Well…I have not posted a blog in a couple of weeks :/ I know I am supposed to post every week, but hopefully the length of my posts will make up for it. haha.
I will try to highlight a few issues that I have been dealing with and provide my thoughts on those issues. First, I was at a religious freedom roundtable of about 15 people and an article in the Washington Times came up. The article was talking about the gay-sensitivity training that the USDA had been putting its employees through. Everyone probably has differing opinions about this practice, but when you really think about it, I think it is a good idea for some people to learn how to be civil and respectful around homosexuals…unfortunately the USDA has not stopped there. The USDA has coined the term heterosexism for those people who do not agree with the practice of homosexuality or gay marriage. The training includes a discussion of “heterosexism” and compares it to racism. It says people who view marriage as being between only one man and one woman are guilty of “heterosexism.” This term is the equivalent of being a racist.
“The training includes a discussion of “heterosexism” and compares it to racism. It says people who view marriage as being between only one man and one woman are guilty of “heterosexism.” Washington Times
In my mind, this is very startling. I completely understand sensitivity training and agree that people should be more civil when it comes to dealing with homosexuals or anyone who has differing ideas or lifestyles, but taking it to the extremes that the USDA has is just that…extreme. If a person simply believes that marriage is between one man and one woman and respectfully does not agree with the lifestyle of someone, that is not “heterosexism,” that is disagreement or a differing opinion. Last time I checked there was a little thing called DOMA or the Defense of Marriage Act that Bill Clinton signed, which defines marriage as a union of one man and woman…why would an entity of the government implement a policy or training that completely goes against a precedent that the same government has implemented. As a Christian, I want to coin a cute little buzz word to go along with the discrimination against me because of my beliefs. Homosexism. It really bothers me that people, including the federal government only see one side of an issue and refuse to see that by promoting the rights of one people group, they are in effect, taking away the rights of the majority. I respectfully disagree with the homosexual lifestyle and gay marriage. I am not a heterosexist. Check out the article http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/17/gay-activists-seek-approval-govt-training/
Another project I am working on is a “Creation Care” video contest for high school and college students. We are basically looking for a short video outlining thoughts about humans role in caring for creation (plants, animals, ect.), how people are caring for creation, and our role as Christians in caring for God’s creation. I believe that God calls us to be stewards of the earth and take care of plants, animals, others, and nature in general. Beginning with Adam and Eve, God calls us to be the rulers of the earth and continues in verses like Leviticus 25:23-24 where the Bible says that “Throughout the country that you hold as possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.” God clearly outlines that we are in charge and we have responsibility. Our goal, through this video contest is to hear about the creative things that young people are doing and provide that as encouragement to others who are concerned about creation or the environment. I hope that people (myself included) can get past the bad publicity and controversy surrounding “global warming” and focus on the simple issue of stewardship and responsibility. Common sense ideals.
The most recent meeting I went to on the Hill dealt with prison rape. An interesting and many times disturbing topic, the group hosting the meeting had several victims sharing their stories and how it wasnt other inmates violating them, but actually prison guards. I agreed with the position of the group, which was that prison is the punishment and that no one deserves to be raped. I think that churches and religious people in general need to be more aware and informed about issues like these and find ways to combat them from a religious or Christian standpoint.
As I close, I am getting ready to participate in a conference call with the Whitehouse office of faith-based initiative about Immigration reform. It should be very interesting. Also, today is my last full day of work because I am leaving for London tomorrow! I will try to keep up my blog while there. I am returning to DC in August for another internship and then back to the great state of Kentucky! I am excited for that.
CWJ
