I usually try to keep this blog free from politics (there are many, many other blogs for political topics of all persuasions), but between the school shooting in northern Minnesota, the earthquake in the Indian Ocean (that I hope will not lead to another tsunami), the frustratingly personal and disproportionately covered across all national news fiasco in Florida, and due to the fact that I am done with my show and have a few minutes (and faced with the last few days of being an - at least according to statistics provided by actuaries for the auto insurance industry - irresponsible youth), I can't not type about politics right now.
I can't do anything about the above issues. I can't go back in time to figure out why a kid whose father committed suicide, whose mother is in an asylum, who has grown up on the land set aside for his People because the white men wanted all the good land in the country and were willing to pressure, kill and finagle their way into illegal contracts with tribes, who was ignored and picked on in school but was told "that was just the way kids are in school", who read NeoNazi webpages and somehow identified with the one of the most evil dictators in modern history, who thought that a couple of guns and a stolen police car would make things better, would do something like that. I can't stop the tectonic plates from moving or hold water back. I can't even begin to comprehend what Mr. Schaivo and Mr. and Mrs. Schindler must be going through and what they have gone through for the past 15 years, so I can't think of where I would start to lend any kind of credible commentary. But I am making a plea on something that has not yet come to pass.
My home state is about to hold an election. An election (and someone in the state - a state where all voters have been bombarded with ads from all sides and I'm sure also with impartial and clearly worded information from the Secretary of State's office - correct me if I am wrong) in which the only item on the ballot is a state constitutional amendment [It is a pdf. Sorry, the Secretary of State's office provides this document as a pdf only]. A constitutional amendment restricting (rather than expanding or protecting) rights of certain citizens of the state. As there is already a statute on the books that "defines marriage as a civil contract between two persons who are of opposite sex and declares all other marriages to be contrary to public policy and void", the only thing this amendment will do is make sure that "No relationship, other than a marriage, shall be recognized by the state as entitling the parties to the rights or incidents of marriage."
"Rights and incidents"
A nice clear and easily understandable phrase.
What is an "incident" of marriage? Living together? Getting a mortgage? Having kids? Hospital visits? Being able to take a certain Penalty on your taxes when you file jointly? Inheritance? Child custody? Power of attorney?
There has been a movement to try to argue that "You can't legislate love." But that is not the point of this amendment. This amendment couldn't care less about love. Or, even the genders or sexualities of the people of the state of Kansas. There is a statute already on the books that deals with gender and sexual orientation.
This amendment, rather, restricts the rights of Kansans from entering into legally binding contracts with other individuals.
It is not about sexual orientation. It is not about protecting marriage. It is about restricting the right to enter into a contract - a right that is protected in the US constitution (Article I, section 10 - I'm not a Constitutional scholar or Lawyer, so I'm just citing something I remember from my sociology courses from between Hobbes, de Tocqueville and the writing of the Constitution. If we have given up the right to make contracts - social or otherwise - and we have returned to the State of Nature due to some Supreme Court ruling or later amendment, then I apologize and please ignore this citation)
Anyway, I'm sure you are all tired of reading my rantings on an election in a state where I'm no longer even qualified to vote. So go vote to protect the right to form contracts. Get your friends and acquaintances to vote. If for no other reason than to protect one of the most fundamental rights, so fundamental that it was placed in the body of the Constitution and not left for one of those ten amendments in the bill of rights.
I have a CD of pictures from my show to sort through, so I'll get back to non-political postings shortly.
Well, the show is over, so what does my body decide to do? Stop fighting it and get sick.
I've not really been able to breathe for the past few days... but it finally has gotten so bad that my office almost sent me home today.
I have production photos from the show, and as soon as I sort through them, I'll pick my favorites and post them.
I also attended a workshop last Friday on Arts Literacy and dialogic facilitation techniques with teachers and high school students. It was both heartening to see the commitment from both groups, and frustrating that this kind of true communication and bidirectional learning is so infrequent in our schools. But our students just don't have time to learn, and nor do our teachers. They have to spend all of their time preparing for standardized tests instead... sigh.