Greetings from the Land of Enchantment

A question of parenting

In the wake of such a wonderful reawakening of the American spirit, the election of Obama, there is also a tremendous grief at the civil liberties still being denied to people--from the arch conservative hills of Arkansas to the progressive shores of California. But a deeper shock hit me when I read the amendment that recently passed in my sister's home state of Arkansas. Not only did they deny parenting rights to gay people, but also single people (just to be SURE that no gay person could parent). But in their zealotry to deny parenting rights to people that they for whatever reason have taken upon themselves to disparage and hate, they have also denied me my right to parent.

I am single--and although I have always sensed the true nature of cultural pariah that it was--I've never believed it warranted having my civil liberties removed. Evidently Arkansas thinks otherwise.

My sister's only response was, 'well, we're pretty conservative here.' And in my effort to not completely deny her place as my family, I simply replied, 'that's one word for it.'

For myself, I have always gone back and forth between wanting to parent and accepting what life has given me. But in the face of having that right denied, I'm taken aback. What about my never having married makes me less capable of loving a child, or providing shelter and security, or just plain wanting to help someone who has either been abandoned or left behind by tragedy. The state of Arkansas says, too bad, you're not human enough to parent. Well, here's a big "F--- You" to the State of Arkansas and anyone who believes they have the right to determine who's human enough to be deserving of the full expression of civil liberties here in the United States.

posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 12:33 PM