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Too Blasé for Love

Too Blasé for Love

Last updated on: January 3, 2019 at 12:21 pm by Paul Jesep

Too Blasé for Love 2019-01-03T12:21:26-07:00 Paul Jesep

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In a headache inducing duet Judy and Liza belted, “Love, love, hooray for love. Who was ever too blasé for love?” Me! That’s who! I’m too blasé for it. I’m tired of it. I have a migraine from all the chatter about a social construct that was recently expanded!

As a New Yorker, I’m grateful, ecstatic, and exuberant that I no longer have to read or hear about inane religious objections, calculated political maneuverings, or the teary, starry-eyed hopefulness of same-sex couples eager to wed in romantic, happy-ever-after bliss.

On Friday, 22 June 2011, the New York State Senate passed same-sex marriage in the Empire State. It previously passed the Assembly. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law that night.

Hooray for love! Now in the name of all that is holy, good, and merciful can we please move on!?!?! Of course I’m being tongue-in-cheek … just a wee bit.

The importance for loving same-sex couples or the overall significance of this long-overdue civil right cannot be underscored enough. In comparison to other social injustices, however, this logical, legal affirmation of love and commitment between two people should have been done a long time ago so that time, focus, and resources could be devoted to, in my opinion, far more pressing issues.

Leadership in the Institutional Church (pick your denominational flavor) opposed to marriage equality has spent too much time on an issue that will not change what happens within their faiths. It has been a needless, unfortunate distraction to real problems.

– Several questionable wars are now funded by the United States providing windfall profits for the “defense” industry giving new meaning to the phrase “money makes the world go round.” Over $3.7 trillion has been spent since 9/11 on military conflicts. Almost 8 million people have been displaced. Over 224,000 are dead including innocent civilians and brave men and women serving this country. These deaths are no longer human tragedies with an unfathomable sense of loss to families, but statistics sanitized and depersonalized for our benefit because to do otherwise may distract from the joy received in a consumer, status driven society.

– Foreclosures and unemployment are at record highs. Banks are on the rebound making significant profits.

– Family homelessness is up 20% and Congress is considering eliminating a key program geared toward 2 million homeless people.

– According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2009, “43.6 million people were in poverty, up from 39.8 million in 2008 — the third consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty.”

– According to Bloomberg.com, the loss of healthcare “helped swell the ranks of uninsured adults in the U.S. to 52 million in 2010.” Citing a study released by the New York based Commonwealth Fund an “additional 73 million adults had difficulties paying for health care and 75 million deferred treatment because they couldn’t afford it.”

– Credit card usury is impacting housing, employment, and student loan eligibility. Credit card debt remains an overlooked human rights issue. Families and individuals now pay interest rates so high that they will be permanent revenue sources for the banking industry.

– Almost 1 billion people in the world go hungry each day.

– “Every 3.6 seconds one person dies of starvation” in the world, according to UNICEF*. “Usually it is a child under the age of 5.”*

These are just a handful of genuine problems. Yet where is the outrage? Where is the outspoken, organized effort to address them? Are we not married to Jesus and his mission to pursue Creative Acts to solve them? Stopping a legal expression of love between two people is more important? In the name of Christian love let’s get over the rainbow.

same-sex marriage in New York

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