Common Sense Views on Gay Marriage… One definition of common sense is “good judgment derived from experiences rather than study.” A redundant definition since often the conclusions drawn from study are derived from the experience of the study itself. Furthermore, and this is key…who’s good judgment? Who decides? In our society we tend to follow the herd; in other words, if enough of us seem to agree on a subject, it is determined safe to assume it is right. Topics like gay marriage get caught in the crossfire of large groups, confident in their numbers, shouting opposing viewpoints based on their own (collective) definition of good judgment or common sense,  of right and wrong.

Who decided that it isn’t appropriate to wear white after Labor Day? Who decided what foods constitute an appropriate breakfast or  dinner? Who decides what is “in” and what is “out”? Who decides who gets married and who doesn’t? More importantly, why do so many blindly accept these decisions, allowing their lives to be affected by them, even if to their own detriment?

Fear makes us do that.

We are born unique, spiritual beings, no two of us identical in every way, which is the very reason each of us is so important to the collective whole. Yet, we seem to forget this as we create our lives and live them out. Somewhere along the way, we reach for the security of sameness. We suffer an identity crisis, we begin to doubt ourselves. Fear makes us bunch together, looking for our singular individual identity in those around us. In other words, we look without when the answers are always within.

Politics offers an excellent example of this;most  people take a side and then stubbornly adhere to all viewpoints belonging to that side, unwilling to consider that perhaps on this topic they disagree, but on that topic they do agree. It becomes all or nothing. Fear does that. Forgetting who we really are does that. Group validation gives us a feeling of identity, power.

Why should you or I care how any other person defines love, when the parties involved are consenting adults? Love is worthy in all its mutually consensual forms. Why is it my business? Why is it yours? When such basic things become an issue for debate, it really says only one thing: our need to control the lives and actions of others is fear-based. Every, single time. Why are so many so afraid?

“God says it’s wrong, it is in the Bible” some will cry angrily. I say, God did not write the Bible. Men wrote the Bible. I say God is the collective consciousness of which we are all a part; God is absolute acceptance and unconditional love. It is never God who demands obedience or threatens punishment, who plays favorites and passes judgment, for those are all expressions of enormous fear. As spiritual beings and part of God consciousness, we have the ability to tap into the stream of love and acceptance and rely upon it completely for the sense of true personal power and security we seek.

 When we concern ourselves less with how other consenting adults are expressing love to one another, and concern ourselves more with discovering the God within ourselves, debates about gay marriage will become the utterly irrelevant topics common sense dictates they should be!