"Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death"

Okay, so I know I suck at this whole keeping things updated on here, but I'm tryin'.

I have a main focus for this particular blog, but let me get you updated on my life as of now first:

-I'm managing to keep up in school. I'm not behind much this semester, which--I swear--is a first. However, I NEVER feel like I'm completely on top of things. Each weekend to me is like a major catch up session, and I really don't do anything but homework; I have no social life.. But that's okay. :)

-Working in the Writing Center is going pretty well. I think I'm really in my forte here, and I'm applying my skill. For my class associated with the tutoring, we have to write a research paper, and I'm really thinking about focusing on the rewards of tutoring for tutors and how it improves our own person school work ethic and makes us better people. It is a really huge interest for me.

-I had a bit of a breakdown this weekend; my computer skitzed out and almost crashed! It was attacked by this rogue anti-virus software that was full of trojan viruses, and it took me and my mom FOREVER to rid my computer of it, but we finally did. I feel fortunate that it was a pretty common one, so the solutions were posted all over the internet. The downside? I lost my four page critical theory paper twice before I actually got it finished and printed out (due to the viruses, Word wouldn't save ANYTHING--not even autosave for when it crashes....It crashed twice). The stress is over now, and I feel MUCH better. AND my computer runs great. :)

-I'm leaving town on Friday for my sister's wedding up in Salt Lake. I'm NOT excited for waking up at 7 o'clock in the morning and driving by myself all the way up to Salt Lake, but it's worth it. It'll be a nice break from St. George--a break well received... I NEED it.

-Finally, the intent of my blog today is to discuss ambition.

I know, I know. I talk about it a lot. But this particular time has a specific focus. In my Major American Women Authors class last week, Dr. Comeford has us watch the movie Iron Jawed Angels. For those of you who haven't seen it, SEE IT. It is AMAZING. It tells the true story of Alice Paul and her fight in the Womens Suffrage Movement in the 1910's. Alice Paul is played by Hilary Swank (AMAZING) AND Patrick Dempsey is in it--how can you go wrong? ;)

Anywho. This was not the first time I've seen this movie, but it was the first time I really connected with it. Alice Paul was pretty much an amazing woman, and she is my new hero. When I think about what those women were fighting for (fundamentally about civil liberties, not solely the specific right for women to vote), I can't help but pair it for the movement in the LGBT community right now to ensure some pretty basic human rights. This is haunting me, specifically recently, because my dearest friend and cousin Azure Peters (Smith) and her husband Ben are fighting with the city legislature of Cedar City, UT to (and please excuse me if this is not completely detailed correctly, its really a general overview) add a clause protecting the LGBT community from discrimination in the work place and in housing due to one's sexual orientations and preferences. While yes, to answer Ben, the City Council didn't give them an outright "No," more like a "not yet," this reminds me of the Women's Suffrage movement. The MEN making the legislature were telling Alice Paul and the NAWSA (Nat'l American Women's Suffrage Assocation) to hold off and be patient. They had a few states, right? Wasn't that enough? Eventually, it would happen, right? WRONG. While Carrie Chapman Catt (president of NAWSA at the time) felt like she needed to back down to remain in good political standing, Alice Paul decided that she would NOT take this lying down; if she were to back down now, it would be sending a message to her fellow women that this was okay, and that her cause was not important enough to keep fighting the opposition.

Similarly the STRAIGHT politicians are telling the LGBT community to hold off and be patient; it will happen eventually. If the LGBT community is to back down saying, "Gay marriage is legal in SOME states, eventually it will be legal in all" and "we just need to wait until the public comes around," NOTHING WILL EVER BE DONE. If Alice Paul had not stepped on a few toes by peacefully picketed right in front of the White House (insulting the president and most men along the way), if she had not been imprisoned and force fed through tubes in her throat and nostrils, if she had merely back off and waited for it to happen, would women be afforded their basic right today? To the LGBT community: are you willing to wait for people to come around? are you willing to lie down and back away because they've appeased you with a "not yet"? Are you willing to take the chance that you might never be afforded these basic rights?

How is this movement any different from the Women's Suffrage Movement? It was unconstitutional to deny the right to vote to any U.S. Citizen, so why was it denied to women for so long? It doesn't seem strange to us, now, that women have the right to vote, right? We all see that as a civil liberty, and yet so many people are willing to throw themselves behind the push to deny the right of the pursuit of happiness to the LGBT community.

Give me ONE solid argument for why the LGBT community should be denied the right to be protected under their government against discrimination. Give me ONE solid argument why they should be denied the right to be married to whomever they choose. If you can provide ONE argument that I cannot make a rebuttal for, I will concede and retreat in defeat. (Don't even THINK of playing the religion card, because isn't it constitutionally upheld that we separate church and state?)

Go ahead, try; I dare you.

Until then, I'm not giving up the fight. I'm not rolling over and letting them win. If the government can take these rights from them, what is stopping them from taking MY civil liberties away from me merely because I am a woman, or Native American, or any other excuse. Where can the line be drawn?

I am not gay. I am not lesbian. I am not bisexual. I am not transexual. But I stand up for ALL citizens of the United States, not merely those in the majority or the "norm." I believe in freedom of expression. I believe love is more powerful than hate. And I believe in an America where ALL people are ensured the right to be happy.

Don't give up; this fight has only just begun.

DQ(I need two today) & WOW:

DQ 1: "I won't give anything away 'til we have it all. I can't" --Alice Paul

DQ 2: "You ask me to explain myself. I'm just wondering, what needs to be explained? It should be very clear. Look into your own heart--I swear to you, mine is no different. You want a place in trade and profession where you can earn your bread; so do I. You want the means of self-expression; so do I. You want to satisfy your own personal ambitions; so do I. You want a voice in the government in which you live; so do I. So what is there to explain?" --Alice Paul

WOW: When they start getting defensive, you know you've done something right.

Definitely, maybe,

Erika