#157 - hope vs. fear

i recently watched the gus van sant film, milk. it was the first movie i've seen in a long time, at the theater. i just cannot afford it these days, i remember when movies were $5! anyway, it was worth every penny. it is about the first gay elected official, harvey milk. he was elected to the city supervisor position in san francisco during the 70's. it took several elections for him to become known and popular but he did. he brought hope to the people of san francisco, particularly the castro district, which was a big hangout for the gay community. at a time when there were a lot of crimes against gay men who were being beaten in the streets, milk stood up and said "no more". here is an excerpt from one of his most famous speeches, known as "the hope speech":

The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be all right. Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us'es, the us'es will give up.

this speech reminded me a lot of barack obama, believe it or not. here is an excerpt from one of obama's speeches. while it is not the same topic exactly, they are both very inspiring and full of hope:

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.

so often we are ruled by fear. the last 8 years have been full of fear. now it is time to turn that around and be inspired. what's so wrong with being hopeful and positive? i am guilty of being pessimistic at times but seeing milk i just have to have hope. harvey milk was a nobody who decided that being gay was worth fighting for and who became a martyr. it was not acceptable to be in the closet and he deserved rights as an equal human being. while we have come a long way since the 70's in terms of gay rights, to me it is ridiculous that people have to fight for such things. the main issue he was fighting was called proposition 6, which was trying to get all the gay teachers out of schools in california. people felt threatened by them, that they were teaching the kids to be gay. ridiculous! heterosexuals feeling that the sanctity of marriage is threatened by gays is also silly to me. your marriage is your own thing and no one can threaten it but you. you work for it. i think a lot of straight couples don't take their vows seriously enough, and where are the activists protesting divorced couples? aren't they threatening the sanctity of marriage?

people are so much in other people's business it kind of sickens me. why are you judging other people without even knowing them? why do you think you and your beliefs are better? make sure you are perfect before you judge. no one is perfect. all we can control really is RIGHT HERE. i totally believe all people should have equal rights. we are all human. after all, even animals have rights. people believe in different religions, some will be judged by god eventually. others believe in karma and get what's coming to them. judged by the universe i guess. either way, it is a power greater than any human.