Ash Beckham is totally cool. Her gender and sexuality have no basis on the fact that she is totally cool. I am convinced that she was born cool and will die cool and what happens in between only serves to make her more cool.
I discovered (by accident) a TED talk she did in Boulder through a site called Upworthy. I admit that I am the most technologically backward person on earth, so I am sure I am the last person to discover this site. But, like Ash, its totally cool.
So, after I was done with this super cool (I need a thesaurus) Ash Beckham video I decided to send it to my friend. Now, this friend is a devout Christian but I really thought that she could look past the fact that Ash is a lesbian and truly enjoy the content of this amazing talk.
WHOA! Was I wrong. The text response came back with the following words "lifestyle", "great speaker BUT", "Jesus" and "Bible". Feel free to let your imagination fill in the spaces between those words. Really. There are no wrong answers, my friend. I am sure you have heard it all before.
In the video Ash talks about coming out of the closet, but her talk is about so much more than that. It's about having difficult conversations with people and it is brilliantly executed. Now, I am NOT tolerant of homophobes. Not even a little. I couldn't even play one on TV. So, this is not a new argument between me and my horribly misguided Christian friend. This time,I decided to hit her where it hurts.
Me and my Christian buddy are not thin. We are both well aware of this fact and hope that people see past it to who we really are. Though I'm not in the "obese" category ,I am only a few hot fudge sundaes and skipped workouts away. (I am not one of those annoying size two chicks who says she's fat so that her friends can say "nah ha", I promise). So I Googled (gotta love Google) what the Bible says about overeating, laziness and gluttony. Guess what, it had a lot more to say about our lifestyle than it did Ash's "lifestyle". It wasn't pretty.
So I presented this to my also not thin Christian friend. No response. I knew that this bothered her because she, like every other woman on earth, is quite sensitive about her size.
I informed her that I was horribly disappointed that she could not look at a human being and recognize her incredible talent without suddenly seeing her through the eyes of Biblical Judgement. How even Jesus didn't bother mentioning homosexuality. I reminded her that though I am vehemently irreligious I also respect those who are not like me, i.e. Joel Osteen. I find him to be a wonderful speaker. She then suggested that I write Joel so that he can convert me. Sigh.... I give up.
She once accused me of thinking that she was stupid. I denied it. Though, I admit, I am quite certain that I am much smarter than she is. This is entirely because of my efforts in this world and not my genetic make up or educational background.
I am significantly more intelligent because I can see past someone's surface and learn about different points of view. Because I don't instantly discount someone for being gay, or fat, or black or anything else I get to actually talk to him or her. I get to know his or her likes, dislikes and general view of the world. I allow myself the opportunity to learn something new from someone new. By being respectful and open, I grow. That's what makes me smart.
I pity people whose view of the world is so narrow that it can fit in a book written hundreds of years before they were even born. They can't believe in evolution because they don't evolve. When you care more about being right than about growing you start to die. Your world gets smaller and your days get longer and you become miserable and stale. Sure, you can count on the whole Heaven thing but what if you are wrong? What if you die and that's it and instead of enjoying this beautiful life with its amazing people you were holding out for some non existent afterlife.
God may or may not exist. But what I know for sure is that any God worth knowing is made of love and kindness and would expect us to spread that in his or her name. Any God that "Hates Fags" is not a God I want to spend a day with, much less eternity. The homophobes can have him.
So homophobes, racists and sexists can go through life in their little bitty worlds. They can compare homosexuality to bestiality in hopes that their God agrees. I sure as hell don't want to spend eternity with them anyway. I will enjoy pissing them off by continuing to be a person of love and kindness regardless of what comes my way. In the end it doesn't matter because, to me, its all about the journey.
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