Randomizer Volume IV series V

Some more random thoughts from a very random mind. This has turned out to be the best way to capture the little unformed thoughts that pass through my grey matter.

• Finding Objectivity- We live in a country that is pretty evenly split down the middle. We have our "reds" and our "blues" and depending on who you ask the other side is, in so many words, going to hell. This is particularly irksome for someone who tries to listen to both viewpoints in search of an objective middle ground. Each side has their army of statisticians, facts, and experts. For example, I am keenly interested to understand the societal impact of "civil unions" in countries like Denmark. It has been a human triumph or failure depending on the viewpoint of the author. It's sad that we live in a time where people write agenda first, facts second. It's hard to be objective I know. If anyone finds any good newspapers, talking heads, or blogs that are above reproach and not pushing an agenda then let me know. I'd like to read them.
• Tucson- We were down there this past weekend so that my little sister could do the Tour of Tucson.
  There is something the is equal parts creepy and intriguing about that city. You go there and you get a feeling that you are in a different time and place. It's like one of those small towns that Mulder and Scully would investigate.
  
• Rivlary Week- Once again BYU didn't show up when the game really, really matters something. We will have to tolerate another Utah team going to the BCS. We will, once again, be stuck with $1.99 shrimp cocktails, slot machines, and the Vegas Bowl. I'm sick of Dick Harmon almost convincing me that this team is BCS bound and a legitimate threat. I congratulate the U on the victory and publicly wish you the best in the upcoming game. But deep down I would get love nothing more then to see you get steamrolled by Texas or USC or Oklahoma. I don't care about the good of the conference, this is a rivalry.
• What the Twillight- So we've got some fantasy tale about a sexually repressed girl who falls in love with a vampire or something. That's great and it comes as no suprise that the "Hannah Montana" preteen girls have come out in droves to make this thing a best seller. But what is baffling and kind of gross is that you've got just as many mothers who have latched on to this underaged harlequin. How would Freud explain this? And better yet is there a male equivalent to this out of place behavior?Trust Michael Stipe when he says not to go back to Rockville.
  

Looking to the past to help chart tommorrow's course

I am a big proponent of dredging the past for guidance and insights to issues and events that are unfolding in the present. You know what they say about history repeating itself. I firmly believe that there are enough moments throughout history that help form useful patterns that allow us to forecast how things will tend to play out.

With the recent events that have unfolded regarding proposition 8 and "gay marriage" I have started to search history in hopes of getting some insight. My church has been labeled as bigoted and hateful because of its support for the ban. This is a very "hot button" and fresh issue right now. This isn't going away and I want to be as informed as possible.

I've started to research the history of this topic with limited results. Despite the fact that outside of recent actions in Europe and Canada there doesn't seem to much of a precedent for formally accepting a gay marriage. Now homosexuality has permeated history and certain societies have had varying levels of tolerance regarding the practice but I have not found any group that ever gave a gay marriage equal standing as a traditional heterosexual marriage. If anyone finds anything different please let me know. If there ever was a society throughout history that allowed this it would be of monumental importance to see how it played out.

One thing that muddies up the water for my thoughts on this matter is the strong correlation that gay rights advocates are drawing between the Civil Rights movement and the quest for equal marriage rights. Does this assertion hold water or is it just exceptionally brilliant marketing? This is one area I would like to better understand. Is the right for a homosexual couple to marry and adopt children on the same fundamental level as the rights afforded to African Americans through the Civil Rights Act of 1964? I guess a lot of this depends on whether you feel that homosexuality is a behavior/trait or whether it is a fundamental part of who you are as a person.

Another area that needs to be considered is children. This is another area that I would like to better understand. Biology 101 teaches that it takes a man and women to form a child. Now I believe that mother nature created this structure for a reason and that children need parental figures in the form of both a mother and a father in order to be optimally raised. If there was one area that I would strongly side with traditional marriage it would be this. At the core, nuclear level a family consists of a child being taught and nurtured by a paternal and maternal influence. I do not believe that a homosexual couple can create those kind of optimal circumstances. Once again I would love to read up on this and get some kind of scientific study or historical precedent to help solidify my thoughts. Right now I'm going off my gut, what I see in nature, and several thousand years of accepted history.

This is an issue that isn't going away. I think it needs to be studied, discussed, and that both sides need to show respect. Accusation of sin, bigotry, and hatred only stand in the way of a meaningful dialogue and, in my opinion, only mask ignorance. As this post illustrates my thoughts on this matter are somewhat scattered and still gelling. Hopefully this helps me organize my thoughts, maybe find some kinship with other people who are likewise organizing their own, and start some kind of meaningful dialogue between two sides that seem worlds apart.


Authors Note: Like many people, particularly Mormons, I have been very interested in how this plays out. This interest is based on several factors including:

• History- I was thinking about the silent white majority during the Civil Rights movement. These were, for the most part, good people who were just victims of their time and almost universally held beliefs. I want to thoughtfully and prayerfully understand this history because I don't want my children to learn about how I was backwards and stood on the wrong side of history.
  
• Accusations of Bigotry- For whatever reason the church has taken the brunt of the backlash on this. I guess we are a much easier and politically friendly target then the droves of African Americans, Catholics, Evangelicals, Hispanics, Muslims, and other god fearing people who came out in droves to support the measure as well. When someone calls my church hateful and bigoted it grabs my attention. Why? Because those accusations don't square with the church that I've attended since a kid. I consistently learned about justice and the ten commandments and such but I also learned about love, forgiveness, and respecting those that don't hold your views or beliefs.
• Faith- I support this measure because I faithfully support my leaders whose guidance I believe is divinely supported. But it is hard to have a rational discussion when faith and God is brought into the mix. This is a very tough issue. I have to admit that a lot of my support is based on my faith in this church and its leadership. So I figure that by studying this out I can have a meaningful dialogue with a person who deals in fact and wants to only talk in a secular forum.
  

San Diego Weekend

Some thoughts from a recent that Jodi and I took to San Diego.

• Little Italy- This charming community often gets overlooked by visitors who are so set on seeing Coronado and the Gas Lamp district. We found that this area had the perfect blend of ambiance and activity and wasn't quite as crowded as the aforementioned attractions. Plus the area is home to some excellent dining. We ate at The Trattoria Fantastica and I was treated to one of my new favorite dishes, the Pollo Valdostana. The dish is cooked in a brandy sauce that gives the dish an exceptional creamy and buttery taste.
  
• Halloween- We spent the evening as observers in the Little Italy district. There was a definite sense of community there that I feel that we miss living in the suburbs. All of the restaurants participated, dressed up, and passed out candy to the myriad kids and parents who paraded up and down the street. We sat in the square and watched as parents interacted with each other and with their kids. A big part of me really wishes that every neighborhood could engender a sense community like we felt there. That will always be one of the big reasons why I have a hard time living in the suburbs; we prefer to burrow into our own homes and abstain from meaningful interaction with neighbors.
• Balboa Park- This is another gem that gets forgotten in the rush to visit Sea World. The parks, museums, restaurants, gardens and architecture make it worth at least a full day. The park is a perfect activity to counter the frenetic pace of many of the San Diego attractions. We spent most of the time casually strolling through gardens, enjoying art, and soaking in the weather.
• Proposition 8- Our visit coincided with the intense climax to the furor created by Prop 8. We saw the debate from both sides. We first observed the response from a more liberal San Diego community. Whether you disagree or not the opposition equated marriage rights for gays with the Civil Rights movement. Later in the week we visited friends and family in Orange County and Temucula. The atmosphere was still very charged but very different. Out in the suburbs the sentiment was very much in favor of the prop. We drove by several large groups, mostly families, who were holding up signs and placards. Jodi's sister-in-law has been very involved in the measure and the amount of effort that she has put into this is staggering. She was fielding phone calls well into the evening and was even mentioned in the LA Times. We passed a similar measure in Arizona but it didn't generate a hundredth of the attention and division that it caused in California. This is a very difficult topic, just ask Steve Young, and I am sure that it will continue to be fought in the months and years to come.
• All in all we agreed that San Diego is one of those perfect cities, no surprise there. It isn't too big that it suffocates and intimidates you. But it offers all of the culture and ammenities that you would expect in a big city. Apart from the cost of living it is the leader of our pantheon of great cities that includes: Salt Lake, Denver, Austin, Portland, and Phoenix.