‘Just put yourself in that person’s shoes’

Smarter-than-I-thought people saying smart things: “Miley Cyrus on Marriage Equality and Christianity”

Imagine finding someone you love more than anything in the world, who you would risk your life for but couldn’t marry. And you couldn’t have that special day the way your friends do — you know, wear the ring on your finger and have it mean the same thing as everybody else. Just put yourself in that person’s shoes. It makes me feel sick to my stomach.

When I shared a picture of my tattoo on my Twitter page and said, “All LOVE is equal,” a lot of people mocked me — they said, “What happened to you? You used to be a Christian girl!” And I said, “Well, if you were a true Christian, you would have your facts straight. Christianity is about love.” The debate resulted in a lot of threats and hate mail to people who agreed and disagreed with me. At one point I had to say, “Dude, everyone lay off.” Can’t people have friendly debates about sensitive topics without it turning into unnecessary threats?

I believe every American should be allowed the same rights and civil liberties. Without legalized same-sex marriage, most of the time you cannot share the same health benefits, you are not considered next of kin and you are not granted the same securities as a heterosexual couple. How is this different than having someone sit in the back of the bus because of their skin color?

“Just put yourself in that person’s shoes.” For this is the law and the prophets.

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Tennessee Republican lawmaker threatens to “stomp a mudhole” in constitutents

Republican State Rep. Richard Floyd thinks it’s OK to threaten his constituents with physical violence as long as he limits that threat and that violence to a minority of his constituents.

That makes Rep. Floyd a bully. It also makes him a coward.

You know what’s even more disgraceful than a bully and a coward? A bully and a coward who thinks he can lecture the rest of us on morality.

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“Just put yourself in that person’s shoes” — legislative edition.

Example No. 1, Jan. 27

“Welfare Drug Testing Bill Withdrawn After Amended to Include Testing Lawmakers”

This was in Indiana. I just love that headline, which seems to suggest a promising template for political success. I would like to see a similar headline — “X bill withdrawn after amended to apply to lawmakers” — for many different values for X.

Example No. 2, Jan. 30

“Virginia lawmaker tries to attach rectal exam provision to anti-abortion bill”

Virginia state Sen. Janet Howell (D) thinks that if the government is going to force women to undergo medically unnecessary tests, then it is only fair to apply the same standards to men.

Republican lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would require pregnant women to have an ultrasound before terminating their pregnancy. In response, Howell introduced an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining erectile dysfunction medication like Viagra.

“We need some gender equity here,” she told the Huffington Post. “The Virginia Senate is about to pass a bill that will require a woman to have totally unnecessary medical procedure at their cost and inconvenience. If we’re going to do that to women, why not do that to men?”

I am eagerly anticipating Example No. 3 and hoping this trend continues.