I'm Going Out on a Limb

Proposition 8. It's a topic I've managed to avoid, which is somewhat surprising considering I don't avoid many topics. I am not even going to go into whether it is right or wrong, because people feel the way they are going to feel. What I've really been thinking about is the crazy tactics people employ when they want others to change. First of all, let's take the emotion out, and talk a little math.

5.66 million Californians voted FOR Proposition 8.
5.15 million Californians voted AGAINST Proposition 8. (as of Saturday, although some provisional ballots remain to be counted, statisticians still project that it will pass.)

The LDS Church is taking a lot of heat, and I will be the first to admit that they were front and center in the fight. However, estimates of the LDS membership in California are somewhere between 754,000 and 1,885,000 (utilizing 2007 Census estimates of a California population of 37.7 million, and LDS church membership of 2-5% of the Californian population). So even if every man, woman, and child older than the age of 8 voted FOR proposition 8 (and that is a statistical impossibility because 8 year olds can't vote, and I know Barbara Young voted AGAINST), that still leaves a minimum of 3.78 MILLION Californians not of the LDS faith who also voted FOR the proposition (restated, anywhere from 2/3 to 3/4 of all votes cast in support of the Proposition came from those who were not LDS).

Again, I know that the LDS people were extremely supportive of the proposition, both in their willingness to be vocal, and in their willingness to open their wallets. It makes us a target because we are known. That's a risk anyone takes when taking a stand, and I am sure that there are some on the other side of this argument who have also been targeted because of their willingness to speak their minds. The reason I bring up the statistics involved is that although Mormons were vocal, they weren't even a majority in passing this proposition. The LDS Church is rightfully in the cross hairs of those who are disappointed in the way the vote went, but I'm just arguing that they shouldn't be the only ones in the cross hairs. I think it's fair to say that change is needed- some LDS faithful have gone too far, as have some of their opponents. This brings me to Part Two of our discussion today- how does one bring about change in others?

I have certainly seen examples of what NOT to do in the last few days. Again, let's just be logical. If I am a gay person, and I would like to enjoy additional acceptance from the LDS church, how in the world is vandalizing their house of worship EVER going to accomplish that? I guarantee you that not one single Mormon has thought to themselves, "You know, I voted for Proposition 8. But now that my church has been spray painted, hey, I totally see the error of my ways." Similarly, if I'd like to make friends with a gay person, I can promise that spray painting "Faggot!" on the doors of Ikea isn't going to do the trick. At the risk of sounding trite, if we want to be tolerated, we must be tolerant. If we wanted to be treated with kindness, we must be kind. Who's to say how I might have voted on the same proposition? No matter what my feelings politically, our loving Father in Heaven has told us that every soul has worth. There has to be a way to disagree politically without demeaning each other, and I hope that we can figure it out.

(If you don't know where you stand, try this on for size: "I support gay marriage, as long as both chicks are hot.")