Communion (original) (raw)
The following is a letter which I wrote and sent to the President and First Lady today, February 18, 2004. I have grown weary of being outraged and decided to start doing something about the injustices that I see on a daily basis.
February 18, 2004
Mr. and Mrs. George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Mr. and Mrs. Bush:
I am troubled by what I have seen in recent months. Primarily, your vocal stance against the union of two people who are in love. This stance appears to be based on your personal and religious views on the matter. I wanted to discuss my own views on the matter and what I was raised to believe.
As a first generation American, I was raised in a home that was, for lack of a better word, devoutly patriotic. In school, I was taught key ideals that I adhere to to this very day: that this nation was founded on the principle that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights,” that among those rights are the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Where are our liberties now, Mr. and Mrs. Bush?
Mrs. Bush, according to the Associated Press, you claimed that gay marriage is “shocking.” Mr. Bush believes that gay marriages are being allowed by ‘activist judges.’ Well, Sir, even if this is the case, the judges have acted on the will of the people.
You cannot segregate or separate a portion of the population, nor forbid them to love, nor forbid them to make love, or procreate in the ways that are possible for them to do so, nor forbid them to spend the rest of their lives with the person that they choose, be they man or woman, black or white. That is not YOUR right.
I was also taught in school that there was a separation between church and state in this country, only to see that rapidly deteriorate over the course of the last 12 years. You base your beliefs, and your threats to create a constitutional amendment indicating that marriage is a covenant between a man and woman only, on your belief that some higher power believes such.
The last time I checked, Sir, you were the President of the United States, not a God. The last time I checked, we based our laws on what was right, not what was moral. No human being, no society, no government has the right to prevent two people from being given their rights. Even if you take them away, that does not mean they do not exist. You have merely acted against the will of the people, the will of the Universe, the will of the Creator.
If it is true that marriage should be a covenant between a man and woman, then it should be left to God to decide, not men.
Mr. Bush, you have done many things that I have disagreed with. You have forgotten that many of the Heroes of 9-11 were, in fact, homosexuals. You have killed, indirectly, over 300 people during your reign as Governor of Texas.
You have been responsible, indirectly, for the death of over 10,000 men and women in Iraq. You have mongered and pillaged nations; you have taken away our rights to privacy in exchange for a false sense of security. You have preyed upon the fears and weakness of an entire nation and allowed them to forget the foundation upon which this nation was built.
Now, when millions of your constituents have spoken and said “no more!” and said they choose to no longer be discriminated against, that they want their love to be recognized as any other person is allowed to, you create a firestorm.
A wise man once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Mr. Bush, you are the divisive force in both the nation and the world. Mrs. Bush, you are meant to be the voice of reason, but you have stood by your husband when he is wrong, and that, Madam, is treason. It is a treason against mankind.
I never voted for you, Mr. Bush, and I never will. I rejoice only in the belief that you will not be reelected, and the truth shall indeed, set us all free.
Sincerely,
Jesse J. Muniz