Getting Married
Well, I’ve been engaged now since Christmas Day and we’re starting to get a bit heavier into the planning for our Summer 2011 wedding. And all of this planning has got me thinking, which is of course, dangerous. I’m excited about getting married and making that commitment to the woman I love. Yet, there is a certain degree of guilt alongside that excitement. Maybe guilt isn’t quite the right word, but here goes my attempt at an explanation… Why do I deserve to get married to the woman I love, while so many people in this country (and world) are not able to marry the person they love simply because they are of the same sex? Am I more deserving of marriage? Does my heterosexual relationship really hold more validity? Is it more significant? I am entirely certain that the answer to those last three questions is no. And here is the thing; the only people who should be able to decide if homosexual marriage is legal are those who claim that identity. I’ve come to that conclusion. Why? Because they are the people who are affected by such a law. What right does a heterosexual person have to judge or say that a homosexual relationship is not as valid of a relationship? Absolutely none. Am I taking this too far? Maybe. But the more I think about this issue, the more it upsets me. That our country and many of our religions will not equally recognize the love between two people who are homosexual, is a gross violation of human dignity. It is a violation of their rights and it undermines the entire institution of marriage. I can speak for some denominations of Christianity at least (Catholicism in particular), and say that the Church’s stance on gay marriage is an affront to the person whom the Church claims to follow. Jesus’ love has no limits, no exclusions, no boundaries. That is the Jesus whom I follow. Though I am quite upset to call myself Catholic while my Church ignores the inclusivity that Jesus preached, and though I am distraught to call myself an American while much of my country ignores its promise of equality, my feelings are diminutive when compared to the feelings of homosexual people. I can only imagine their struggle and their pain. I can and will advocate for their cause. But they own this cause and, when it comes down to it, it is only their voices that should hold any weight on the...
A Walk of Solidarity
Yesterday I participated in the walk for hunger for the 2nd year in a row. Truth be told, last year I only made it 10.5 miles. This year I’m proud to say that I walked the whole 20 miles. After about the 10 mile mark, with every mile that I passed, I felt as though my body aged another decade. And so I creeped over the finish line and proceeded to slip into a coma last night. But I finished! And in all seriousness, I hold this walk as a really important act. It is important not only for the money it raises each year–money that translates into meals for thousands of hungry Massachusetts’ families–it is important also for the position of solidarity that it places us in. We walk together, we stand together, for those who go hungry every day. Because the simple fact is: hunger is wrong. Yes, I may complain of the blisters on my feet, what feel like senior citizen pains in my legs, and my general soreness from the walk; but I know nothing of the pain of hunger. I know nothing of the pain of not being able to feed myself or the pain of not being able to feed my children. The fact that I have plenty of food to eat, places me in a position of privilege. And so this walk is a small act of solidarity. We live in a country and in a world of plenty. And yet, so many starve each year. That is an injustice. And I think it is an important one for those of us who do not go hungry, to acknowledge. That is what really makes this act, of walking together, so significant to me. I think it’s easy for us to forget the privileges we have in life; the ability to go to the grocery store and buy pretty much whatever I want, the ability to pay a staff of people to cook and serve me at a restaurant, the clean water we (usually) have on demand on tap, and always have access to in a bottle. It’s so easy to take these things for granted – I know I fall into that trap. It’s easy to say, “well I can’t afford to go to that restaurant though”, “I can’t afford to shop at that store though”, “I can’t afford to buy that though.” Just fill in the blank. I feel like the more I have, the more I want. Breaking that cycle – opening ourselves up to that level of awareness, can be tough. Fact is, if you are reading this on...
Speech from the Nonviolence March and Peace Rally @ Curry College
Had a great night tonight at a Nonviolence March/Peace Rally. I don’t typically post my speeches, mostly because they are written to be spoken and not typically formatted very well for reading. However, this is a topic that I am growing more and more passionate about and, well, I can’t pass up the chance to share! — Peace and violence. In our world today, they seem to be inextricably linked. Peace and violence. This past January I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Rwanda where I have learned and continue to learn a thing or two about both. It is a country that has been totally decimated by violence. In 1994 it is estimated that one million people were killed in just 100 days – one of the most intense genocides in history. I recall, the moment I stood outside of the Murambi Genocide Memorial in Rwanda. As I stood at the entrance looking all around – the scene was remarkable. Panoramic hills all around me – the most incredible landscape I’d ever seen. It was to be the site of a new school, under construction in 1994, when 50,000 people took shelter during the genocide. One of my Rwandan friends explained to me that the killers released nearby prisoners and together they brutally killed all fifty thousand people. In the very spot where I now stood. And as we walked in to building after building, we saw their bodies –their faces staring back at us, preserved in time. Hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds. Hands clenched in prayer, small children, pregnant mothers. All of them slaughtered. And at that moment, I remember not being able to feel anything. I was totally overwhelmed. All I could think is – how did this happen? How are people capable of this kind of terror? But I had to stop myself. Because it’s so easy to separate ourselves from that. So easy to point a finger and call those people evil. It’s much harder to look at our own actions. How we ignored these deaths in 1994. How we allowed genocide to occur—even after the world said never again. It’s hard to take an honest look at how we, today, can justify killing thousands of people based on some notion of “greater good”. History has shown that we’ve been able to look through that same lens that allowed the killing in Rwanda to occur. We are able to look through a lens that views other people as having less worth than our selves. We are able to justify time and time again, war for the sake of peace. War for...
Focusing on Photography
Just over a week ago I added a new member to my family. A new baby. She sees the world in a beautiful light. I bought a new camera! There has been a movement in the film industry – especially among us independent filmmakers – towards using dSLR cameras for capturing video. Finally, digital SLR cameras are able to not only capture beautiful stills, but also high-definition 24 frame motion. It’s a pretty awesome thing actually. With a dSLR camera you get the film look of motion picture cameras, but the benefits of digital (price included). The results are spectacular. I’m still learning the best workflow for this high definition footage. But in the mean time I thought I’d share some of the still photography I’ve captured with my new baby; the Canon 7D. I’ve been shooting away for these past few days – here are a few of my favs: [nggallery id=2] No editing has been done to these photos. They’ve just been downloaded from the camera and resized. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited with the results so far. And it has been so much fun playing with this camera. I look at art as a means of focusing in on certain elements in our world, shining light on them, and sharing them with others. There is a great framing power in art and creativity. With photography in particular, one specific moment can be framed and frozen in time; existing as an expression of life. And so there is much to capture and much to share. Looking forward to doing more of...
Why I Hate the Health Care Bill…
Here it is; I’m finally admitting it. I’ve been trying to hold it in, even disguise how I really feel. But now I’m coming out, on a public forum (okay in my mind anyway, my blog is a public forum), and I’m laying out the reasons why I hate the health care bill – or at least as many as I can think of at this very moment. No holds barred people, here it is: I hate the health care bill because it takes away our freedom. Our forefathers had a vision, this was not it. Our freedom must be fought for. It takes away the freedom of insurance companies to deny me coverage. It takes away the freedom of insurance companies to put a cap on the dollar amount of coverage they give me. I don’t think insurance companies should have to answer to anyone. And now that they have to, we will all lose. Especially the 32 million people who will now be covered by this bill. They are all losers. But even more important than our freedom, it takes away my freedom. This bill takes away my freedom. What if I don’t want insurance? What if I wanted to pay the tens of thousands of dollars my cancer treatment cost, out of pocket? I earned that money and I can spend it how I please. Oh wait – now I can’t. Thanks Obama. What if I don’t want insurance because I don’t want health care at all? What if I wanted to fight cancer with a regimen of Steven Segeal action flicks or a new banana and peanut diet? Seriously. What then? Would I be fined if I denied that insurance? Would I go to jail? They’d probably give me the death sentence. Seriously…I think that’s in the bill. They can execute you if you don’t accept insurance for 3 years in a row – I’m like 90% sure that’s true. Oh, and if you’re old they can execute you too. That is a fact. Once you hit 65, you’re as good as dead. Death row and death panels. Page 324 of the bill. Or is it page 423? That’s another reason I hate the bill – it’s too many damn pages! What happened to going green?! I think it is page 423 though. Pretty sure. Sorry – tangent. Okay, so another reason I hate this bill: I hate people! Seriously. If I want to help people, I will. But I don’t want to! Population control is a major issue facing our world right now. The more people who get health care, the more likely it...
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