Welcome.
Come on in and take a seat. Please, I ask that you leave your armor
and your weapons at the door; you don't need those. I've invited all
of you here because I'm noticing a change, as I'm sure you have as
well. We have always been a network of strong-willed, opinionated
people, haven't we? There has always been diversity in beliefs, and
there always will be, but have you noticed the turbulence that comes
with this discussion? Have you paused to listen, before you
typed your heated response? If you just take a second, you can hear
it below. That muted, distant cracking as the unity of this great
country begins to crumble.
You are
here because you are either Christian, or you are not. Because you
are either for same sex marriage, or opposed.
Before
we draw those lines and stamp these labels, I want to tell you a
little bit about myself.
My name
is Shannon Suitter, but I prefer to go by my middle name, Storm. No,
my parents weren't hippies. They just wanted to be sure I'd have an
awesome name if ever I acquired super powers or was recruited by the
CIA. They gave me the name Shannon to fall back on, if I ever wished
to retire early with dozens of cats.
I'm 21
years old. I have been married, divorced, and have experienced the
joys of raising a child. I cry like a baby in Pixar movies. I am Team
Jacob. I pretend to go to the bathroom just so I can get some time
alone. I die a little inside any time I have to wake up early. I am
terrified of spiders. Getting myself to the gym is like trying to
staple water to a tree. I'm very close with my family and I adore my
friends. I doubt my capability to be the best mother possible. I
fear for my daughter in this world of bullying, kidnappings, and
shootings. I'm a human being. I have dreams and goals. I have
emotions. I feel pain and sadness and love and guilt and regret and
happiness. I am
not better than you. I am not worth more than you are. I know that
all of you can relate to at least a few qualities that I shared and
I'm sure that if you listed off yours, we might find that we have a
few things in common. You and I are not different; we think
differently.
I am
adamantly against abortion. I did not vote for Obama. I do not agree
with this country's welfare system. I believe in God. I believe that
marriage, sexual acts, and relationships were intended for a man and
woman to share, if not by the word of God, then by the natural and
unspoken law of reproduction. I am a human being. I have dreams and
goals and emotions. I am not better than you because of my opinions,
nor are you better than me for your beliefs. You and I are not
different; we think differently.
To be
quite honest, I don't care about this new change. I am not against
the legalization of, nor do I condone it. I am impartial, though so
many of you disagree with that stance alone. I am impartial because I
know that if I allow myself to be swept away in the ever changing
arguments of society, I will lose track of myself and what matters
most to me. Yes, I believe the bond between a man and a woman
is the natural law of reproduction and the way God intended partners
to be, but I am not against those that believe otherwise. It is
not my place to tell you that you are wrong. It is not your title to
declare who is right. In this lack of authority, you and I are still
no different. We think differently. Wouldn't you agree?
So then
where does all of the animosity stem from? Why does the discussion of
same sex marriage and the opinions on the matter cause such riotous
behavior?
Personally,
I believe we are lacking a mutual understanding.
Over
this past week, I have witnessed comments of hatred, posts of
accusations, and streams of insults. As an impartial third party, I
have watched most of this chaos unfold from two sources: the LGBT
advocates, and the Christians. Of course, there are others that don't
fall into these prime categories, but we're not talking about them.
Like these people, for example.
I'm not sure where these awful people are located, as
I'm surrounded by religion and I've never seen any. I'm assuming they
live under bridges or out in the wilderness, but they are entirely
irrelevant because they are all but fictitious on the social media
battleground that I am discussing, and in the eyes of the Christian
community, those individuals are lost. They are passing judgment,
they are speaking for God without the authority to do so, and they
are spreading hatred. Please put those nut jobs in their own
category. If you come across a “Christian” who detests the LGBT
community and declares such through protest and rage . . . well,
they're not really Christian, now are they? They are monsters.
Before we continue, I need you to separate those sick people from the Christians that you see every day. From the Christians you are friends with, on and offline. If you remove this wicked stereotype from your head, then I can assure you that you will find many more loving and tolerable Christians than you thought possible.
To the LGBT advocates,
I think the most prevalent issue is that of the
Christians' response to the long-awaited legalization of same sex
marriage. Why can't they be happy for the LGBT community? Why can't
they accept the fact that two men can be madly in love with one
another? Why can't they be supportive of a universal truth such as
love? Those are all good questions, and I hope you'll open
your heart and your mind to understand their good and just answers.
The Christians believe their religious text – like the
Bible – to be truth. Because a single soul has yet to debunk
the Bible OR prove its validity with concrete facts, it is impossible
for one to argue that the bible is not truth, or even that it
is. The Christians believe the scriptures to be the true word of God,
and they base that belief on faith. Their faith is firm, their
testimonies are strong, and they have studied the works that they
believe in. These words of God clearly state, time and time again,
that marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. You can't
deny that. Those words are in the scriptures. In the eyes of those
who follow God's word, this is a fact, this is truth, and it has been
declared so blatantly obvious, that they refuse to ignore it. They
will not praise and delight in a decision that defies the very words
of their God. Why should they? Tell me why a mass religion should
toss their rule book out the window to cater to the needs of the
world around them. I want that answer. I want to hear how one can
justify that request.
Is it because they need to be accepting of all?
Because they need to “love their neighbors, no matter their
decisions, because we are all God's children.”
That is an awfully righteous statement coming from those
who do not accept one Christian belief. Practice what you preach,
because it's very good advice. Accept all types of people from all
walks of life. Accept those who's beliefs do not mesh with yours.
Love your neighbor, because the two of you are not different; you
think differently. And that's okay. That is the beauty of
diversity. Believe me when I tell you that the majority of Christians
do not hate gays. They do not detest the LGBT community, nor
do they think less of its supporters. They simply do not agree with
an action against the words of their God. Are you scoffing? Try this:
Set down your weapons of defense the next time you
scroll through your social media, and focus on those religious posts
that are filling your feed. Pay close attention. Are those Christians
posting slurs of insults to the LGBT community? Are they telling the
gays that they are going to Hell for their sins? Are they lashing out
with words of hate or anger?
Or are their posts remorseful? Do they seem saddened by
this change? Do they seem scared or concerned? It's because they are.
While some may have difficulty expressing those feelings accurately,
this is what they're feeling. One nation under God, is ignoring God's
laws. Of course they're going to tweet about it. Of course they'll
post those feelings on Facebook. They ARE sad. Because they believe
the scriptures to be the truth. They believe you and everyone else to
be their sisters and brothers, and they're upset that their sisters
and brothers are not living by the unmistakable word of their Father.
You can understand that, can't you?
Do you still disagree with the Christian's opinion on
this matter? That's completely fine! But do you understand why
they feel the way that they do? Can you slip into their shoes and
accept their belief in the words of their God?
Or do you think I'm blowing smoke up your butt? Do you
still think that the Christian's are absolutely wrong to believe what
they do? That they are terrible for not welcoming the LBGT community
into their homes of worship with open arms? Do you still find them
selfish, intolerant, closed-minded, terrible people who aren't
accepting of this new kind of love? That's fine as well, because this
type of thinking is to be expected. It's why the word, BIGOT exists.
For people like you.
By definition, a bigot is a person who is utterly
intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion. Yes, you
could argue that the Christians are the real bigots here, but there
is a massive difference between a differing opinion and utter
intolerance. There are individual bigots within religion, just as
there are outside of it.
Quit being so defensive. Relax. Don't label someone
based on what religion they do or do not stand with; label them as
individuals who may think differently than you.
To the Christians,
I believe the second concern would be the reaction to
opinions posted by the Christians. Everyone else gets to plaster
social media with their opinions, why can't you, as a Christian,
share yours without being bombarded by hate and protest? Why does
everyone else get the freedom of speech, but you are persecuted for
yours? It doesn't seem fair, does it?
I'm sure you can understand that you are preaching
against a popular concept of freedom and love. It's no surprise that
for a nation recovering from so much racism and bullying, the youth
of this country feel the unparalleled need to accept all types of
people, to love the underdogs, and to welcome new cultures and ideas.
When they see an unpopular opinion that differs from the norm, they
will dutifully stand by it. We can't help it; we were raised this
way. This behavior goes back to the very first story of that shy,
weird kid at school that had no friends. We were instructed to reach
out to that person, to befriend them, to stick up for them against
the bullies.
The lesson has stuck with us, and Christians seem to be
the only bullies against this underdog that is different from all the
other kids at school.
When the announcement was made, those who supported the
LGBT were elated. A celebration ensued! In their minds, they had been
fighting a long, difficult war, and they had finally claimed victory.
They felt pride in knowing that this country had overcome the bullies
and accepted that shy, weird kid at school. They did it! And they
were happy!
Then the Christians posts appeared. Among a grand
celebration, the opposing party muffled the cries of joy with bleak
negativity. Honestly, I think it ruined the moment for them, and
what's worse, you were openly offending an idea.
This generation is so quick to anger, so defensive,
because we tread carefully over the sharp remnants of suicides,
bullying, hazing, and racism. We whisper cautiously amongst one
another, giving praise and encouragement to those brave souls
that dare to be different, because we have seen the devastating
outcomes that transpire when we do not cater to every tiny plea for
attention and acceptance.
You feel threatened and offended that there are suddenly
so many standing against you, but you fail to understand that this is
how the other side has been programmed since elementary school.
Unfortunately, religion is no underdog. For those who don't affiliate
or contribute to Christianity, your religion is a type of authority
figure. You tell them what they can and can't do. You set rules,
bedtimes, and punishments. You're not accepting of the behavior in
this world that is fun to partake of. As an organization that
does not condone alcohol, drugs, tobacco, sex before marriage, booty
shorts, tattoos, piercings, and anything else that is cool and
dangerous, I'm afraid you're not exactly on the list for upcoming
trends.
And your judgments are not helping your case. I don't
personally know any Christians that are seeking arguments and
spreading hate, but if you're one of them and you're reading this,
understand that YOU are bringing persecution upon your people. If you
claim to be Christian and you are looking for same sex
marriage/equality posts to comment on, to plaster with scripture
quotes and belittling advice, just do everyone a favor and stay
offline for a while. You might mean well, but you're just stirring
the pot. I'm afraid your attempts to convince are in vain, and
honestly, that Instagram photo or Facebook post is not the time or
the place for unwanted missionary work.
Your counterproductive preaching is beside the point,
however, because I'm positive I could lay down scriptures on your
lack of authority to judge until my fingers have fallen off and your
eyes have dried out. You do not decide. You do not judge. Just as God
has declared that marriage is sacred between a man and a woman, he
has also declared that he without sin may cast the first stone. Focus on yourself. Concentrate on the spiritual strength of you and your loved ones, and you should have nothing to fear, for you will find exaltation, will you not?
Listen warriors,
You've all put up a great fight, but you have a responsibility as a community of outspoken, strong-willed networkers to ease the tension and bridge the gaps. To promote peace instead of controversy. To be understanding and accepting of all. The internet has become incredibly powerful and influential. Let's use it to our advantage.
It's easy to get swept up in the chaos, especially when
defending a cause that you feel so strongly about, but we need to
remember that opinions vary, and that's okay. Beliefs will differ.
Whether you wield a rainbow flag or a Bible, you are a human being.
Those standing on the opposing side are human beings. They are not
evil, they are not hateful, and they are not to be hated. Just like
them, we have dreams and goals and emotions. We love our family and
our children and we are all . . .
Team Jacob (Yes, you are!)
Neither of you are better than the other because of what
you believe. Those whose opinions
differ from yours are not
your enemy. We are all people, in the same country, on the same
planet. We are not different; we simply think
differently.
Wouldn't you agree?
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