America, "the ember of love" and 'California Proposition #8'

The following commentary by Keith Olbermann is the best thing I've heard or read on the so called social 'dilemma' of gay marriage, for it speaks to TRUE moral question of our lives: the willingness to love others as we wish to be loved.

But vital as Mr. Olbermann's piece is, it does not speak to the heart and soul of the problem of marriage confronting our society.

Marriage, historically, has been a religious ceremony that is subsequently sanctioned and recognized by the state. Period, end of story. But marriage has also, always, been a discriminatory proposition, as marriage rights and laws have not historically, nor are they today, applied to all of our citizens. If our civil authorities are going to recognize marriage in one segment of society, they must accept all, or they violate the heart and soul of the American constitution, which is at its core, 'equal rights and protection under the law.'

What we need in this country is a constitutional amendment (a fuller interpretation of said constitution) that bans civil and legal sanction of 'marriage,' and replaces it with a 'domestic partnership law' that guarantees equal rights and opportunity for any partnership of two people - whether they live together, have a religious ceremony of marriage, a civil ceremony of marriage, or none. This 'domestic partnership law' will guarantee that EVERYONE receives full and equal opportunity and protection under the law.

Under this new constitutional amendment, people of all faiths, orientations, and walks of life will also be free to also embrace any rite or ceremony they wish to (allowing them to preserve or start traditions they hold to be sacred) without comment, or sanction, from the civil authorities, including those persons who simply commit to share their lives together with passion and love (hell, even the animal rights activists, who insist animals are the same as people, can arrange a ceremony for their pets).

The biggest remaining obstacle to the fulfillment of the American Dream as a truly pluralistic society continues to reside in our stubborn refusal to abandon our mythology of being a 'Christian'/religious nation. But until we take the next evolutionary step of completely exorcising matters of 'marriage' (and God) from the law, we MUST welcome and celebrate the right of all of our citizens to marry!

It is no less than our fundamental patriotic duty.

Keith Olbermann's call to conscience offers us a way out of yet another hell we seem hell-bent on creating, and making the law of the land. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO WATCH THIS CLIP!

zjm