Two

"Two are better than one, because they have a reward for their labour. For if they fall the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him who is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?" Ecclesiastes 4:9-11, King James Version Bible

I am greatly encouraged by the public stands that the President and the Vice-President have made recently, that they both support gay marriage. It is a small, but very significant step toward righting what I believe to be a terrible injustice. I remember as a little girl learning that once African-American people were slaves to white people in our country, and that women at one time were not allowed to vote. How bizarre that seemed to me, as I wondered what kind of a world that was. One day in the future, children will learn American history and will have the same sense of bewilderment, that there was once a time when gay people were denied equal rights.

It is probably possible that some can live a completely fulfilled life without a significant other. Close friends and family can meet many of our needs for emotional intimacy and ultimate self-actualization, I suppose. Some people want to be alone, and that is their choice. But it would seem to me that most of us have the need for one special person in our lives, and we should all, gay or straight, have the right to choose whether we want to be married to that person, or not. Two are better than one, because one and one equals more than two, doesn't it? It is a wonderful sort of math that everyone should have the right to experience.

How can we ever be all that we could be, without that one person who knows us better than anyone else does? That one person with whom we are emotionally naked, who has seen all the parts of us, even the parts we think aren't pretty, and loves us unconditionally? That one person who can call us out like no one else would dare to, and we can hear whatever they have to say, because the trust is there? That one person who knows when we need to be challenged, who says, yes I see that you have fallen down, come on now, get back up here. That one person who, when the world seems cold, says come on now, get over here and I will keep you warm.

Every one of us should have an equal shot at that.

Susan