Can We Talk About Politics Later?

"Can we talk about politics later?" I have heard this many times and yes it may be, no in fact is because I am an auditory person and need to get things out.  This is a real question, and I can understand where maybe someone feels it’s time to just give it a rest, but is it? 

I can’t deny that I do get shiny object disorder and get distracted from things at times.  I can understand how maybe we all want to escape the serious things in life.  Here is my concern though, if not now, when?  When is it time to take this serious and defend our rights?  When do we realize every chance we don’t take to educate someone is a chance of losing by one more vote?

When we take on a project at work do we get to stop and say well I’m bored with this, or this is too much work I’m done.  When we send our brave soldiers overseas, do we ever think ok this is taking too long I don’t care?  Do you think those soldiers ever do that?  The reality is they may want to, we all want to give in and just take a break, but the thing is they don’t.  They fight till the mission is complete or till death.

If you’re not willing to fight for your freedom right now then why bother at all?  I had a good friend say to me the other night “I don’t vote because I was raised to think it doesn’t affect me”.  My gut reaction is to reach across the table and smack him.  He’s been my friend for years and this is what he says?!  I have spoken about rights in meetings, at rallies with a crowd of three thousand plus people.  All the while hoping I get the message across and here is one of my best friends who I’ve known for years, who hasn’t even picked it up yet.

If even for one minute you think it’s time to give it a rest, you’re not an activist, you’re not fighting for our rights, you’re not fighting for YOUR rights.  Steve made a great point the other day; we pay taxes right now to help John Boehner discriminate against us.  For everything we buy, John gets money, for every hour of pay we receive John gets even more money, we are paying to be treated as second class citizens every single minute of every single day.  So if you think it’s time to give it a rest then clearly you have not gotten the message, the people working at upholding these laws are not resting.  Hell they have been so good at this battle that they have you paying for your own oppression right now.

So the next time someone tells you to give it a rest, or asks if we have to talk about politics now, pause and take a moment to look at your surroundings.  Odds are you’ll be out eating, watching a movie, at some theme park, or hell even tipping a drag queen.  Calmly reply; I can’t give it a rest because I can’t stand that right now the taxes I am paying on this food, this movie, that our gay bar is paying, are funding the very laws that prevent me from marrying my partner, from adopting a child, or from knowing my family will be safe when I pass. 

I will give it a rest when I have equal rights or when my body can’t carry on anymore.  I will make change or I will die trying and no one will say or have proof otherwise when they speak of me.