The Heliocentric World

In the early 16th Century, when Nicolaus Copernicus introduced the idea that the earth revolves around the sun, it was highly controversial.  Earth is the planet we live on - how could it not be the most important feature of the universe?

Honestly, I thought we'd come past that.  After all, it was several hundred years ago.  Yet, it seems as if we still haven't fully grasped this concept.

Why else would there be such a large debate over same-sex marriage?  No matter what the definition of marriage is, it includes one very important word:  "between."  In essence, a marriage is solely the business of the two people involved in it.

Think of it this way - if I pass by a married man and a woman on the street, it doesn't affect me in any way whatsoever.  So why should it affect me if two married men or two married women pass me in the street?  That's right, it doesn't.

As long as the couple is happy, it doesn't matter.  Actually, even if the couple is unhappy, that is the issue of the two people involved in the marriage.

Wanting to ban same-sex marriage or prevent it from being legalized is an egocentric notion.  It says, "These two people love each other so much that they want to spend the rest of their lives together with the rights given to most couples, but I feel uncomfortable with it, so I'll fight against it."

Earth is one of the planets that revolves around the sun.  Similarly, each of us is one of the people to inhabit Earth.  We need to step back and see the bigger picture.  The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Indian text presents the idea that the world has a soul and all of our souls are parts of it.  Basically, we're all connected.  I take this to mean that if we hurt someone else, we are just hurting ourselves.

We can't afford to think like that.  Sure, in some cases, it's necessary to think of ourselves - but when it's a matter of survival.  There's a difference between surviving and living, as I'm sure most people know.  Everyone has the right to live life to the fullest.

A dear friend told me that the purpose in life is "to make a difference."  If that's the case, legalizing same-sex marriage almost seems like a no-brainer.  It's such a simple way to make a difference in so many lives.