an Lewis and Macklemore win best hip-hop video and best video with a social message at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at The Barclay Center in New York City Aug. 25, 2013. Credit: Courtesy of MCT
Letter to the editor:
Now, I’m not the kind of person who likes to do a lot of finger pointing. But, if my latest car rides with friends who are anti-gay or anti-gay marriage are any inclination as to what kind of songs they should listen to, let me be the first to say they, like any other person who disrespect the rights of gay people, should turn the dial anytime “Same Love” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis hits the air waves.
I know it’s a catchy tune with a nice chorus which flows ever so smoothly. Those who hear the music but aren’t listening to the words should have their ears cleaned because the song wasn’t created to be a catchy track played for three months on the radio. It was a song created to clarify and to resonate what gay individuals have gone through and will continue to go through every day of their lives in our country. This song has ever-lasting meaning and power and should be recognized as one of our generation’s greatest pieces of artistic polarity to cover an issue that has divided and will continue to divide people for years to come.
Gay people go through the exact same emotions as straight people, yet some straight people have a hard time recognizing that. They meet a new person. They make small talk with said person. They muster up the courage to ask the other out on a date. They start to feel like something more could come of out this than being just friends. They find a way to make the first move and kiss the other person. They begin dating. They start to share all of their feelings, secrets and emotions with the person. They begin to fall in love. Once in love, they decide they could never see themselves with any other person except for the one sitting next to them. They agree marriage is the final necessary step to create an ever-lasting bond that cannot be broken. This chain of events is the same for any and every kind of couple who are together at this moment. Whether it’s a same-sex or opposite-sex relationship, everyone goes through this.
What I can’t wrap my mind around is how people can see gays as being so much different, mysterious or confusing, yet when it comes down to it, they aren’t much different than all of us, only in choosing the kind of person they love. We live in a judgmental society where people still believe the sight of gay people will invoke the gay spirits to rise up out of our bodies or our children’s bodies and eventually lead to all people becoming gay. Or those who wave their Bibles around saying it is an abomination to be gay and that those who choose the path of being gay will forever suffer once they perish. Instead of waving that book in the air, how about we set it on the table and read it a little more closely. Yes, the Bible does say a man should not lie with another man. It also says we should kill those neighbors who work on the Sabbath, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. People love to pick and choose those parts of the Bible that best suit their cause and how they feel about something. Let these people take a look at the parts where it mentions God created all people to be equal and that he loves all of his blessed children the same. Or let them read the part where Jesus preaches about being tolerable to your neighbor and accepting people for who they are and the choices they make. We wield a book around without understanding the greater purpose of said book, instead choosing to focus on one line in one chapter of an entire scripture. If anyone needs guidance, it is those who choose to judge, stereotype and insult those who are different. Remember, God loves us all the same, I think it’s about time we all do the same as well.
So, as quick as I can say I support gay marriage, those who stand on the opposite side of equality of marriage should be just as fast to turn the radio channel and find a song that better suits their blind guidance against the battle of thousands of LGBT Americans’ rights across this country.
Wes Burden
Fifth-year in journalism
[email protected]
