That's What I'm Talkin' 'Bout

"The truth is this (show) takes place in Utah, the truth is these people are some bizarre offshoot of the Mormon Church, and the truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen. There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American and I am one of them. I do not like to see any discrimination codified on any piece of paper, any of the 50 states in America, but here's what happens now. A little bit of light can be shed and people can see who's responsible and that can motivate the next go around of our self correcting constitution and hopefully we can move forward instead of backwards. So lets have faith in not only the American, but Californian constitutional process."
Tom Hanks, exec producer of HBO's Big Love
__________________________
Now, I know it's Tom Hanks, and he's a big old movie star actor guy, but this is what I mean by speaking up about issues.
Some people bought into the fear spread by the Mormon Church during the Prop H8 campaign; they bought into churches being sued if they don't perform gay marriages; homosexuality being taught in schools--NEWSFLASH: You can't 'teach' it, you either are, or you aren't, and you can't catch it either; that marriage has gone unchanged for 5,000 years.
All those old chestnuts that are, in fact, not fact.
It helps to talk about these things, to educate those who think the way the Mormon Church, not to mention the Catholic Church, among others. I remember having the discussion about gay marriage with my parents. They fell into the "Can't you call it something else?" trap.
But, as I explained to them, calling it something else makes it something else; something less than.

Here's how this works:
Are you married?
No, we're Civil Unioned.
Oh.

Another scenario:
My parents have been married ten years.
My parents were Civil Unioned ten years ago, too.
Oh.
See?
Less than.
Different.
Un-American.

Thanks Tom!