Congratulations to the the newlyweds! Traci and Dustin, have an amazingly fun and safe honeymoon in Mexico. Thank you both for inviting emma and me to your wedding ceremony. It was tailored to your shared interests, expressed shared beliefs and feelings. Omedeto and best of luck! =D
This took place at Mt. Sunapee in NH on July 4th with friends and family from both sides of the aisle. It was a beautiful sunny day. Nearly all the attendees stood by - odd, due to the fact that there were 3 rows of chairs for guests to sit in - while the bridesmaids walked down the laid out carpet, seemingly, out of the sun.
The ceremony, led by a justice of the peace, was short with live music and two readings; one by a little girl who had rehearsed a number of times - she did not read entirely from the paper she was holding. It was a very nice experience. Simply put, it was a really swell experience.
Due to the long day of travel, 5 hours, and in my opinion dinner music that was a bit too loud my head began to throb so we called it an early evening but not before snapping a few pix with friends and family.
Saturday turned out to be a spectrum filled day. The morning was filled with bad food, silly times, and reading. I’m so close to finishing Bone by Jeff Smith. I found myself slipping into a nap for a short while with emma and then hung around waiting for MIL to call to feed the kittens and for Traci’s call regarding a cook out.
All eventually occurred. Next on the schedule - the second amendment.
The evening began with general conversation to get to know general each other’s opinions. It can “easily” be described in this way. emma and I plan to vote for Obama. Our driver, Dustin, does not. Traci didn’t say where she stood until later — She doesn’t and won’t vote. I was confused and her friend said that now that this was known, Traci would hear from her much more about said topic.
And so emma and I were asked where we stood on the 2nd amendment. This was after a weak attempt to somehow manage to back us into a corner on the topic of loggers. If I remember correctly that topic came up due an earlier conversation about eating habits/belifs. Neither of us were or are capable of making a reasonable argument and explained ourselves in such a manner. We were both frustrated with the cornering attempt.
For, I believe, an hour plus the singular topic was discussed. It began 4 v 2 (emma and me) and eventually became one on one conversations. I spoke with Dustin’s “brother” (best friend) at great lengths. The conversation proved to me the difficulty of discussing such a topic. He described the myriad of options available within the gun market and the just as plentiful attempts by lawmakers to manage said market place.
How can anyone make a simple statement on this hotly debated topic? It seems impossible. What is clear is the second amendment. And even that isn’t clear. Sure the founding fathers were brilliant men and crafted a wildly amazing piece of text. But they couldn’t see the future. They couldn’t have foreseen cities with millions of people living, literally, on top of each other. They couldn’t have known that manufacturing would improve to such a state that items could be produced in mass quantities such as is available in today’s marketplace.
They were brilliant men. Yes. But their concepts and ideas were limited to the era and the best foresight they could muster. Did they have a futurist within their fold to consider the possibilities of the future United States of America? I feel reasonable confident the answer is no. I’d be very interested to hear contrary information.
The conversations, other topics were discussed though not as thoroughly, were engaging and 2 way. Questions were offered up from both all sides and as good debates go, everybody walked away with different perspectives.
Two other topics stood out. One of which was written about by emma HERE - http://emmapoeta.blogspot.com/2008/07/opposing-opinions.html. I’ll expand on it after this — titles. The woman that initiated the 2nd amendment discussion agreed that she was as frustrated as I am by labels. I led the topic off with a statement that I am often associated with Democrats of today when discussing topics even though I agree with many definition based Republican ideologies.
When I say many I don’t have a specific count but agree with: smaller gov.t, fiscal responsibility, etc. It would be off topic to expand on my personal views. Back to the discussion.
She said it was frustrating to her because she attends gun shows and often contributes, based on positive interest, to vegan web sites. Her experience has been mirrored by both groups. She isn’t allowed to hold these two views according to the groups. Why is this so!?
Sound bites and new snippets? Red and blue? We have been organized by labels that we may or may not fully fit into. Both of us were and are infuriated by these experiences. People are not binary nor should they be described as such. To the people running the media… Could you move back to the grey please? Life happens there. Thanks.
As emma described a topic of religion (institutionalize family hierarchy) and women rights came up as we were leaving. To the best of my knowledge nothing is institutionalized in the bible stating that the man is the, capital t, decision maker, with decisions made based on input provided by his wife, and/or family.
During the ride back the topic was elaborated based on our lack of knowledge and understanding. The point was argued that the husband is responsible for the family and thus has the final say. What was curious to me was how the allowed/perceived value of women are lessened in this view. Once again, time specificity is key.
I argued that in the past women relied on men to provide - no matter if the environment was healthy or not. Divorce was not an option. Until recently - the USA that is. The move to a more service oriented society has allowed for women to step out from behind the walls and lead lives as they deem fit - even though women still earn less than men in the same position.
I know many religious couples and had never heard the statement, meant with complete sincerity, “He’s the boss.” Upon some quick research I found some additional details on this topic.
Christian views of marriage — Views of Protestant Christians
emma and I thanked our NH hosts a number of times for an absolutely wonderful evening. It isn’t often that an opportunity such as that presents itself. To say again, if one of the participants is reading this - Thank you for sharing your views and for listening to mine.
While getting ready for bed we both hugged and thanked each other for being the person we are. Going to bed tonight, the night after the cook out, I realize how lucky I was to have found someone that shares my values and beliefs. Like finds like. We’re not mirrors of each other. Oh no. Thank goodness. I wouldn’t want it any other way than the way it is.
