Time for My Opinion

Last week Miss California, Carrie Prejean, during the Miss America pageant, stated her opinion that she is against same-sex marriages. Since then we have heard from people who want to crown her like an angel or from people who believe she is the devil incarnate. *sigh*

Where are people like me? I say that any two people who love each other enough to want to enter into the messy, funny, frustrating, loving, life-long effort we call marriage should be able to do it. Blessings on them. AND ~ I believe in freedom of speech, the constitutionally given right in this country to say what you feel, believe or mean without being killed or imprisoned for it. There may be other consequences of course: tell a teen he or she is grounded and they may slam the door and yell that they hate you. That's exactly what has happened to Carrie. Some folks have "slammed the door" in her face and called her names. OK. They have a right to say what they believe too although they have not been Nearly as gracious stating their opinion as she was. 

I disagree with her opinion. There are plenty of folks with whom I disagree. She disagrees with me. And my guess is, given the chance, we could sit and visit, have a cup of tea, talk about all sorts of issues (maybe even same-sex marriage) and never raise our voices nor lose respect for the other as a decent human being. It isn't the difference of opinion that I mind. It is the hateful, angry diatribes from both sides that bothers me. Have we lost the ability to have meaningful, civil dialogue? I hope not ~ and one more thing: I have been represented for 8 years by a president I disagreed with. I think I can handle being "represented" by a Miss California or Miss America I disagree with as well. ~ blessings