End-of-Civilization Vigil
This is just a little reminder, in case it has slipped from your attention, that civilization as we know it will end this evening at 5:01 PM Pacific Daylight Time.* I'll be listening for the first cracks.
The end itself will begin, of course, with the institution of marriage, thought by some to have survived intact and unchanged for at least two-thousand years, or possibly since the beginning of time, which may have occurred not much earlier–there seems to be some ambiguity in their sole source-book of complete and infallible information. This disregards the fact that the institution of marriage was most recently updated in the US by the Supreme Court in 1967, not quite two-thousand years ago, but close. I suppose it's the thought that counts.
It just struck me today that although I have long preferred referring to "marriage equality" in avoidance of the much more popular "gay marriage", I don't think I've ever enumerated the reasons. There are several
- Many lesbians, and perhaps others, do not find the single signifier "gay" to feel inclusive for them even though some are just as excited about the arrival of available marriage equality;
- It gives to the anti-gay folk something that sounds too much like one of their favorite mental constructs: the "special right"; and
- In fact, the institution of "marriage" is about to be the same for same-gender couples in California as for mixed-gender couples, so I think the single word "marriage" will work just fine. Indeed, use of the word "marriage" was central to the ruling of the California Supreme Court.
I understand that a few heads may explode upon hearing one man refer to another man as his "husband', but the human mind seems infinitely flexible at dealing with novel concepts–witness the special theory of relativity and quantum mechanics–and that natural selection has to weed out through head explosions those that cannot cope with evolving social concepts. Fortunately, marriage equality does not alter jurisprudence or practice concerning who showers with whom in semi-public or private.
Just what form the end of civilization might take is not clear, nor is it certain that it will arrive precisely at the appointed hour despite the time that the big guy has had to prepare. Could this be the occasion of the big earthquake that will cause all of California to fall into the Pacific Ocean, or is something more subtle indicated? Perhaps the source of all retribution will follow its time-honored practice of waiting an inscrutable number of weeks or months or years and then, say, destroy with flood or hurricane or plague of alligators some small town in Florida where there lived someone whose niece had a friend who knew two guys who got married in California. You laugh, but it's happened before.
Whatever and whenever, it starts this evening. 5:01 PM, PDT. I'll be listening and I hope everyone else pays very close attention, too.
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*For the second time, of course, having already ended once in 2004 when Massachusetts recognized the universal, inalienable right marriage equality, but only for residents of the state. The difference this time is that anytwo are allowed to avail themselves of marriage equality in California.
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I welcome comments -- even dissent -- but I will delete without notice irrelevant, rude, psychotic, or incomprehensible comments, particularly those that I deem homophobic, unless they are amusing. The same goes for commercial comments and trackbacks. Sorry, but it's my blog and my decisions are final.
on Monday, 16 June 2008 at 21.53
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You just don't understand! The world as we know has been shattered. We (well, some of us) thought we had until 2012 when the Mayan Calendar ended before the Eve of Destruction. Now we realize that it's happening this very night (actually 1 hour 42 minutes ago to be exact)!
Underneath it all I'm sure our heterosexual siblings are secretly happy to know our homosexual assult is attracting so much attention. This way their Savior God, Jesus of Nazareth, won't notice their complete disregard of his express command forbidding divorce in all cases except adultry.
on Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 00.35
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The whole God's wrath was/is upon us because of the carryings on of gays and lesbians just won't be the same without Jerry Falwell to emcee the recriminations. Somehow, loopy as he is, Pat Robertson by himself doesn't quite measure up. Dobson, Hagee and the others don't have the national presence Falwell had.
It would be interesting to know, though, whether the abovementioned men of the cloth have seen fit to cancel their insurance, magazine, newspaper, cell phone and cable or satellite subscriptions. I mean, if it's all over but the apocalypse, why keep those going?
on Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 01.20
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Typical! Typical! If it hasn't happened in America (the lower 48?), it just hasn't happened. Canada has recognized marriage equality for more than three years. Several thousand of the same-sex couples who have been married in my "home and native land" are Americans (including Dan Savage and his partner, as he recounts in his excellent and funny book, The Commitment).
The Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Norway and Sweden all recognize marriage equality. So civilization as we know it actually ended some time ago. It's just taken a while for the ripple effect to reach the United States.
But you know all this already, and will know that my rant is tongue-in-cheek. Still, you gotta wonder what all those same-sex couples lining up to get married on the San Andreas fault might shake up!
on Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 11.49
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you Americans are SO charming in your insularity.
I went a-rummaging to research and Bill beat me to the keyboard, but he's missing a couple of years. Same-sex marriages happened in Ontario over five years ago – 2003 06 10, earlier if you count the marriages after reading of the banns at Metropolitan Community Church Toronto.
You can read a five-years-ago reflection here in soc.motss — unfortunately the original newspaper article is now archived, but I do quote it extensively.
the sun appears to have been coming up bang on time every day since then, and the wheels haven't noticeably fallen off civilisation's trolley hereabouts in the ensuing five-plus years.
on Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 13.51
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We rejoice, of course, because even here in the lower 48 a wee bit of civilization sometimes seeps down and, sooner or later, we start to catch up with our clear-headed friends to the north. As we've noted, we only get this happy about firsts when they're really seconds or thirds. And so we're happy at the realization that we're not totally incapable of doing the right thing sooner or later.
Thanks for the link, Chris. Indeed, it seems that the sun managed to do its things this morning, too, at least here. It's nice to know we can be charming about something!