Haiku #39 went up last Monday. #40 went up yesterday. Now on to more important matters. "Proposition 2," the Texas Constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman has passed. I am horrified that this has happened. It says things to me about Humanity that I don't want to believe. Are there really that many small-minded, petty people in the world? When will the American Dream become reality? When will all people truly be treated as equals? I've heard so many people give up after this, and it's heartbreaking. Some GLBT people didn't even vote, because they already felt hopeless. Well, I for one am not giving up. The time to fight is now. Fight with words. Fight with demonstrations. And for Godsake fight with votes! If more progressive-minded Americans will take the fight to the voting booth instead of just giving into despair, the tide will turn. This is not a time for giving up. This is a time for standing up. I can't put into words how hurt I feel, how betrayed, by the way the vote went. It feels as if the entire world has turned its back on what is right. People quote the Bible to make their arguments against gay marriage, and most of them have never even read the Bible. I can argue against anything these narrow-minded hatemongers have to say about the Biblical view on homosexuality. But why should I? If they're going to bring up Jesus, why are they ignoring the primary message that he was trying to get across? "Love your neighbor as yourself." "Judge not, lest you be judged." And even then, why should I bring up Jesus? What ever happened to Separation of Church and State? And are not all Americans entitled to the Pursuit of Happiness? We should all be allowed to decide who we marry. If sex was "intended" for procreation, then shouldn't we also forbid all marriages between the elderly and sterile? When women go through the change of life, then doesn't sex become a "sin?" If the law is going to forbid gay marriages, then shouldn't it also annul all marriages in which a woman has passed her childbearing years? Why do we draw the line at homosexuality? It's because people fear what they don't understand. It has nothing to do, actually, with the Bible, or with what sex was "intended" to be, or with reason at all. The hatred that the GLBT community faces is entirely born of fear. So why should we, also in fear, back down and refuse to fight back? I say we break free of Fear, because Fear is clearly the enemy. It is our only true enemy. And fear is almost always born of Ignorance. So if we eliminate the Ignorance, we eliminate the Fear. That's why we can't stop fighting. That's why we have to be heard, no matter who would rather we just accept our fate and be quiet. Stand up. Be heard. Do everything in your power to educate the ignorant and fearful masses. And for the love of all things sacred...vote.