Ashamed of Our State - Prop 8

I keep hearing people talk about how ashamed they are of California, how our state has become dumb and bigoted, etc.

In case everyone has forgot - gay marriage has been pretty much taboo for most of human history - and certainly for 99% of modern Western history. Beyond that, just 8 years ago, California passed a similar proposition by a whopping 23%.

I'm not ashamed of California. I disagree with the majority. There's big difference. And somehow, every time the left loses the debate on an issue, they resort to making strictly moral arguments and denigrating the character of their opponents.

I think California is pretty much the coolest place on the planet - a flawed and beautiful place which is also one of the most progressive, diverse, and creative. And I'm not just talking about the cities - I love the smaller places - the mountains and their towns, the central valley and the farming cities, the rural northern areas, the desert. I love this state. I love it's character. I have confidence in time, gays will again get marriage rights. Do I lose sleep over this issue? Not a lick, to be honest. It's small potatoes, if you ask me. Right now, it's mostly serving as a rallying point for self-righteous lefties and nosey mormons. Come to think of it: why not let the mormons and cultural conservatives and the self righteous lefties all move to Nevada and have a no holds bar culture war and just leave the rest of us out of it? Now there's a good idea.

But this talk of shame and embarrassment about being Californian reminds me of a similar pose taken by the far left during the Bush Administration with respect to being American. Is the love of this country or this state contingent upon adherence to a specific political agenda? Since when? Are you a political ideology first and a citizen of this state and/or country second? Because I'm not. I think of myself as American first and liberal second and because of this, many liberals mistake this for conservatism. I admit to having some conservative beliefs and maybe even a conservative temperament. But hey, what can I say, I'm a human being and not a political ideology.

The recently rallies and gatherings I heard about are in places like Silver Lake and West Hollywood. Really folks? Do you think you need to convince those folks to vote against Prop 8? Why not go down to Crenshaw and stage a protest or start talking to the rural communities throughout the state? How does preaching to the choir change anything? Maybe it feels good and you get to fraternize with the like minded and it certainly makes the drive to the protest shorter, but come on, I thought the issue mattered.

Maybe I'm getting too bent out of shape. Maybe I'm taking the claims of shame and embarrassment too personally. Anyhow, writing this got it out of me. I'm over it.