Day 337: Bought A Bow Tie

I've probably mentioned 10 different times on this blog how many weddings I have been to over the past year.  My wife and I have attended or been invited to 16 different weddings in 2012.  I am guessing this will be the most we ever have to attend in a year because we, and most of our friends, are right in that prime marrying age range.  While I love going to weddings because I get to hang out with friends, eat good food, and show off my dance moves, the biggest reason why I enjoy going is because of the actual ceremony.  I am an emotional mess during them.  I've never NOT cried during a ceremony, and I am in no way ashamed to say that (plus my wife likes it when I show my sensitive side).  Seeing two people look at each other and pledge their undying love to one another really pulls at my heart strings.  When two people exchange their vows to one another, nothing else matters except the love that they have for one another.  I know that marriage isn't for everyone (see: Clooney, George) but for two people who love each other that much, marriage should be allowed for everyone.

As a youngster, I would say that I didn't want my child to be gay.  The reason I said that is pretty cut and dry: ignorance.  I didn't have any reason to say that other than fear of the unknown and plain, old idiocy.  Many things in my life that I have done, I can look back on and laugh or be proud of.  That isn't one of them.  Luckily, I learned to open my eyes, educate myself, and learn the err of my ways.  If Isla chooses to get married in the future, to a man or a woman, I can't wait to walk her down the aisle and hand her off to the love of her life.  In the current world we live in, however, Isla, if she were to be gay, my friend Sasha, and many other people aren't afforded that experience right.  That is something that needs to change.

I love the show Modern Family.  On Friday, I saw a story about how a star of that show, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and his partner started an organization that is fighting for marriage equality called Tie The Knot.  Tie The Knot raises funds for different equal rights and marriage equality groups through the sale of bow ties creates by The Tie Bar.  So today, for my random act of kindness, I bought a bow tie to support equal rights in a place where "all men are created equal."  To me, this isn't a political issue or a religious issue.  It is a kindness issue.  The overarching message that I am trying to convey with this blog is that you need to treat others the way you want to be treated.  By saying others don't deserve the same experiences in life as you is the opposite of that golden rule.