What About the Important Stuff?

David and I went to vote today. We never know where we are going to be, so we didn’t want to take the chance that we wouldn’t be in Virginia in order to cast our votes – especially in this election. We selected our candidates. We didn’t vote for George Allen because his commercials are so stupid, that even if we liked him, and he could ever overcome the macaca and Jewish slurs-- we still couldn’t vote for anyone who approved of such expensive and ridiculous public messages. My favorite is the one where he says he has the best record of any Senator in Virginia. I don't remember the issue but it seems that, in the ads, they are all the same. Duh, there are only two Senators in Virginia. Does he think his constituency doesn’t know that, and that the other Senator is Warner, who has reluctantly (how could it be enthusiastically) endorsed him despite the fact that Allen apparently did something better than the senior Senator.

Once we voted for the candidates there were the usual bond issues. Most of these are just another way to increase our taxes. Like building a brige accross Spout Run so ten people wouldn't have to cross an actual street. On those we voted no. One was for public schools and despite our lack of a child in the system we voted yes. We do care about schools, and property values.

We also were asked to select amendments to the Virginia constitution. The two that flashed neon warnings for us were the one forbidding same sex marriage and one that allows churches to incorporate.

It seems to me that same sex marriage is one of those issues about which uptight homophobes just can’t let go. I keep thinking that instead of worrying about people of the same sex, who love one another, and want to swear their allegiance in front of God, the homophobes should worry about smoking and obesity. They are far more dangerous to health of our nation than same sex marriage. Or maybe they could worry about terrorism, which will not end unless we develop a real policy toward terrorist nations. If the homophobes would focus on those three issues and leave loving couples alone, it would do far more good for thee nation. And what if the couples don’t love one another-- which seems to be one concern of the nay sayers. What if they, like those of us who are in two sex marriages, have motives that go beyond love. What if one wants to marry a rich person who can take care of them. Or needs the emotional security of being with someone else and they happen to be gay or a lesbian. Why should anyone care. To tell you the truth, unless we do something about the deficit, the war, the environment, education and health care, it really won’t matter (in the big USA picture) if two people, who happen to be the same sex are not allowed to make a lifetime commitment to one another. ,

It’s more of the same. The same people who make our laws and scream the loudest about the moral fabric of our nation are the same people who are writing obscene notes to young children. You remember when Shakespeare said, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Or perhaps it was something more fitting like, "Asses are made to bear, and so are you. " Never you mind, you get the point. People who have nothing better to do than look inside our bedrooms and our bodies to make a point about morality in a country that is making war on innocent civilians, are just not credible and shouldn’t be running the government.

I read through all the rest of the voting choices and while I was putting the X into the last 2 boxes I flashed to the new RNC ad. The one which suggests that the republicans will fight terrorism and the Democrats can’t. All I envisioned was a response ad, where you would see a stop light with five choices, ranging from red to orange to yellow to blue to green and you would hear someone ask, “I am not feeling safe. I need to be assured nothing terrible will happen. What color is the alert today? “ The ad would end with a simple printed tag line that says, “What more do you need to know?” We’re just sayin...