Besides my mind being saturated in music education, being gay has caused me to be saturated in and follow politics closely. Being gay is only a small part of me, but it affects MANY aspects of my life. Here are 2 of those aspects:
Because I'm gay, I can be fired from my job; there is no employment protection for gay people in many states, including Texas.
Because I'm gay, I can't legally marry the one person I want to marry. Back in 2005, Texas became one of many to put discrimination into the state constitution, passing an amendment that turned me into a 2nd class citizen, stripping me of one of my basic civil rights, which, in turn, affected many other protections and benefits I could've automatically received had I just gotten a marriage license.
Consequently, I've had to hire an attorney to grant me and my 6-year partner a small handful of rights a marriage license automatically grants, like hospital visitation rights, medical power of attorney, and financial power of attorney, and it cost us almost $1,000. So I am now passionate about politics, because unlike church laws and teachings, I actually have a say in politics -- it's called a vote. Politicians have the power to make and change laws, and because laws have been passed that have made me unequal under the law, I keep a close eye on politicians, because I don't want them passing laws that hurt my well-being.
All that being said...
I can understand why many people don't care to follow politics; they feel there's no point, that politicians are just crooks, only in it for money or publicity, they can be bought. It doesn't help that politics can get childish, messy, and so on. Despite the negatives of politics, we need to pay attention to what's going on. We need to learn who's running, and what they support and oppose, because the people in office sponsor and pass laws that affect your daily life and/or the lives of those around you. This is why it's so important to vote, regardless of whether or not you think your vote "counts", you have the right to do it, so EXERCISE IT! If you don't like the job the elected official has done, you have no right to complain if you didn't exercise your right to vote.
Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men. -The Boondock Saints
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