Open Letter...

So, I've sent this to several of my friends, but I thought it also might be good to post it here. This letter was written in response to election day, and all the disappointments contained therein.

*****

To whom it may concern,

I literally cried at election results this morning. Not the presidential election, which is very disappointing to me, but about state after state banning same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, Britney Spears can have as many 3-month marriage/divorces as she desires. Nevertheless, I and others like me represent the "true" threat to the sanctity of marriage.

My home state, Oklahoma, was among those passing such a law--by 76% of the vote. 1,075,069 people in Oklahoma think that I am a threat to their way of life. Of the 346,355 that don't see me that way, a mere 2,857 of them are from my home county of Pontotoc. The measure passed in Pontotoc county by eighty percent. Eighty percent of the county’s voters, have resoundingly said that I am not worthy of equality. I assure you, I personally know at least 1,000 people in that county. By percentages, that means only approximately 200 people that I personally know in my home county welcome me as a full citizen.

What threat did I ever pose to the others? Many of those others are my family, "friends," people I went to church with--people who have hugged me or shaken my hand, or even spoken of their love for me. How many of them have lied? At the very least, they're guilty of ignorance... of me, of my life, of my worth. How do I go there again, hold my head high and greet them? The next time I visit my home town, 80% of the people I meet will have betrayed me. What have I done to deserve that?

Nevertheless, I will return. If for no other reason than to have a positive effect on my young nieces and nephews, who will hopefully, one day, be able to cast their vote to repeal this insidious and unnecessary law of hatred. And when they do, they will do so because they will know their uncle as a brave and worthy man who was not ashamed to be himself, and who refused to believe the worst in people. Even those who chose to hate him.

Sincerely,
Adam M. West