New Avatar Supports Traditional Marriage
New Avatar
As a US citizen, I believe that I not only have the right, but the obligation to stand up and be counted rather than hide behind a politically correct façade. For this reason, I chose to change my avatar, at least for a while, to this symbol of marriage. This blog is not intended to invite criticism or arguments. It is merely my equal right to come out of the closet.
This is one of the new Avatars representing traditional marriage – between a man and a woman. That concept pre-dates Christ by thousands of years. Marriage has been identified for millennia as a union between a woman and a man. Displaying this avatar represents my belief that the definition of the word marriage should not be changed.
Personally, I feel that if gays want to get “married” they should create a name for a union between same sex couples. As a writer, I work with words. Every time an old established word is twisted into a new meaning, it can change the context of that scene – possibly even the entire story. Rather than changing the meaning of an old word, we should change the wording of the laws that discriminate.
We have a nasty history of using a word in the wrong context, inadvertently turning it into something it is not. One example is the word retarded. Anyone who works on cars knows that if you retard the timing, you slow it down. People ignorant to the meaning of retarded began using it to describe a person incapable of taking care of themselves. Of course, mentally retarded people can be extremely handicapped or mildly handicapped. Because the word was so misused and gained a negative connotation, a new term was coined. It is now politically correct to call it “developmentally challenged.” Since this change, using the “R” word is considered to be in poor taste and insulting. There are other words, such as Negro, which was changed to Black, or Afro-American. Changing the words doesn’t change the situation. It puts a temporary Band-Aid on the problem. It isn’t a solution. It is merely used to placate. I find that insulting.
But there is another reason for this avatar, and that is to assure like-minded people that they are not alone. Often people are attacked if their belief doesn’t conform to that of others. So to me, this icon is like the US flag. It represents freedom – freedom of speech and expression, among other things. There are two sides to every issue, and this happens to be mine. Feel free to use this avatar if it is yours as well.
Linda L. Rigsbee 