I Am Ashamed of My State

I am ashamed of the state I live in: North Carolina.  I've lived here all my life.  I was born here, went to school here, work here and now have children that are being raised her;e.  Sometimes, I'm frustrated because people from other areas of the country or other nations think I live in a land of hoe downs, clogging, pig pickings and general backwardness.  People's perception of the southern states is largely due to television and movie portrayals and I understand that.  That doesn't bother me.

However, yesterday my state voted to pass a constitutional amendment making same sex marriage illegal.  It was already illegal, what did we need a constitutional amendment for?  The door was already shut and locked, and yet people wanted to put chains around the whole building to make sure nothing could possibly happen that would offend their personal beliefs of what is right?  I am disgusted.

I have often thought of a quote from my favorite author, Robert Heinlein, about laws from the book, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.  In relation to this amendment, I have thought about it quite a lot:

         Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please.  Rules, laws – always for the other fellow.  A murky part of us, something we had before we came down out of the tree, and failed to shuck when we stood up.  Because not one of those people said: “Please pass this so that I won’t be able to do something I know I should stop."  Nyet, tovarishcee, was always something they hated to see neighbors doing.  Stop them “for their own good” – not because speaker claimed to be harmed by it.

Why do people want laws passed that don't hurt them at all?  Why is there a need to pass laws to make other people do, or not do, something that has no affect on them personally?  I do not understand.
 
I am saddened and angry at my state.  The only consolation I have is that my county and several others around me as well as some counties with larger cities voted in majority against the amendment.

The Big Boy Update:  The first big battle of wills has commenced.  He wants milk.  He wants it in a bottle.  He hates, HATES, milk in a sippy cup.  We've transitioned him to a special sippy cup from his Aunts Adrienne and Brenda for his bedtime milk.  It has a silicone spout and he will drink that.  It's not even the cups that he hates, it's the milk in the cups.  Juice in any of them?  No problem.  Yesterday morning he was begging for milk, crying and pitching a fit for milk.  We offered him milk in three different sippy cups at once and let him choose.  He screamed and refused all of them and tried to throw them on the floor while at the same time pointing to them saying, "more."  He ate breakfast without liquid.  We have an added challenge because he sees bottles all day long because of his baby sister.  We know that's making it harder.  I called a mom friend and asked if we were doing the right thing.  SHe said if he's drinking liquids well through the rest of the day to stand strong.  That, we can do.  I will not be out-stubborned by a seventeen-month-old.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Help, I've rolled over again, WAAH.  She forgets how to roll back over and needs help in the middle of the night, or more commonly, the early morning.  If she wasn't in a room with her brother or if she just whimpered instead of escalating to full-on scream, I'd let her work it out.  As it is, we may have to lend a hand with some flipping over help until she gets a little older. 

Right-size Countdown:  -0.8 pounds to go.