Parting Words

I simply cannot keep up, and I think there are more important things I can be doing in this fight, so I’ve decided to close the blog. It’s been great getting to know all of you Traditional Marriage Bloggers™ (TMBs) over the months, and your welcome was so gracious (if ephemeral) that I just want to share with you a few of the things I have learned, before I go:

1) If you want people to take your writing seriously, please learn the difference between “its” and “it’s.” This is third grade grammar, people. (Even if it were college-level writing, I’d expect someone with a Master’s Degree in English to know the difference, Ms. D.) There were plenty of other spelling and grammar mistakes in your writings, but this was the most egregious example. Details matter, even small ones.
2) Using Facebook as an activist community was amazing. Everyone was so friendly, too, until you got wary because Facebook was shutting down profiles with fake names. I wondered how long it would take for you to catch on. Still, it was fun while it lasted.
3) Facebook isn't just fun, it's a powerful tool. And like all powerful tools, you can get hurt if you’re not careful when you use it. It's good to know what you're signing up for when you create your account. Read the rules and user agreement instead of just clicking "I Agree." Understand how all of the parts work, especially the security settings. It was ridiculously easy to find out your real names because you didn't bother to change the default settings. (Oh, and taking the first letter off of your real last name to create a less-fake-looking Facebook profile might fool more people if you also go to the trouble of changing your profile picture.)
4) Once I had real names , Google was my best friend. And once Google was my best friend, it became obvious that you TMBs weren’t so much an “army” as a sleight of hand, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain endeavor. It was sort of impressive how many of you created aliases for your aliases so that you could comment on your own blog posts and make your audience seem larger. Whose idea was that? He or she should get a bonus. You should have created different backstories for your aliases, though, because thanks to text string searching, it was simple to match different dead-end profiles to detailed comments made across the world wide web. W00t indeed.
5) Some of you have personal histories that have led to a combination of the psychological processes known as displacement and projection. Essentially, you have experienced tremendous loss and pain, but you cannot accept your own culpability in these events. You also cannot attack the person you feel is actually responsible for your pain, so you have projected your blame and displaced your anger upon a group that is easy to abuse: the GLBT community. Therapy might be a more productive path to take.
6) Studying the culture of confirmation bias (you really ought to look that up) you TMBs have managed to create and sustain would be the next logical step, if only there were as many of you as you’ve tried so hard to pretend there are; your actual group size isn’t a large enough sample. I suppose an ethnographic approach would work, but to be honest, I just don’t have the energy for it.

I really do want to thank you all for the work you’ve done; you’ve shown me the true nature of the fight and eased my mind considerably about the caliber of the opponents. See you around the web.

~Dominique
Une des Comtesses

P.S. The "favorite book" part of my profile? Not The Fountainhead, nor the Bible. The Count of Monte Cristo.

After Iowa: What now?

I'm still reeling from the news Friday that the Iowa Supreme Court has struck down the law in Iowa that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. And it was a unanimous decision -- not one justice dissented. I'm not sure what I expected to happen, but I certainly never imagined a unanimous decision declaring the law unconstitutional. I'm having a hard time believing that not one justice in the "breadbasket of America" defended the traditional definition of marriage. Some legislators, though, are doing what one might expect in the heartland: mobilizing to amend the Iowa Constitution. House Joint Resolution 6 would alter the Iowa Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. I imagine this would work like Proposition 8 did in California, then, except that the process in Iowa for amending the Constitution is much more difficult. Apparently, an amendment must pass two consecutive sessions of the legislature in order to get on the ballot, and then the citizens get to vote. This will take at least 2 years (and that's if HJR 6 can get to the floor for a vote before the legislature adjourns their session in less than one month.)

So what now, then? I guess we roll up our sleeves and keep fighting.

Alert: Iowa Supreme Court Decision Expected Tomorrow

I can't believe I haven't posted in almost 2 months! I am the worst blogger ever. (I'll try to be better, but I was busy -- being a good mom. Both of the kids had a horrible flu and gave it to us and now, after many prescriptions, gallons of orange juice, and a case of Lysol, we are finally back on the path to wellness. Thank goodness!) I got an email alert this morning that I knew I had to post:

According to the Iowa Supreme Court's webpage, they expect to release their Varnum v. Brien decision tomorrow! I know we have all been hoping and praying for this to go our way and continue to "make our case" to other Americans about the values of the people, so it's going to be hard to wait one more day, but at least we know it's just one more day now.

In the meantime, I plan to tune in to Beetlebabee's blogtalkradio show today at 2:00 PST to help pass the time.

"A Triumph for Human Rights"

I can't believe I haven't seen any coverage of this on any of the major mainstream news media sites! Arie Hoekman of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) spoke in Mexico City last month, and declared that families are not in crisis, but rather: "We are in the presence of...the rise of new values centered in the recognition of fundamental human rights."

Mexico has rising crime rates, as well as high rates of divorce and out-of-wedlock births. Leonardo Casco, a Honduran member of the Pontifical Council for the Family, does not see anything to celebrate about the breakdown of the traditional family. He told LifeSiteNews that "after 45 years of birth control, the pill, disrespect for marriage for the family, for children, etc, this is the result. Because of that we have violence, war, lack of respect of women, children."

See LifeSiteNews for their full report. I wish I could think of something smart to say about this, but I'm flabbergasted.

I think it's time to join in

I don't know if I'm going to have anything worthwhile to talk about, or be able to say something original. I just know that things seem to be changing too fast, and a lot of the "change" isn't stuff I believe in. I've been lurking around a lot of blogs lately and realized there are other people who feel like I do and I think it's time to get involved in the fight for traditional families. I don't know what I'll do, yet, but this blog is where I'm starting.