The state of Texas will be voting on a number of state constitutional amendments in November. The most well-known of the proposed amendments is Prop. 2. The description of the bill is:
The constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting this state or a political subdivision of this state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage. (source)
Those of you who know me also know my own feelings toward this, and I have explained those feelings on this blog before. It should be of no surprise that I will be voting against this amendment. I would be voting against if the amendment only banned same-sex marriage, but it's inclusion of anything "similar to marriage" is enough for me to oppose this vocally before voting.
That phrase is open to all kinds of interpretation, and I, quite frankly, don't like any of them.
I really need to starting paying attention to the sequential titles of my posts.
As I was looking at the "recent entries" box on the left, I was amused.
"Shocking Discovery?"
"Children"
"The Next Generation"
(Shocking Discovery! Children: The Next Generation!)
"Alien"
"Freedom Fighting"
"Katrina"
"Excess?"
"Classes Begin"
"Six Feet Under"
I can't help but wonder if my subconscious is trying to send me some kind of message.
Tonight, after eating at Fazoli's, I went to Wal-Mart with Doug because we both needed to re-stock on a few things. Typically, my trips to buy food/Dr Pepper/whatever is rather boring. This trip was special though, and it was all because of one little kid.
As Doug and I walked through the guantlet of the main aisles, we passed by a young boy being led by his mother. This kid had to be four at the oldest. The only reason I even gave the kid a second glance was because he seemed to be staring at me intently. He had a strange smile on his face, as if he had seen something incredible. Naturally, I was a little confused.
Almost immediately after we passed the kid, I heard a small voice cry out. "Mom," it exclaimed, "that man has girl's hair!"
I stopped, turned around in the aisle, and just looked at the kid. I couldn't help but laugh because the kid was still staring at me. The mother, who I can only assume was mortified at her child's exclamation, never even slowed her pace.
As Doug had pulled slightly ahead of me when this happened, he didn't hear it. When I told him, he practically collapsed in the middle of an aisle with laughter.
Today, Dr. K implied, quite possibly unintentionally, that all Christians should want to have children one day. The natural extension of that is any Christian that does not want children is really just being selfish and "worldly," wanting to be hedonistic through life in order to enjoy it to the fullest extent.
Attending a conservative Christian university, I should be accustomed to hearing this type of statement. For some reason, though, this time it really bothered me.
It is (or at least should be) well-known by now that I do not like and I do not want children. To be completely honest, I am not sure I even want to have a spouse some time in the future.
I'm very confused as to how this makes me a selfish person seeking to live a worldly life. In fact, I'm very confused as to why not wanting to have children is more selfish than wanting to create a family as soon as possible.
Choosing to have children or not to have them is a choice. While I personally plan not to have children, I am not going to condemn those who decide otherwise. I think that wanting the same respect for my own choice is reasonable.