Tuesday, November 28, 2006

We Could Be Married

This was supposed to go up last night...stupid blogger.

A little rant to start off the night. I really wonder what part of the gene pool I'm living with. I'm in the unfortunate position of having to do all my shopping Wal-Mart. I really don't like giving money to the evil empire that is Wal-Mart. Among the items I get is some pickles (whole dills for me, none of those spears) and a bottle of wine (Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon). I'm checking out and the cashier puts these two items in the same bag. C'mon now! The only two fragile, glass, and not to mention heavy, items I have and she puts them in the same bag?! Mensch?!

Anyway after that I tune into one of the few programs (and only comedy) I habitually watch, How I Met Your Mother. I love this show. The characters gel, it is well-written, the humor isn't forced...it's a real treat if you haven't seen it. Last night's episode really got me. The star of the show is Barney Stinson (portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, aka Doogie Howser). Barney is a classic womanizer who's sole goal is to bed any and every woman he meets...oh yeah he's got his own catch-phrase. A very likeable and enjoyable character. Oh yeah, how sweet is it that NPH is gay and his character is the totally hetero-womanizer. Very cool.

Anyway last night's episode featured Barney's gay brother coming to visit. Its not the fact that his brother is gay which provided the fodder, but the fact that he's black (portrayed wonderfully by Wayne Brady). We see that Wayne is everyway the same as his brother and they have quite a bond where they each benefit from each other (I know there's some fancy word for this). Through the course of their night out trying to pick-up women/men, Barney discovers that his brother is in a relationship and they're going to get married. It's not gay marriage that bothers Barney...no, but the issue is MARRIAGE itself. Barney had visions of him and his brother as perpetual bachelors and living their lives to bed every man or woman available and the idea of his brother getting married destroys these visions. Of course Barney comes around when he finds out his brother and his partner are adopting a baby. Fast-forward to the wedding and we see Barney with his new nephew and soon-to-be apprentice. Side-note, Ted and Robin are currently dating, but during "old Ted's" (Bob Saget) voiceovers, he always refers to her as Aunt Robin -- ie we know they are not going to work-out. But at the wedding (a year? later) the appeared together. Although when Marshall and Lily leave they both state separately that they each want to stay longer but then are seen dancing together. Its nice to know that as viewers we don't have to worry about will-they or won't-they stay together (see: Ross and Rachel). Anyway, great episode and be sure to tune-in if you haven't.

As a college-educated, fairly intelligent (I guess), 20-something, I'm supposed to be on-top of politics and the latest issues that hit the homefront. One of these is gay marriage. People ask me, "MOL, what's your stance on this?" From what I've been told its a hot-button issue. First off, we've got much bigger things to worry about then who marries who. Second, if two men or two women want to get married, how is it going to affect me? It's not. Third, having gay friends, if they want to get married, I'm going to be all for it. So yeah, I have no problem with it...let's talk about social security (friends it won't be there when we're at retirement age), government fiscal responsibility, or the state of education in this country, now those are the things we should be talking about.

Another reason I'm in favor of gay marriage is the economic aspect. Think about it. Gay marriage means that florists, wedding-planners, caterers, DJs, etc will all have more business. Yes that also means more weddings to attend and more gifts that we as guests have to purchase. Then honeymoons and all the other associated costs and this means more money into the system. I'm not an economist, but this all seems like a good thing. Then, as it is the case with "traditional marriages" there will be gay divorces. Now again, there are lawyer fees and associated costs to deal with. More money into the system. All of these people are businessfolks -- they're all looking for new customers. Its a pretty easy concept to grasp. Of course where I'm currently living, I'm probably in the extreme minority here.