I GUESS I’M NOT GOING TO SUNDANCE THIS YEAR
November 20, 2008
This entry is going to have little to do with casting and a lot to do with being a decent human being. I try not to be political, but gosh-darnnit, those in the state of California who are opposed to equal rights for all are just forcing me into this.
I think that the “Yes” vote on Proposition 8 affected me more then I thought it would. There has been so much interweb traffic and posts and posts to posts and posts to links to posts on all of this and the support and outpouring from those who voted “No” and supported the rights of gay couples to get married has been beautiful, and truly, I thank people for their support.
It boggles me though, that in this day and age, as a society, we have not come to a point where we can be tolerant on issues of personal freedom and equality. Granted in the big scheme of things, “LIFE” is not an equal opportunity experience (all you need to do is turn on the television and ask, “why did they cast that actor?” – See I snuck some casting in :0) ) Life is tough enough, waking up everyday, working hard, struggling for my dream of success in love and life. Road bumps are all around us, but to not be allowed and stripped of a right fought and earned and deserved and, oh yeah, supposed to be inalienable, well taking that right away is, in a word: mean.
What can I do? I can give money to help the cause, march in protest rallies, but I am also going to go one step further and say, this year, I have to make a personal decision a decision not to travel to a State that has as part of their population that hates me so much that they would like to deny me my freedom to love and marry whomever I choose (and Steve, if your reading this, don’t worry, it would be you)…so, I will not be attending Sundance this year. I don’t want my dollars spent to benefit a state that has a majority of a population that donated to strip away my ability to marry. According to Wikipedia: “Utah is known for being one of the most religiously homogeneous states in the Union, with approximately 58 percent of its adult inhabitants claiming membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church or the LDS Church), which greatly influences Utah culture and daily life.”
So, in my own way, I am making my own statement (missing some great skiing and films) but until this is sorted out, Utah can go suck it…
It’s time for this country to grow up, catch up and earn back its reputation as a voice of freedom and leader of Democracy in the free world. We are 90% there, after all we did elect Barack Obama, so let’s make a difference, make our voices heard and make things right. Let’s really start to make changes, let’s all try to be nice and compassionate and tolerant towards each other and hopefully I will be able to return to Utah, a nice compassionate Gay, tolerant of all and hopeful to a dream a dream that has the Federal Government recognize same-sex-marriage not just individual states, because doing taxes last year was a bitch…
Nicely put Matt.
I support you in your decision. Send me an e-mail. Want to speak to you offline.
Pete
To be honest, I was very surprised that Prop 8 passed. Although I’ve only lived in L.A. since September, I moved to California as a Democratic delegate for the Texas Presidential Primary and immediately noticed a positively progressive political tendency in this city. I was excited to be surrounded by people who I believed to share my same idea of what freedom in this country should be. With that, the passage of Prop 8 was hard for me to understand as, in my naivety, I assumed that I would magically find California to be a forward thinking, culturally leading state. I expected that the obstacles most Democrats faced in Texas would be lesser here but it’s clear that a very real problem still exists.
This problem points to a very obvious shortcoming in our current socio-political structure as we’ve allowed a unconstitutional proposition to be signed into the huge leather bound “Book o’ Laws”…. gay Americans were (again) subjected to legalized discrimination and a restriction from their guaranteed, inalienable rights. Prop 8 represents a legal injustice over an issue that the government has no business being in, except in cases only to protect the sanctity of these rights. The government has no feelings and is not a matchmaker… it certainly has zero business telling people who and how to love and those politicians that see otherwise have a real distorted view of what their job is.
Back to the philosophy of America exists a natural fear of government where our country’s founding fathers cautioned of an overzealous governance (that can lead to a complete loss of liberty). Ironically, if you look at the Republican platform since the Cold War, it has stood for little government involvement in the financial and otherwise personal matters of the American public….. not to point fingers here or anything (cough, cough, W.) but in fighting “terrorism” America has succumbed to relative state-terror with constant added restrictions on our civil liberties that, as Matthew noted, are inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Prop 8 is a disgusting, in-your-face reminder of these injustices.
Despite the shortcomings (along with some great strides) in this past election, I saw hope for America in my home state of Texas last week. I was fortunate enough to attend my second annual Human Rights Campaign “Black Tie Dinner” in Dallas. While last year Martin Sheen graced the stage and gave an incredibly uplifting speech, this year the event had Kenneth Cole and MTV President Brian Graden behind the podium. In their own way, they delivered uniquely similar messages that pointed out some strides that have been made over the last decade but placed emphasis on issues that need to be addressed with steadfast vigilance (like putting Prop 8 on the chopping block). Among incredibly established individuals, and sitting at a table with my family and friends, I witnessed a room with hundreds of people both gay and straight that had come together for the advance of human/civil/inalienable rights. As a straight man, I’m lucky enough to have my Dad at my wedding when I find the girl I love… if I can’t attend my dad’s wedding when/if he finds the one, then damn… For a country I love so much, this political reality is unacceptable. Keep up the good fight, it’s the American way!