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The difference between the liberal left and the conservative right is that the left believes so sincerely that they are right, and that logic is so on their side, that they don’t feel the need to convince anyone else. It’s so obvious to them, that they just wait for everyone to come to their senses. That’s partly what happened in California with the gay marriage ban. Everyone just assumed that California was a liberal state and it would simply not happen to this nice liberal state. But the conservative right, believes just as sincerely that they are right, but they also believe that if you don’t agree with them, they MUST convince you. They MUST convert you. They work their asses off to get their point across while the liberal left, sits backs and waits for everyone to agree. That is one of the reasons that the right often beats the snot out of the left. Part of it, though, is that being liberal means you give people room to disagree with you, and have their own opinion, however wrong that may be. The right, on the other hand, sees only their view, and no other opinion need apply. It makes them zealots.

I am against zealots, even if I agree with you, because, by definition, a zealot cares more for their cause than anything else. Not love, not money, not pity; just their point of view. But zealots get things done, and will often not stop at that sane line that the rest of us, see in the sand. How can the liberal left win against such determination? By being as determined. By not assuming that just because they’re in a "liberal" state that their view will prevail. That attitude is partly what lost the Democrats the two preceding elections. They’ve won now, but I hope they remember this lesson in four years, no matter how well things go, never assume. Especially never assume in politics, religion, or zeal.

Let me say, that I don’t understand why it bothers anyone who other consenting adults marry. They aren’t asking me to marry them, so why is it any of my business? They are having sex inside their own homes with people that they love, why is that bad? Moreover, why does that pose a threat to heterosexual married couples? I’m part of a heterosexual married couple and I don’t find the fact that some people prefer same sex partners as a threat to myself, or my marraige. Nor does my husband, who just read this over my shoulder. Why does it scare so many people on the right wing of politics? If you’re going to quote the whole Sodom and Gomorrah story from the Bible, think about it first. Do you really want to base your entire argument on that particular piece? When my daughter was three-years-old, we watched the end of one of those old Bible movies, and the end was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. My little girl turned to me with big eyes, and said, "Is God a monster, Mommy?" I said, "Of course, not." "Then why did he do that to all those people?" To that, I had no good reply, so I went out searching for Bible scholars, who would surely have a better take on the events than I did. What I found was that this story has puzzled Bible scholars for centuries, and that they don’t really have a good explanation either. Lot, the only "good" man in the whole city, offers his virgin daughters to the male mob to be gang raped so he can save his Angelic visitors. I know that protecting your guests is very important in the culture, but that seems a little extreme. Do you really want to base your judgment on the story of a man who offers his daughters up for rape, and after escaping, with the help of Angels, from the doomed city, has sex with those same daughters, himself? Is this really the religious example you want to stand behind? I mean, if you’re against male homosexuality, as Lot was, are you also for rape of women and incest? Of course, not. But why is one attitude more outrageous than the other?

One of the most poignant guest speakers I ever heard in Church was a guest pastor. He was from a wealthy parish, or had been, and he told us a story. A story of young girl, who was exhibiting signs of serious depression. He talked to her, and came to find out, that she was being sexually abused by her father and her brother. The father had convinced her that the Bible said it was all right for a father to have sex with his daughter. One of the stories he used to pressure his child into sex was Lot’s story. When the guest pastor finished speaking, the silence in the church was thunderous. We all sat there, stunned. Stunned at the evil of it. Stunned that a book that had so much good in it, could be used for such wicked purpose. I’ve never forgotten that moment. It was the moment when I began to put serious thought into how I read the Bible, and how other people might read it.