UN: United against Homosexuals?

The United Nations has historically stood up for human rights and the protection of human life. But recently, it came into question whether the lives of gay people are worth protecting. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, the majority of nations who voted...voted NO, gays shouldn't be protected.

This controversy surrounds an amendment proposed by the small country of Benin to remove sexual orientation from the UN provisions for the protection of human life. The final tally:

79 votes in favor

70 votes against

17 abstentations

26 absent

Let's break it down:

Major votes in favor of removing sexual orientation: Afghanistan, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Egypt, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Vietnam

Major votes against removing sexual orientation: every European nation present, India, Korea, most of Latin America, all of North America, and Israel.

Excuse me for being a bit ethnocentric, but those "in favor" countries are RIDICULOUS. The United States is normally portrayed as a bully who pushes its will upon the rest of the world. And in some regards, it is. But this is an area where the world should get pushed a little bit. This is beyond a cultural issue, it's an issue of human life. Some may say it's not our duty to step in and meddle with the affairs of others. And I agree that stepping in might not be the best term for it. But as human beings, we should advocate for all human life, especially those that are being unjustly extinguished. By being apathetic to the death of innocents overseas, we express our silent approval, which is why abstaining is just as bad as voting in favor. If choose not to act, where are effectively disrespecting human life altogether.

Now I may get some hate mail for this next part, but I wonder what the difference is between the nations for and against. Many of the nations in favor of the oppressive amendment have communist governments and histories of discrimination (such as Apartheid). There is also heavy support from undevelopped and developping countries. On the other hand, those against are mainly Westernized or influenced by Western culture. Perhaps the strength of the education system plays a role in how countries voted. Now I don't want to say the countries wanting this amendment are uneducated, but I gotta admit it seems like a pretty uneducated decision.

Ohhh Radio Shows

Hey folks! Feel like it's been forever. Moving into finals week for my Masters program now. I can't believe I'll be all done this time next week! Hopefully a passing CPA score will come in for Christmas and I'll be all set =)

There's a bunch of back-logged things I wanna blog about. I'll get to them eventually, but today I was driving into the community college to volunteer as a tutor and heard the most outrageous radio show. OK, so it probably wasn't outrageous to normal people, but my socially sensitive mind was really disturbed about the on-air conversation.

So a woman calls in upset that her fiance told her that he won't marry her unless she takes his last name. Then the phone lines open up and the stupidity ensues. Most callers tell her she should hyphenate, or take his last name to appease him, or that it depends on whether he has a bad last name. But NO, it doesn't depend on what his last name is. His last name could be Cullen (the coolest last name in the world). But that is not the point.

The issue here is that this woman is being coerced into something that she doesn't want to do. Now I'm not married myself, but I have feeling that coersion would probably be a bad starting point. How are you expected to stand at an altar (or other symbolic place) and vow that you love someone unconditionally when there are express conditions put on your marriage?

A recent study came out that found that many Americans were considering marriage obsolete. I think that's because many people are losing sight of the fundamental purpose of marriage. No, not the fundamentalist purpose, the fundamental purpose. We are all caught up in what the man should do and what the women should do when the only thing that the two people should do is love each other. And no, love doesn't conquer all, but it's an awful good place to start.

Oh yea...IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!