Tegan Church

Contemporary Literature
Smith 3º
20 January, 2010
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Throughout our entire existence love has been a huge factor within our lives, and plays a huge role in how
one goes about things. Love has always been defined as a strong feeling of connection, trust, happiness, and
compatibility between two people. However of late, this theory of love has been drastically altered, and has
created great debate in many social, religious, and even political groups. Should love only be allowed between
a man and a woman? What about don't judge a book by its cover, love it for the pages it holds? Are we
unknowingly creating a double standard for ourselves? Perhaps its the fear of the unknown that is frightening,
or perhaps it's the fear of changing the way we live from something we are so familiar with, and have been
familiar with since as far back as we can recall.
Our world has been struggling with trying to find that balance between heterosexual and homosexual for
many years now, however it has been made predominant of late. These days, there are more people who are
comfortable with coming out and being who they want to be, however the fight against that seems to be
growing by the day. Each side has their own fight, and each side can make good points in doing so. If one
were to take a step back though, and view this fight from both sides as a third party, one could see that these
two are so close to each other, however still baring enough distance to complain about the other side.
When it comes to what most people would classify as the traditional lifestyle of being a heterosexual, many
will say that it is a way of life and something they have always seen as 'normal'. Those who are highly religious
believe that marriage and intimate love should occur between a man and a woman, such as that between Adam
and Eve. The bible states in Genesis: 23-24 that "The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of
my flesh; she shall be called “woman,” for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his
father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." They say that God created the
man, then created woman as someone to compliment him. In relation to Genesis 2:18, where stated "it is not
good for the man to be alone", many see this as a key reason to believe that marriage should only be allowed to
take place between a man and a woman. Religious beliefs surround the idea that marriage is something that is a
sacred right of passion, and should be obeyed as such. However it's not just religion that is involved in the
opinion on heterosexuality.
Ever since this country was founded by the pilgrims we all hold so dear to our hearts, marriage has always
been seen in the public eye as something beautiful, something that should be cherished. The media instills on
our mind marriage as a whole, whether it be in movies, music, propaganda posted upon the walls. Media, until
of late, has shown us marriage between a man and a woman, complete with the humble suburban house fit with
the perfect child and the family dog. Yes, there were depictions of same sex marriage, however this was usually
something that was unseen. Along with media though, is society. Society is has one of the major voices in this
debate, and tends to hold the biggest and most commonly seen opinion.
Society as a whole has the greatest impact on the minds of the country, part of the reason being that politics is
a sub category of society. Those who are involved in the political side of things tend to see things from the eyes
of the majority. People involved in politics, such as Governors, House Representatives, members of the Senate,
and even the President himself, try to represent the country as a whole. This issue of heterosexuality vs.
homosexuality is something that directly relates to the argument concerning the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration states "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed,". This translates to say that we the people are allowing the
Government, within reason, to produce the laws and rules in which we as Americans live by as long as the
rights of the people are preserved in doing so. The Government sees that the loudest argument in the country is
very unhappy with the issue of same-sex marriage, so in attempts to 'please the people', the Government is
allowing states as a whole to ratify the laws if they want, however they are holding back on allowing all states
to legally allow it.
The United States government is doing what it feels is best to meet the standards of the people, however state
governments are seeing things from what seems to be a different spectrum. Quite recently, the state legislatures
have been seeing beyond the norm, and have been trying to accommodate for the entire population. States such
as New Hampshire and Massachusetts have started the trend to allow those of the homosexual orientation to
become legally wed, giving them the same rights as heterosexual couples. Now to look at this from a
worldwide standpoint, one can see that countries such as Canada and Belgium have also made this same
decision, and the trend is spreading like wildfire. This information proves that not everyone sees homosexuality
as a poor choice of living, and shows that many do support the decisions of those around them. Why all the
dispute though? What is so different, other than the obvious gender fact, that truly separates homosexuality
from heterosexuality?
Homosexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction or behavior among members of the same sex, according to
wikipedia.org. To put it simply, it is when two people of the same sex share feelings or intimacy with one
another. Once again, homosexuality has been around since the day those Pilgrims came to this land on the
Mayflower, and even before that. The only reason it did not seem so predominant is the fact that society was
much more cookie cutter than it is nowadays. These days people are more comfortable coming out and being
their true selves because believe it or not, society is much more understanding then it used to be. Society has
come to learn, for the most part, that love is truly blind. Love doesn't care about color, race, gender, and even
sexually.
Those who support the fight to approve homosexuality truly see the beneath all the layers, and dig deep past
all the outside barriers to get to the juicy inside. Many people who are homosexual, or support homosexuality,
believe that it shouldn't matter who a person is on the outside, it all comes down to what they have on the
inside. We have all grown up with people jamming the expression 'don't judge a book by its cover' into our
minds, however why the double standard when it comes to sexuality? Many believe that personality is the key
to a true, meaningful, loving relationship, so why not experience someone for that aspect alone? What if
someone were to run a study to see if people of all sexualities, races, and religions could enjoy each other's
company?
Take your classic dating game experience, back from the days when Bob Barker was just starting off on the
Price Is Right. I'm sure everyone can recall the dating game, where three possible dates are asked questions by
someone who will end up choosing one of the three in the end. In this case, the person who is looking for a
relationship cannot see the eligible dates, for they are behind a screen. They can however hear their voice, and
the tone, allowing them to better understand the person. How about we switch the rules up a bit, and prove a
point? Let's take the same concept, however disguise the voices so that they cannot be depicted as male or
female. This would allow someone to pick their favorite eligible single based on the fact of their personality
alone. Many may be surprised that they find themselves attracted to those who have the same interests, whether
they are the same sex or not.
Along with the people of this country fighting for what it believes is right, the media is also starting to
become more accepting of the fact that people are who they are and nothing will change that, so they might as
well accept it now instead of continuing to push the fight on. More and more homosexuality is seen on
television, in the movies, even in literature and within the music industry. All of these different areas are
beginning to see that homosexuality is really nothing to start a war over, and that there are more important
things in the world to worry about, such as the economy and world peace.
What many don't understand though is why homosexuality is considered such a horrific sin by certain
religions, something that only children of the devil and sex addicts are into. What about the people out there
who are polygamist? Or those who are involved in incest? We allow these concepts to obtain so much more
respect than homosexuality, but why? Why is it perfectly normal to just assume that those who are interested in
the same sex are sexual addicts? Straight people can be sexual addicts as well, in case anyone hadn't taken the
time to notice.
Among the political, religious, and social difference between heterosexuality and homosexuality, there are
also natural differences. Those who are of the heterosexual orientation are able to procreate and have kids
naturally, kids they can create together and call their own. However those who are of the homosexual
orientation cannot procreate, and must go about other means to have their own children. These options include
artificial insemination, which can be for both lesbian couples and gay couples, and adoption. However for some
reason, many view those who are homosexual as unfit parents, therefore making the process of adoption very
difficult. Sometimes those who are homosexual are not allowed to adopt children at all, what's fair about that?
What makes someone unfit to be a parent?
If one were to ask someone that question, they would receive a wide variety of answers. Such as a parent
who is verbally or physically abusive, a parent who is involved in drugs or alcohol, or parents who just don't
give a damn about their children. Now how does any of that pertain to just homosexuals? It doesn't, and that's
the bottom line. Homosexuals are people just like any other, and they have the same wants and needs as a
heterosexual. Just because someone chooses to love someone of the same gender, or become attracted to
someone of the same gender, doesn't make them a horrible human being. If that's the case, why are we still so
judgmental?
A really good example of the previous information can be seen in the recent event of the familiar television
show American Idol. One of the final contestants, Adam Lambert, made it throughout the entire season without
letting anyone know his sexual orientation. Once he received runner-up, he soon came out that he was
homosexual. As soon as this news broke, everyone was accusing and changing their minds. Many believe that
the reason he didn't win American Idol was due to the fact that he was gay, and the other half wanted to change
their votes because he came out as gay. What does this mean for us as Americans? We can recognize someone
for their talent, but as soon as some information like this comes out, our whole take on this person changes?
What kind of respect do we have for people?
It all comes down the fact that yes there are differences between homosexuality and heterosexuality, however
they are both about love. When the government says that those who are of the same gender can't get married,
they are denying people the right to love. How is that giving people the rights in which they deserve, such as
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
What it really is, is the fact we as a nation are afraid of change. We are afraid of breaking the mold
we have lived in for so long, and we seem to be doing anything to keep that mold intact. Many wise men have
said though, that change is a good thing. Just like the colonists broke away from the English, just like the
victims of the Holocaust, we are fighting to make a change in which we know is right. Change however takes
time, but the outcome is always something of a true greatness. Who says the fight between homosexuality and
heterosexuality cannot end the same?