What Today is Realy All About - The Declaration of Independence

With barbecues and other social events, it's easy to forget the meaning behind today's 4th of July holiday.  I have highlighted the portion of the Declaration of Independence (set out in full below) that still needs work to live up to the document's bold language about equality.  I believe that if he were alive today,the document's author, Thomas Jefferson, would be an advocate for full equality for all Americans.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:

Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Gays Happier and Healthier Where Gay Marriage Is Legal

I referenced a report from a new study in passing on the correlation between gay males leading healthier and happier lives in states where same sex marriage is legal. The savings in health care costs and benefits to human capital in general should make anyone truly concerned about run away health care costs reconsider banning gay marriage. Of course, the Christianists and their boot licking whores in the GOP will not do so since the Christianists' goal is to make life as much of a living Hell for gays as possible since we dare to reject their fear and hate based (emphasis on hate) religious beliefs. But if anti-gay Republicans were true to the supposed conservative economic beliefs and desire for social stability, they would support same sex marriage which is actually a conservative social approach by these measurements. An article in LGBTQ Nation looks at the study and here are some highlights:

Gay men who live in U.S. states where same-sex marriage is legal make fewer doctor visits, have lower healthcare costs, and in general lead happier and healthier lives, according to a new study being published in the American Journal of Public Health.

The researchers surveyed the demand for medical and mental healthcare from more than 1,200 gay men registered with a Massachusetts health clinic in the 12 months prior to the 2003 change and the 12 months afterwards and found a 13-percent drop in healthcare visits after the law was enacted.

This was regardless of whether the men were in a stable relationship, the American Journal of Public Health reported.

There was a reduction in blood pressure problems, depression and “adjustment disorders,” which could be the result of reduced stress, researchers said.

A spokesman for the Terrence Higgins Trust, a UK-based sexual health and HIV charity, told the BBC that “there is a known link between health and happiness.”

“It’s no surprise that people who are treated as second class citizens tend to have low self esteem, which in turn makes them more likely to take risks,” the spokesman said. “Whether this is drugs, alcohol abuse, or unsafe sex, treating gay men unequally has lasting repercussions for their health.”

More coverage on the study findings can be found here in the American Journal of Public Health. I especially like this policy finding that anyone honest about reducing health care costs ought to embrace:

Conclusions. Policies that confer protections to same-sex couples may be effective in reducing health care use and costs among sexual minority men.

I continue to believe that Christianists hate gays intensely because we - like evolution - represent a huge threat to their house of cards religious belief system that is based on a selective reading of an increasing factually and scientific unreliable document: the Bible. If the Bible is wrong about the creation story, wrong about the existence of Adam and Eve and wrong about its condemnation of same sex relationships, the entire house of cards collapses and the fear stricken Christianists are left with nothing. Worse yet, many will be faced with the realization that they led their lives based on a lie. They will go to any lengths to avoid facing this truth - including seeking vengeance on those whose lives and loves underscore the falsity of their belief system.

Further Weekend Reflections

I am truly having a wonderful weekend. I have met a goodly number of my boy friend's friends and it's a good reflection on him how highly they all seem to think of him. Living in the south side of Hampton Roads, I really do not know many people from the Hampton/Newport News side of the bridge tunnel. This long weekend has been the most time I have spent with my new boy friend on a continuous basis and it has been very, very pleasant. He continues to prove to be a most kind and sensitive guy and he makes me feel so good about myself. We seem well matched in terms of our romanticism. I do tease him, however, that I feel like I am staying with Martha Stewart because his home is so beautiful and well organized. When I think of my boy friend, I feel a warm glow. Hope none of you readers are gagging at the sentimentalism. :) I'm not sure what the game plan is for today - perhaps just relaxing and then hanging out pool side at a friend's place nearby.

*

I did have a interlude with the past yesterday for a few hours, however. My former b/f and his new partner were in town from North Carolina and he came and got the balance of his things that have been being stored at my house for over a year. His new love interest seems nice and is nice looking. I wish them both much happiness and I told my ex "don't screw it up." With his stuff gone from the house, I feel that chapter of my life is more finished and that all my focus now is on going forward, especially now that I have someone new and wonderful in my life. Who is to say where it all will lead. All I know is that I am happy for now and will savor living these moments.

Putting In The Hard Work to Let Go the Past

I have posted several times recently on the issue of not continuing to allow oneself to be a victim or trapped by one’s past and the need to take affirmative steps to make changes in one’s outlook and mind set to accomplish this goal, be it through therapy or other spiritual means. With this background, I came across a post on a friend’s blog about two people in his life that perfectly illustrated the choices we all are confronted with in deciding which path we choose to follow (I have modified the language slightly):

“He is someone who has traveled a pretty harsh road, but he is so determined to not let his past and not let those experiences impact negatively on his present and future. I have no doubt that it’s a difficult path and I can even see the struggles at times in his eye’s. However he keeps powering ahead. He is so willing to put in the hard work. That’s a quality I admire in people.

It’s interesting because in contrast, I see another friend who refuses to deal with the difficult situation before her and just dwells on the past. Even though to fix things would be difficult, if the effort was put into the endeavor, she would come out happier and healthier. I hope she decides to take this path at some point because she truly deserves to be happy.”

I realize that I myself have not always put the needed effort into escaping the wounds and old paradigms of my past - it is ever so easy to wallow in being a victim – but overall I believe I have made significant progress in not allowing this baggage to continue to control my present and future. Has it been an easy process? Most certainly it has not. Has it been worth the effort? Most definitely.

Gay Self Esteem

I came upon this post consisting of a book review today (http://superbbluewren.livejournal.com/175758.html#cutid1) on Superbbluewren' s journal (out of Australia), but thought that some of what it says is relevant to gays anywhere. I recommend that you read the whole post, but here are some highlights:

"It is really important to recognise a simple and basic truth. A person who is nasty to you, who is arrogant, distant without reason or is angry at a level much greater than you deserve, always, absolutely always dislikes himself. He doesn't dare recognise his own self-dislike; instead he thinks he sees it in your eyes and then responds to you the way he sees you, not the way you are." That unequivocal statement answers a question that I have been asking myself for the last few years. The statement comes from a book called: An Intelligent Life: A practical guide to relationships, intimacy and self-esteem by Sydney psychiatrist Julian Short.

Poor self-esteem and the resulting depression is one of the major problems of western society today. In particular, self-esteem is one of the greatest challenges to gay men. We may be paranoid at times, but there are significant sections of the community who are out to get us. Self-esteem is not the same as self-confidence. Being able to perform for one person (sexually or otherwise) or thousands has nothing to do with self-esteem. There are many politicians, rock stars and other celebrities who can perform, sometimes for a world audience, but they are not necessarily people who like themselves. A self-respecting person likes himself but it is visible in openness, not confident certainty. Short comments that "If you're a superstar it might be easy to have a high self-opinion, but if you live your life intelligently you can learn how to be insignificant, how to fail, make a mess or just be plain wrong and still like yourself, because happiness is about more than achievement or status." So how do we live our life intelligently?

People are not mind readers! They judge us by what we do and say. They are most influenced by our recent behaviour. If we change our behaviour for the better and persist with the change, we earn the respect of others and build our own self-respect. We may think that we are still not much good and that we are just acting but we tend to judge ourselves by the same criteria that others use. Our judgement of ourselves aligns eventually with the judgement of others. Again Short comments that "the way you feel today is far more influenced by the way you handle the present than by what happened in your past". That is true, even if we were the cause of what happened in our past.

It is what we do in response to our feelings that makes the difference. Short summarises the behaviour of self-respect in these points:

1. Behave as the person you would like to be and to be seen to be.

2. Behave like a person who likes himself.

3. Act with kindness and dignity as often as you can.

4. Treat everyone you meet as worthy, equal adults.

5. If in doubt, administer love.

6. Follow the golden rule for building and preserving your self-esteem: always treat other people as if you believe they like you.