SodaHead Celebrates Green Week

Question Religion

Do You Believe Rights are Fought for And Won? Or Do You Believe They Are Simply Given? Will You Fight Unjust Laws?

Cindy May 20, 2008 16:16:49

Coretta Scott King
"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice... But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr., said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere' ... I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people."1
"Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing, and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages."2
"We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny... I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be," she said, quoting from her husband. "I've always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy."3
"Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Georgia, and St. Augustine, Florida, and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions."4
"We have a lot of work to do in our common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say 'common struggle,' because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry & discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination."5
"We have to launch a campaign against homophobia in the black community."6
"Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group."7
Coretta Scott King was the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a leader in the civil rights movement.
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  • +3 raves kimmpossiable May 20, 2008 16:44:56
    kimmpossiable

    Yes

    If it's important to you, personally, you have to fight for the laws to be passed..I don't believe anything worth while is given... we have to fight for what we beleive in...No matter what it may be...
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  • +1 raves
    Chartreuse Dog ~COB May 20, 2008 20:43:59
    Chartreuse Dog ~COB

    Yes

    Rights worth having are worth fighting for, and must be fought for - those in power usually do not voluntarily give it up. Our forefather, whom we honor and respect, fought for and won rights for white male property owners. The rest of us had to fight and scrap for our rights for centuries, and while we're making progress, we're not there yet. Black males got the right to vote in 1868; women had to continue the struggle for another half century, until 1920. Jim Crow laws didn't just go away, people had to fight for racial equality - black and white people, fighting side by side against the oppressors. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others like him took the lead and brought thousands of thinking people along. Blacks were not "given" the right to eat in restaurants and use public restrooms, they had to fight for those rights. Women were not "given" the right to equal pay for equal work, they had to fight for it. Gays and lesbians are not going to be "given" the right to marry, they will have to fight for it, and those of us who see that civil marriage is a civil right need to join in that fight.

    One need not be black to believe in equal rights for people of all races; one need not be female to oppose gender-based discrimination; and one need not be GLBT to oppose discrimination on the basis of sexual preference.
  • -1 raves
    kmay May 20, 2008 20:37:02 (edited)
    kmay

    Yes

    However marriage is not a right but a privilege for social order granted by society. If SSM is allowed than any and all type of combinations that want to marry should be allowed to marry. It is not homophobia, it is disagreement.
    SSA cannot be compared to ones race or color. One is a feeling rooted in behavior and the later are immutable traits.
  • +2 / -1 raves
    Angel May 20, 2008 18:38:03
    Angel

    Yes

    I believe our rights were fought for and won, seems nobody is giving anything for free these days...if its worth fighting for its worth recieving..
  • +2 raves
    rnvtach May 20, 2008 17:07:04
    rnvtach

    Yes

    Rights should be freely given, however to ensure and maintain those rights they must be fought for daily. No one is innocent until proven guilty. You're treated like crap up to the day you go to court. I don't have the right of freedom of speech, even here on soda head, without being D R. I'm D R and don't have the right to face my accuser, because here on SH, it's top secret. Freedom of religion, regardless of what I believe, I'm slammed by Bible thumpers or by non- believers. Yes, you must stand tall and fight for the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
  • +1 raves
    Angrywh... rnvtach May 20, 2008 17:16:58
    Angrywhiteman
    moderated...
  • +1 raves
    rnvtach Angrywh... May 20, 2008 17:45:04
    rnvtach
    Except I don't feel they are freely given. I do however, feel they should be freely given. I feel we have to fight for the right....
  • +2 raves
    Angrywh... rnvtach May 20, 2008 18:00:25
    Angrywhiteman
    moderated...
  • +1 raves
    rnvtach Angrywh... May 20, 2008 18:01:59
    rnvtach
    The rights I'm referring to are the ones granted in the US Bill Of Rights and The Constitution.
  • +1 raves
    Angrywh... rnvtach May 20, 2008 18:05:01
    Angrywhiteman
    moderated...
  • +1 raves
    Cindy Angrywh... May 20, 2008 19:21:05 (edited)
    Cindy
    A "Universal God" (a free nation allows choice of religious beliefs)

    Not the "God of the Bible" (as a few founders wanted to elaborate, but were coldly stopped from doing)

    Been a huge national misconception and minipulation ever since
  • Angrywh... Cindy May 20, 2008 20:06:40
    Angrywhiteman
    moderated...
  • +3 raves
    kimmpossiable May 20, 2008 16:44:56
    kimmpossiable

    Yes

    If it's important to you, personally, you have to fight for the laws to be passed..I don't believe anything worth while is given... we have to fight for what we beleive in...No matter what it may be...
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