the inner altar

I wanted my first blog post to be a little more spiritually reflective as to why I felt the need to begin blogging. Then a hugh political scandal erupted and my mind could not stop spinning with my thoughts on the matter. That is ultimately why I created this blog, to discuss my inner thoughts and motivations in a public forum. A place where people can help me hash out my thoughts and ideas on politics, kabbalah, civil rights, and my career in musical theater. Through this process I hope to find my own "inner altar," the place within me from which my happiness and abundance flow. Discovering what you believe is how you discover who you are. Join me on this journey to my inner altar and see if you can catch a glimpse of yours.

Yesterday, SC Governor Mark Sanford announced he has been cheating on his wife for over a year. I find it fascinating that someone who has prided himself on defending the sanctity of traditional marriage has been violating it himself for some time. The hypocrisy this man has displayed will no doubt dominate the political news media for the week or more. The real tragedy; however, is that his family is now a statistic. SC has a constitutional ban on gay marriage, because of his efforts to "protect marriage." As a US Representative in 1999 he voted to deny adoption rights to gay and lesbian couples in the District of Columbia. In 2002, while running for governor of SC, he stated clearly his position on gay marriage was that there should be absolutely no recognition of their relationships, weather it be marriage, civil union or even domestic partner benefits. This was all supposed to protect the family and marriage's sanctity. Never mind the fact that gay and lesbian families already exist in every state in the Union. The GLBT communities fight for our civil rights is to protect our families and relationships from the calamities of the modern world. We simply want protection for our children, health benefits, hospital visitation rights, and ultimately inheritance rights. Perhaps, Gov. Sanford's focus should have been on matters of infidelity within the heterosexual population's already existing marriages. This focus would have prevented him from denying couples who are in committed monogamous relationships and want to have all of the rights and responsibilities of marriage the ability to do so.

Responsibilities, that is the key to it all. When you enter into a marriage you have responsibilities. Not only do you get the privileges and rights, but there is some work to be done as well. Marriage is a commitment to a lifetime of work and compromise, but also love and happiness. The problem is if you don't do the work and the occasional compromise, your hold on the love and happiness will not last. My GLBT community desperately wants the rights and responsibilities of marriage. I have been blessed by living in a place that, for now, recognizes the validity of my marriage which took place in Boston, MA. So, my marriage is protected on the state level (not the federal) and when Michael and I have children they will have the security that we are both here for them, even if one of us gets sick or passes. There are hundreds of thousands of other couples in this country that are not allowed to get married. That, my friends, is wrong. But, it is made worse when you watch as those who would deny you your civil rights, squander their own through infidelity.

Kol Tuv (kohl tuuv; be well)

Matthew