Found a letter to the Editor I wrote last year that you guys might like

[WeRQ4U]

I wrote it last year in haste when ND voted for an all-out ban on homosexual unions. It drove me to tears. I couldn't help but think about those that I knew who would be effected. SO I got pissed and wrote this.
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Dear Editor,

I am writing to express my shame and displeasure for the voting majority of North Dakota. I am fully aware of the conservative mind set of North Dakota voters, and have struggled mightily to understand many of the decisions its leaders and citizens have made. However, this session’s final vote tally is one I will never forget and never forgive.

This letter has nothing to do with the legislative candidates or incumbents. It has nothing to do with arbitrary state “colors”. It has nothing to do with Kerry or Bush. This has to do with common American values; equality, freedom and civil rights, and how North Dakota has so thoughtlessly discarded them. The vote to amend the North Dakota constitution to include bans on homosexual marriage and/or civil unions is the most despicable pronouncement of hatred and intolerance since apartheid. The disregard for the physical and emotional impact of such a pronouncement, by such a majority of the population is truely discouraging.

I have long held the opinion that although the people of North Dakota were hard nosed and opinionated, they were warm, inviting, and accepting. I have always believed that this state, although sparsely populated, was a place where people would eventually return, if only because it was a great place to raise a family. After this election, I no longer believe any of this. This is NOT a place where I would ever raise my children. I would never choose to surround my family with individuals who would unmercifully segregate a portion of society, and purposefully strip that segment of its rights as American citizens and fellow human beings. I know those that voted for the amendment include people that I care for and people that have cared for me and this is what saddens me the most. The very people that surrounded me throughout my formative years may very well be those people who not only allowed something this awful to occur, but perpetuated it. What went wrong? I'll tell you.

The religious radicals and far right-wing Republicans have hoodwinked the people I grew up with. They cloaked their cruel intentions with divinity and righteousness, all the while fueling hatred and intolerance. They scared my fellow citizens into believing that if they allowed same sex relationships, it would somehow “undermine” their traditional Christian marriages. They professed that homosexuality was a despicable choice made, one way or another, to rebel against society, and for this reason it could receive no formal respect, from the Church or otherwise; as if it were akin to tongue piercing or facial tattoos. They toyed with their consciences by implying that homosexuals were, somehow, less than people. These people have stolen our religion. They have used Jesus as their excuse for being insufferable, hateful people. And whether it be out of fear or faith, the people of North Dakota followed suit.

I counter with this: I am baptized in the Lutheran Church. I have attended Church services since birth. I was confirmed in the same. I attended Sunday school classes as a young and grown child and I have been married by a Christian pastor. NOT ONCE since my marriage have I pondered whether the marriage of two men or woman would somehow cause the sanctity of my union with my wife to deteriorate. NOT ONCE have I questioned whether my acceptance of homosexual marriage or homosexuality in general, would tarnish my soul or redirect its fate towards any heaven or hell. NOT ONCE did I ever compare the love between two human beings to pre-teen rebellion and heavy metal music. And NOT ONCE did I EVER entertain the though that someone of a different sexual persuasion was inferior to me. To do so seems ludicrous.

One question I HAVE often asked myself, however, is this: How can a logical human being use liberty and freedom for the people of Iraq as justification for an unprovoked war within its borders, and at the same time vote to strip a grand portion of their fellow Americans of those same rights by altering our constitution? It is an ethical hypocrisy and a convenient social contradiction that I am sure I will never understand.

North Dakota has struggled for years to retain the people that reside within its borders. It has campaigned heavily to curtail the mass exodus of its young adults to other, more promising states. But North Dakota remains entrenched in the past and drenched in hatred. It refuses to progress. Indeed, this November it has fallen backward.

I am not afraid to say that I have had enough. I no longer want any part of this. My association with North Dakota shall be, for this time forward, merely superficial. When my activities here are through, I will join the other aspiring young North Dakotans, and depart. I will continue, reluctantly, to call North Dakota my birth place, but I will never refer to it again as “home.” To many, my decision to leave North Dakota’s borders is of no consequence. Truly, many will offer a heart-felt “good riddance” and wave. However, be fully aware that the decision I have made is one that many others will seriously entertain.

In the past I worried about North Dakota’s dwindling population. I used to believe that North Dakota held opportunity, compassion and promise. Now, I know the opposite is true, and I no longer worry. Because you can have it, I no longer care.