11.05.2012

#obama2012


With everyone and their mom on facebook – no really, my mom is on facebook. And even her mom – it seems like everyone has a soapbox to stand on. Social media is kinda cool that way, especially during a time of crazy important elections. Except when people don’t agree with you. Or they say something you don’t agree with. Then everyone’s all stop filling my news feed with your political opinions blah blah blah and then we’re like I’m right and you’re wrong so shut up. And then everyone’s all, like, angry and stalking people’s pictures isn’t so fun anymore. Because no one wins, really. Except maybe Mark Zuckerberg. That fucker laughs all the way to the bank. Remember when your status had to start with is? And everyone was so mad about it. There were even petitions to remove it and everything. Simpler times back then, my friends. Simpler times.

So rather than stand on my soapbox and tell you what to do, I’m just going to tell you what I’m doing. I’m voting YES on 37 because Dave Mathews told me to and he’s never steered me wrong before. And I’m voting for BARACK OBAMA because I am a decent human being who cares about human rights. It really is as simple as that. Well, maybe not Prop 37 because I think there’s probably a little more to it than the pamphlet I read at Whole Foods would like me to believe. But regarding the presidential election, it is just that simple.

I’m voting for Barack Obama because I’m voting for the candidate who shares my politics and values PEOPLE. I’m voting for the candidate who believes marriage is between any two loving people, regardless of sex. I’m voting for a candidate who trusts me with my own lady parts. I’m voting for a candidate who will allow any brave person who’d like to serve our country do so, regardless of sexual orientation. I’m voting for a candidate who thinks I deserve equal pay for doing the same job as a man. I’m voting for a candidate who believes no one should be denied a basic right like health care. And I’m also voting for a candidate who saved the auto industry, killed Bin Laden blah blah blah whatever. I’m voting for a candidate who cares about people. Sure, these are social issues. But you guys, if we don’t care about each other – we’re screwed.

So I’m voting Obama. I’m voting Obama because I believe he is what our country I needs. And I believe he needs four more years in office. I think it’s absurd to expect him to fix in four years what someone else spent eight years destroying. I also think it’s absurd that in the year 2012 where a candidate stands regarding such platforms as marriage equality and women’s rights can swing a voter one way or another. But that's the way it goes. What I think is most absurd is that there’s a chance someone like Mitt Romney could potentially be the President of the United States, sending our country back decades in time. The thought honestly scares me.

Maybe I’ve lived in Los Angeles too long and Obama’s star studded celebrity following has hypnotized me. Maybe my yoga practice has taken me to higher plane of spirituality. Or maybe the pressed juices I’ve been living off of aren’t providing enough nutrients for my brain to function properly. Or, maybe I just prioritize my politics differently. And I look better in blue.

If we’re still friends, and you’re interested in what I thought about the election four years ago, you can read it below. I think it’s hilarious how apologetic I was. Four years later my beliefs are even more cemented and I’m proud to say I’m not sorry about it at all. I’ve copied and pasted it from the facebook note I wrote after election day - which sounds like a prehistoric medium. But remember, I still use a blackberry. And not using capitalization? How cool and trendy was I?

From my one and only Facebook note, dated November 7, 2008...
jesus loves me this i know, for the bible tells me so

little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong. so, i think that song is about all i got out of sunday school. i don't know where other people learned it, but church never taught me to hate or discriminate against people different from me...hmm.



so i've never actually written a note before. i've always thought it was kind of weird. the idea of using facebook a platform for your thoughts strikes me as odd. but this most recent election really has me thinking, and apparently i'm not alone. so now i guess writing a note about all of this makes me kind of unoriginal. but whatever, if everyone's doing it...it must be cool, right?



before you start thinking of your response prior to even reading this, let me stop you. facebook was made for stalking people, not attacking them for their beliefs or debating their politics. i am by no means well versed on the bible, and only slightly better when it comes to politics. at least i can acknowledge it, that is the first step right? however, that has never stopped me from being extremely opinionated. so i'm sorry if i offend you. that is not my intention. take this as merely me thinking out loud...except its on paper. 



i think it's so incredible that the first presidential election i was able to take part in was so historic. the first time a presidential nominee has been a black man, or half black if you're technical. the first time a woman has been on the republican ticket...although she is an entirely different story. if this note thing works out, maybe she'll be my next topic of thought :) with so much on the line this time around, i felt so empowered. and personally, i couldn't have been happier with the outcome. i feel so proud to say that barack obama is our country's president elect. i feel honored to have voted for him. however, i wasn't as happy to hear some of the results later on in the night.



can someone please explain to me why topics like abortion and same-sex marriage are even propositions for the public to vote on? i'm not really down with the idea of people voting on what i can or cannot do with my body and who i can or cannot marry.



i understand prop 4 didn't pass, and i'm so thankful for those results. but what i'm not super stoked about are all the status updates and posts about poor unborn babies. please. i think its really uncalled for. and i think its creepy that some perverted, old, hairy, fat man in nowhereville california has a say on the matter. here's my take. some girls aren't blessed to have a supportive family that would understand and help make such a tough choice. if they aren't able to talk to their parents and get their consent, they'll find other means to abort the child. i mean, marijuana is illegal and people still find ways to smoke that. why would we force young girls to take matters into their own hands? instead, let's provide them a safe environment where their health isn't at risk. and i'm really tired of people thinking pro choice is pro abortion. no one is pro abortion. it's a terrible choice that no one wants to make. pro choice is just that...choice. if you don't agree with abortion, you can choose not to get one. 



prop 8 is a different story. though as a country we have just elected our first black president, i feel like i'm in a time warp. it's 2008. how can separate but equal still be ok? are gays going to have to use separate water fountains too? i just can't understand what the issue is. i'm so tired of people saying that same-sex marriage ruins the sanctity of marriage. divorce ruins the sanctity of marriage. if you don't agree with it, its simple really. don't marry someone of the same sex. i don't see how who other people marry affects anyone other than the couple involved. and i can't understand people who use the bible to justify this saying that god only sees marriage as between a man and a woman. well, according to the bible, god also sees women as inferior to men. we don't stand for that, do we? i don't know how someone can believe in a god that would condemn a person to hell because of their sexual preference. honestly, it disgusts me. the god i believe in is blind to those factors and has an open heart ready to embrace anyone who will let him in. i can't fathom how someone can supposedly live their life for god, while they discriminate against others. it just doesn't seem very godly to me.



wow, who knew i had so much to say? :) again, i'm sorry if i offended you. that was in no way my purpose. and i don't want this to be used as a platform for negativity and debate. this is just facebook, after all. but personally, i feel so fortunate to be involved in this historic election. more so, i feel so lucky to have a loving, open family who will support any decisions i make regarding my body and my partners. i'm so happy to attend a school that registered more voters than any other university, and to live in a community that doesn't stand for hate and discrimination. 



so i'm off to vallejo to marry a girl. they're still performing marriages until the very last vote is counted. who knows, maybe i'll even stop at kaiser on the way and get an abortion or two without telling my parents. 
you know you love me xoxo gossip girl

1 comment:

  1. Sam, you are both hilarious and well-written. I pretty much feel like you took my values and had the courage/wit/verbiage to send them out into the interwebs for all to read/criticize/digest. Kudos to you for posting about something that I personally hate talking about, but couldn't agree with you more on. xx Natalie

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