Human Equality: A (LGBT Centric) Manifesto. By: Anthony M. Shadows.

I wanted to start out being unique, start with something catchy, something different, something that would really reel people to the page (or screen respectively). But as Im writing this, well typing anyhow, I feel the best place to start is a clich one. But only because it genuinely captures the premise of this entire piece, and explains the nature of what Im talking about. Ladies and gentlemen
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I do indeed hold that all of the things that I will be explaining are self-evident truths. Now this is an imperative point so lets delve a little deeper into this shall we? What are self-evident truths? Well Merriam-Webster defines them as : clearly true and requiring no proof or explanation. And heres the kicker folks, though what I will explain is clearly true, Im going to go ahead and give you all both proof AND explanation! Whaaat? Yes I just said that. Both of them. Those Founding Fathers of ours are right! (Now for this next part, it must be said that I do believe in a god, however that does not change a damn thing throughout this entire piece. Really it doesnt, just shut up and read and youll see). They themselves said that God did create all people Equally, and after being created we are given [by the big man himself] certain rights. Everyone is given the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That in our lives, we have the liberty (the freedom) to Be who we want to be Love who we want to love Marry who we want to marry And devote our lives to whoever we want to devote our lives to All in order to find happiness. That is exactly what it says, in giant black ink, there is no contending with that portion.

And remember folks this says ALL PEOPLE. Not All People* *Except Gays, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. ALL PEOPLE, EVERYONE has these rights. All right all right, maybe you dont want to listen to a bunch of crazy dusty old white guys preach, thats fine. How about listening to a man that, in the 50s and 60s, a lot of people thought was not only badass but completely correct in his assumptions. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Himself. BAM! Impressed yet? Okay Ill give you more. So back in time then, when people were starting to forget what the Founders of our country had said, Dr. King took it upon himself to remind everyone what the deal was. He was an advocate for Human Equality, he spread the message that all people are Equal under God. Sound familiar? [See crazy dead white presidents above]. At this time in history it was the African Americans that were being treated unfairly, and being denied their unalienable rights. And even though these were the specific people Dr. King was speaking about, the meaning transcends just one group of people. It is the same message for everyone. We can take his words, and with a minute difference we can arrive at a separate yet equal conclusion. (Wham! Irony usage, separate but equal get it? It was horrible, and now Im using it against the oppressors as something positive. Damn Im good huh?) Dr. King had a dream, and I too have one now. Heres mine: I have a dream that my future children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the orientation of who they love, but by the content of their character. Ohh, look at that! Two simple and tiny changes and the meaning is still the same, and just as powerful. We are in a dire need of another Civil Rights Movement. Because, once again, people have completely forgotten what the Founders AND Dr. King have said. Once more the population has overlooked these SELF-EVIDENT truths, bounded around them, or just plain misused them.

Seriously people, they are written Everywhere! You hear these words over and over again, until sometimes it gets really ridiculously annoying. But apparently we need to hear them all again, because SOME of us are a bit slow on the uptake. Some of us dont Yet get that 1. All of us are created the same, that we have the right to be free and happy in our lives. 2. That [see above] AND we should not be judged on superficial criteria, but on what is in our souls. It seems simple enough, so maybe its not the message itself. Maybe the message is clear and easy, but maybe people just dont want to listen to who is saying it. Is that it? Is it the person behind the mic that is making you ignore Self-Evident Truths? Okay, well I have a solution for that problem. So you dont want to listen to the people who created the country you now live in, or a Ph.D carrying freedom fighter, or even me.

Thats cool! I respect that, its completely fine. So I have someone who I know a lot of people
would listen to, (and have actually). Someone who, if you argued with him youd be deserving of hell, but he wouldnt send you there (even if you had it coming), because he loves you so damn much! Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you, my ace in the hole,

JESUS CHRIST!

Yeah, Jesus [son of God himself] Christ is on MY side, hooooo listening now? (And it really doesnt matter whether or not you believe he was the savior, or even existed. You know the truth of his words and teachings and how good the meanings are. But of course if youre that open minded already than this piece really isnt for You? Is it??) Alright so a lot of people throw around Bible quotes, sometimes willy nilly, just a whipping them out there. And many of these are from the Old testament, old. And moreso they are not DIRECT QUOTES from the Big G. Ladies and Gentlemen I have New testaments, new! And I have Direct QuotesDirect Quotes out of the Holy Mans mouth. (Supposedly, but still Direct.)

None of this Oh Im a prophet, Im a middle man with my Own agendas NO! This is Jesus Christ saying it, To Your Face. Your Face. How do you screw up a Direct Quote? Seriously, okay well people have screwed up the Founding Fathers direct written quote that is sealed under glass, even Dr. Kings written speech. I dont know How you do it, but you do. But this is Mr. Walk on Water, Water into Wine, Raising the Dead, Jesus! How do you misunderstand a direct quote from someone who isnt human?? Whew, but thats all okay, because I will take you through it and explain it to you.

John 13:34-35 SNAP! -- "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Love your neighbors means love Everybody. Not convinced? To reinforce that "love your neighbor" applies to everyone, Jesus extended the rule of love to even our Enemies! WHAT? Youre kidding me right? NOPE.

Matthew 5:43-48 BLAM! -- "There is a saying, 'Love your friends and hate
your enemies.' But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathens do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Really couldnt have said it better myself, then again Im not the SON OF GOD am I? [Far Far From It] We commonly think of neighbors as the people who live near us, but Jesus meant it to include all humankind - even our Enemies! Jesus told his famous parable of the Good Samaritan to make it clear that "love your neighbor" means to love ALL persons, Everywhere - not just our friends, allies, countrymen, etc.: We should not exclude Anyone or any group because of social status, a supposed character fault, religious difference, racial difference, ethnic difference, citizenship difference, etc.

So with ALL of this new information I know I wont get struck down when I say that Jesus loves the gays! Because he does. Jesus is down with the LGBT. Jesus even loves those who hate. I know Im not that good of a person. And thats what it all comes down to folks, LOVE. It is all about Love. With Love, I am about to squash this How do I explain to my kids about homosexuality bs. You look them right in the eyes and say this You know how I love your mommy (or vice versa) very very much, and would do anything for her? Well some people feel that same love for another person thats like them, a boy or a girl. But its the same kind of love, just for a daddy and a daddy or a mommy and a mommy. SAME LOVE! Bam. There, I answered your question and solved your dilemma. Love, we all need it, we all need to show it, and we all need to accept it. So it is with this idea in mind I sign this,

Love,
Anthony M. Shadows.

P.S.

DISCLAIMER

All mentions of Who or Whom in regards to love is meant only of Human Beings. HAH!!! You all thought Id forget to mention that huh?? OHHH NOO! No dog or hamster marrying going on here!!!! You were all ready to jump on that argument werent you?? WELL SUCK IT!!!! BAHA! --whoops Im being told now by Jesus that that was mean spirited and not in congruence with his teachings. So sorry J.C. I apologize to the hamster theory folks.