Supporting those who don't really deserve it

So, I came across two really interesting news stories in the past couple of days. One of them I'll just mention in passing at the bottom of the blog, as I want to spend a little bit of time talking about the other one. It presents an interesting conundrum for me, and has me thinking of those times when you'll see Republicans or Democrats supporting some type of legislation that seems so out of character for them. But I find myself with a new understanding of some of the things that might lead to that situation.

Anyone who knows me at all will know that I'm a very strong Agnostic. I'm also VERY much pro-Gay Rights. Many of my closest friends fall under the LGBT banner in one form or another. I support gay marriage, gay adoption, total and complete equality in every area. To me, it is simply ludicrous that we can call ourselves an advanced society, and yet be so paranoid about who loves one another.

All that makes my reaction to the news out of Michigan this week that much more shocking. I think the district court that ruled against Julea Ward this week completely blew it. For those of you who missed this news tidbit, a brief recap:

Julea Ward was a student at Eastern Michigan University in the counseling program. She was assigned a case in which the person was seeking advice regarding a homosexual relationship. Ms. Ward is very devout in her beliefs, and told her supervisors that due to her own moral and religious convictions, she couldn't adequately assist the client. Her supervisor told her to reassign the client. However, the University stepped in, and initiated disciplinary procedures against her for violating both school policy and the American Counseling Association code of ethics. She gets expelled for her beliefs, and appeals to the Dean of Education, who upholds the expulsion. So she files a lawsuit, and this week she lost.

Now, personally, I think Ms. Ward is exceedingly backward in her beliefs. She needs to do one of those Morgan Spurlock 30-Days documentaries where she's forced to live with the real-life equivalent of the Robin Williams-Nathan Lane couple from The Birdcage in South Beach. Realize that "gays are people too", and hopefully open her mind to something other than the narrow morality taught to her on Sundays.

However, those are her beliefs. She has every right to them, and shouldn't be punished for them any more than I should be punished for believing that the LGBT community should have equality. I believe with every fiber of my being that I'm right. But so does she, and she should have that right.

She didn't try to convince the client that they needed to become heterosexual in order to receive counseling. She didn't berate the client for their choices in life. In my eyes, she did nothing wrong, and everything right. She advised her supervisor that she was not the right person to be counseling this particular client, and tried to recuse herself from the case. For that, she has lost a chance to become a counselor. Wow, that's terrible.

Counseling is tricky enough as it is. I did relationship counseling through the U of O program a number of years ago. Same type of program that Ms. Ward was in. We had a couple of different people work with us. One of them, we meshed with very well. The other one we didn't mesh with at all. I have friends that have been to many different counselors, looking for one that they could really build a rapport with. It takes a while. They need to "get" you, and you have to feel comfortable opening up to them. The reason it works eventually is because everyone is a little bit different, and that allows you to find someone that meshes with you and your needs in a counselor.

Eastern Michigan University seems to be of the belief that all counselors need to be cut from the same cloth. That your individual beliefs as a counselor should not be allowed to surface. What a load of bullshit. Our personal beliefs are what make us who we are. And if we decide to become a counselor, our personal beliefs will play a part in the advice that we give to people. Ms. Ward should be applauded for being able to realize that she wasn't the right person to give advice to someone whose beliefs were so opposed to her own. How much better would the world be if we all had the common sense to recuse ourselves from situations where our judgement would be clouded?

So while I think Ms. Ward is a homophobe and a bigot, I think she got totally screwed by the Michigan legal and educational systems. I hope that some Christian university out there will swoop in for the free publicity and offer her a transfer to be surrounded by people who share her beliefs, wrong though they may be.

So yes, this Agnostic gay-rights supporter found himself this week horrified by the fact that a homophobic Christian lost a legal battle for having those beliefs. What an odd place to be.

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The other story that I just wanted to mention in brief:

Kudos to the 12-year old girl in New York who called 911 from the backseat of her mom's car, to report her mom as a drunk driver. The mom was arrested after blowing .18%, and faces up to a year in prison.

Let's hope that the mom uses the time to sober up and realize that her daughter did the right thing. (Yeah, I know, the girl is going to get the crap beat out of her; but in my little world of sunshine and rainbows, the mom sees the error of her ways).

Writer's block, overcoming depression, and realizing potential

Long time no see, my friends. This is why I didn't send out this blog to everyone when I first started it. I knew that at some point, I was going to freeze up, mentally. It is, unfortunately, how my brain tends to work. In the end, it just comes down one of my very first blogs on here. Just do it.

I was on my facebook page tonight, when I saw a quote that I have on my page. It is only a small part of a much larger quote that I have always enjoyed. But it kicked me in the ass a bit tonight, and brought me here. "Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly." Seems simple enough, doesn't it? Life is going on with us or without us. Nothing we can do is going to slow it down, turn it around, or allow us another shot at it. We have to make the most of the time we are allotted, and every moment that we waste is a moment we will never get back.

Tonight, I was at a small party at a friend's house. It was a pretty diverse crowd of people for such a small group. Next to me was an extremely beautiful 19 year old girl. Across from me sat a very nice 22 year old guy. There were a number of references to things that seemed to be common sense that one or both of them didn't get. The guy didn't know who Robin Williams was. He'd never heard of Dune. It didn't make me feel old, but it did make me realize that quite possibly, I'm nearing the apex of my life on this planet, from a strictly "age" standpoint. I have never taken the best care of my body, and if I live to be 80, I'll consider myself lucky. As such, I've probably been on this planet for close to half of my expected life.

It made me realize just how precious my time is. Obviously, we never know how long we have. I could be in a car accident and killed tomorrow. Or, nano-technology can advance to the point where my clogged arteries will be repaired before the inevitable heart attack, and I'll live to be 100. It doesn't really matter how much time I have, but rather, what I do with that time matters most of all. If I waste 10 years, or 20 years, does it really matter if I live to be 100? On the other hand, if I can squeeze 50 years of life into the next 10, could I be content dying at 48?

The past few months have been difficult for me. It's now 10 1/2 months without a job, and it is definitely wearing me out. I applied for a couple of very good jobs in the past week, and I think if I were to get one of them, it would solve a lot of the thoughts that have plagued me recently. But I cannot wait for that. I cannot allow being unemployed to slow me down any longer. I realize now, that I only have so much time in my life. I cannot waste it. It would be easier to reach my fullest potential if I had a way of paying for the things that I would like to do, but in the meantime, I will do those things that don't require much.

More than anything, it just boils down to this: I'm back.