Making sense

Anne Lamott, on writing ...

"We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason why they write so little. But we do. We have so much we want to say and figure out.”

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Oh, Chick-Fil-A ...

So Estee, my oldest, comes home from her shift at Starbucks today, ranting that "idiots are protesting" Chick-Fil-A and "somebody's going to get killed in that traffic jam." *The sandwich place is adjacent to SBux ... .*
Let me tell you about my daughter. Estee is 26 and flamingly liberal. She has several gay friends; she is anti-organized religion; she is anti-bigotry/anti-racism; she can't watch any television show where someone is being humiliated; she was bullied throughout elementary and middle school and can't stand the idea of someone intentionally being mean to anyone; she is a lover of dogs and books and tortilla chips and foreign films and her parents; she's an excellent writer; she's a college graduate; she bakes excellent cookies; her goal in life is to bake stuff and feed people.
She is, for all intents and purposes, a Decent Human Being.
I am proud of her. The fact that she is a Decent Human Being makes me proudest ~ not her degree in English ("worthless," she says), not her knowledge of All Things Historical, not her ability, even, to make up amazingly delectable cookie recipes that would make Cookie Monster need insulin.
She ~this child of mine ~ is good to the core. Kind and generous.
And the fact that there are irrational, hate-filled people who go around shooting up theaters, killing their exes, locking children into closets filled with feces and stale FrootLoops, and doing other unmentionables makes me sick to my core, because my kid is so kind and sweet and law-abiding and she lives in a world where a lot of people aren't.
About ten minutes ago, on Facebook, one of my Christian feeds (ChristiaNet) posed this question: Are you in support of traditional marriage? Why?
Here's what I wrote. Word for word.
Yes, I support traditional marriage, because I believe in the nuclear family, and that two parents are better than one. However, I also believe that a same-sex couple can raise children effectively. Know what I hate? Divorce and adultery, alcoholism and other substance abuse, bigotry and violence. Is "traditional" marriage best? Probably, as we live in a weird-ass society filled with hatred and suspicion of others who aren't like us. It is that hatred and misunderstanding that unnerves children and threatens functional families who aren't "traditional." What would Jesus do? Love all and judge no one.
Kind of like what my daughter does.