Freedom

U.S. Rep. Steve King’s brand of “freedom” and “liberty” expand the already wide cultural and political divide further.

Yes, same-sex couples are welcomed members of the flock.

[Open thread] How are celebrating this Independence Day? BBQs with family and friends? Block parties and fireworks? Planning your next revolution? Share in the comments.

Whatever one’s religion, it is but a thought, a belief, and should never be imposed on anyone else. That’s why we have separation of church and state. Believe what you want, but don’t establish what you believe as a means to enslave others to your belief. To do so is to impinge on the human rights of others to live in freedom. The freedom to love those who consent to love us and express that love sexually, is not a belief, it is a universal right…

We are in the midst of a slow motion variation of an assassination. You may well be fooled into thinking that it is aimed at stopping the re-election of the President, but it is actually aimed directly at the hearts and minds of “we, the people.” Would-be despots and tyrants, masquerading as bureaucrats under the guise of think tanks, have been busily organizing the dishevelment of society in order to maintain and increase the profits of the privileged, their positions of power, and the power of those positions…

You can hold all the traditional values you want, but nothing will make those values rational, sane or relevant to reality, if they have been born of superstition. Sadly, in the eyes of the religious conformists, it seems that rational values are non-traditional. The upsurge in violence and intimidation against LGBTQ people and other minorities is not just physical, it is soul destroying.

The promise, the vision, the dream of America cannot survive under the conservative and Republican efforts to make the future resemble what they think the past was, and neither can the rest of the human race. We are a global community now, even if we do have diverse cultural values, and we will all survive or suffer together.

Realizing that affinity for life is what love is all about, is more than a thought, it is an observation of each individual’s life and ultimately their legacy; a legacy of participation in life that never stops evolving.