @ 4:33 PM