Some Background on Tuttle

     The condo and garage are looking more and more bare as we have sold off quite a bit of our stuff.  The more sentimental and personal things have been boxed for storage with friends and the things that we cannot sell will be given to charity.  It is Christmas after all.  Speaking of Christmas, Ophelia has left for the week to spend the holidays with her family in Montana and as soon as I am done sorting out a few things here, I will be off to a friend’s house.  I couldn’t very well spend an entire week with Ophelia’s parents.  They dislike me quite a bit and my voting for Obama and gay marriage has certainly increased their hatred of me.  Speaking of the gay issue…let me make it clear on how I feel about it as a staunch heterosexual. .  I can care less about a persons’ sexual orientation.  It’s none of my business and although I voted for it, that measure never should have been on the ballot in the first place.  That was unconstitutional in of itself.  Gays have the same rights as everyone else and when we initiate a measure that could deny folks of their inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and we allow it to be put to the vote we become un-American and traitors to the Republic in the process.  The pursuit of happiness is one of the fundamental ideals that America was founded on and we cannot allow it to be infringed upon by those with fears and prejudices.  Yes I have heard all the propaganda on the matter: it goes against the laws of nature, God considers it a sin, gays raising a child together would invariably make that kid gay.  All bullshit!  It does not go against the laws of nature.  It is the norm actually; every creature on this planet, whether mammal, reptile, amphibian or bird has practiced “homosexuality” at one time or another.  Even many species of flora are known to do so as well.  As for God declaring it a sin, well I say that’s a load of crap too.  God never declared that, but we have been taught to believe so from the teachings in the Bible.  God did not author the Bible.  Men who had their own fears, hatreds and prejudices wrote it.  The Bible is tainted by the words and ideas of ignorant men and it cannot be used to deny folks of their rights.  Freedom of religion does not trump one’s right to life and happiness and vice versa.  God loves us all and only looks at what is in our hearts.  He wants us to take care of one another.  He wants us to be happy with ourselves, our lives and enjoy all he has given us.  That brings joy to Him.  And we all know that gayness is not an infectious disease that can be transmitted to others.  You are either born gay or straight or bisexual or whatever.  Environment has nothing to do with it.  I believe that those who have a problem with gay folks are those that are uncomfortable with their own sexuality.  They tend to be gay and hate themselves for it and thus lash out at those who remind them of who they truly are.  I say get over it and live and let live.  Furthermore, denying folks from marrying the one they love just because you don’t know how to explain homosexuality to your kids is just ridiculous.  If you can’t talk to your kids about this stuff then maybe you’re a crappy parent and should be sterilized.  Anyway, that’s my point of view on the subject and Ophelia’s parents do not like it one bit.  I can care less of their opinion of me and I am not going to waste my time listening to bigots.  Life is too short to entertain the sanctimonious ramblings of the ignorant and intolerant.      My family is no different.  After my mother passed away, my relationship with her side of the family became non-existent.  I am an outcast as I am a gringo who looks more Jewish than Mexican and my Spanish is atrocious, at least they believe it is.  Plus my conversion to Buddhism from Catholicism really shook things up with the family.  My mom was a devout Catholic and I was raised as such and I was always forced to go to church every Sunday.  My dad had no religious affiliations even though he was of Jewish descent.  I never knew what he really believed as he never spoke of God or anything spiritual for that matter.  He just hid himself in books and booze.  My guess is that he had lost his faith sometime during the war.  He must have done or seen something on the battlefield to cause him to question God’s plan.  Alcohol was his only means of coping with it and it finally took his life in my first year of high school.
     I tend to celebrate Christmas anyway because I do believe in goodwill and hope and kindness and all the other good things that the season brings out in folks.  I have long since abandoned Buddhism as I no longer wanted to be affiliated with any religion.  There are many tenets of the various faiths that I agree with, but I just don’t want to attach myself to any religious organization that more often than not, discriminates against those who do not share in their respective views.  Organized religions cannot be trusted.  They tend to warp God into an entity that suits their beliefs, fears and prejudices.  These alliances have been the cause of most of the conflicts in the history of mankind.  The true meaning of God has been lost on them as each religion believes that their way of worship is the one and only way in which to honor Him.  I don’t need a religion to tell me how or when to worship.  That is between the Almighty and me.  God, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, the Holy Spirit or whatever name you wish to call Him or Her is one thing only and that is Love.  God is Love, period!