"Me" or "We"

Me me me me me….we have become such an individualistic society and it is slowly but surely bringing our world crumbling down. So much of society is focused on what he or she wants and what will make “me” happy that we are forgetting that in order for society to keep standing strong we must have a firm foundation and we don’t get that firm foundation by individualistic ideals. Our foundation is not upon selfishness and individual happiness. We must work together to uphold a strong society. If we all think only of ourselves and what will bring “me” happiness instead of what will bring the world as a whole happiness our foundation will crumble and so will society.

Everyone should live and love as they desire, we all have our agency to choose as we desire. Those that choose to love another of the same gender should not be discriminated against. But what does that mean? I believe it mean that they should be allowed to have

“legal protection…regarding ‘hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.’” (The Divine Institution of Marriage).

The definition of marriage should not have to change to give them those rights. Marriage and family is the foundation of our society that uphold the values and morals that keep our society from crumbling.

When we start thinking of “we” instead of “me” we can see the long term affects that changing the definition of marriage will have on society. We need to take our “me” blinders off and look at the effect it will have on our nation and world in the generations to come.

“While it may be true that allowing same-sex marriage will not immediately and directly affect existing marriages, the real question is how it will affect society as a whole over time, including the rising generation and future generations.

In addition to undermining and diluting the sacred nature of marriage, legalizing same-sex marriage brings many practical implications in the sphere of public policy that will be of concern to parents and society. [18] When a government legalizes same-sex marriage as a civil right, it will almost certainly enforce a wide variety of other policies to enforce this. The implications of these policies are critical to understanding the seriousness of condoning same-sex marriage.

The all-important question of public policy must be: what environment is best for the child and for the rising generation?” (The Divine Institution of Marriage)

This is just a small part why standing up marriage as a man and a woman is important. There is so much more and we need to educate ourselves about it. We need to know where the people that disagree with this are coming from and their points of view. We need to know how it will affect our society and nation. We also need love and compassion. That doesn’t mean we put our beliefs and values behind though. But as Elder Dallin H. Oaks has observed, “Tolerance does not require abandoning one’s standards or one’s opinions on political or public policy choices. Tolerance is a way of reacting to diversity, not a command to insulate it from examination.”[11] (The Divine Institution).

Unconditional love for everyone is a key part in keeping our society standing strong and it is definitely a part in this great debate over marriage. No one is perfect and we all have challenging we are overcoming. When we remember this we can love more perfectly as the Savior does.

The topic of legalizing same-sex marriage is stressful for me. I believe firmly in the definition of marriage as a man and woman for many reasons. The tough part is that I know so many wonderful people who strongly believe in something different. Who have found happiness in same-sex relationships. They are amazing people. Those who have children are wonderful parents who love their children with all their heart.

I need strength from somewhere to stand up for marriage. I received some of that strength from this quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley,

“We go to great lengths to preserve historical buildings and sites in our cities. We need to apply the same fervor to preserving the most ancient and sacred of institutions – the family!” What we desperately need today on all fronts. . . are leaders, men and women who are willing to stand for something. We need people . . . who are willing to stand up for decency, truth, integrity morality, and law and order . . . even when it is unpopular to do so—perhaps especially when it is unpopular to do so. . . . . .Never before, at least not in our generation, have the forces of evil been so blatant, so brazen, so aggressive as they are at the present time. . . . .We are involved in an intense battle. It is a battle between right and wrong, . . . . [W]e desperately need men and women who, in their individual spheres of influence, will stand for truth in a world of sophistry. . . . We need moral men and women, people who stand on principle, to be involved in the political process. . . . The weight of our stance may be enough to tip the scales in the direction of truth and right.