Let Love Always Win

"When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life, it gave me the hope to one day live my life openly as who I am and that maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married." -- Dustin Lance Black, accepting an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, February 22, 2009

Movies are not just entertainment. They are constant reminders of our humanity. There are good and bad movies. But when a film transcend its entertainment value it becomes part of our collective consciousness. I am not asking people to understand the whole issue of being gay. I am asking people to acknowledge the fact that there is diversity in humanity. And this diversity should be respected and protected because it is a fundamental issue. Throughout my life I have known personally scores of individuals that have been put in the streets by their families because they were gay. Worst of all, they have been thrown out of their homes because their parents thought they were an abomination. I do not blame the parents completely. Since childhood I have heard horrific false stories involving "homosexuals", promiscuity and crime. Fear is so powerful it can make a human being kill another without any apparent reason but plain panic. I have also known a couple of persons that had attempted suicide on account of them been gay. Luckily they failed. It is a human rights issue. Even though a great deal of progress has been made we still have a long way to go. Education is the key. We must be courageous enough to defend the rights of others to be different from us. We do not need to be all same. There is beauty in diversity. Go to a garden and see the wonderful differences between flowers. It is all about Love and freedom. Love is transformation. When you Love you transform your world and yourself. Many people are scared to Love abundantly and freely.

Many people get tired or feel peeved when gay activists demand equal rights and equality in marriage publicly. Wouldn't you do the same if there were laws in your country that forbid you to commit legally to the one you Love and to hide in fear of being fired from your job because you were "different"from the rest? Of course you would take to the streets. I am grateful that we are living in a world that is, slowly but surely, advancing the cause of equality. I remember having to hide with my friends inside a car before we got inside a club for fear we would be attacked by hatemongers in the streets. It is an urgent issue that will not just go away. It is Love what we are talking about in here. It won't go away. It will return time and time again. You cannot deny its absolute power. We are creatures of Love.

I hope that people from around the world saw Sean Penn and Dustin Lance Black accept their Oscars for Milk and thought to themselves Why are there people that wish Love be limited to their own definition of it? Why are there people that think Love should be contained, caged in like a dangerous wild animal? I hope they change their minds because there is only one Earth and one Humanity. We share this gift. We must honor it by allowing freedom to Love whomever you choose. It is essential for our survival as species.

Thank you for your kind attention on this matter.

Grainy Photo Tells The Whole Picture

This is little me. Perhaps at 18 months. It was shot on Lucchetti Street in Condado, Puerto Rico in the early 60's. A few steps from the blue Atlantic waters of Puerto Rico's north coast. The photo was probably taken by Mami (Mom). She loved cameras, specially Super 8 video cameras. Not many of the Super 8 film have survived the ravages of the high humidity of the tropics. There are about 5 or 6 cans I gave to my sister previous to me moving to Texas. It will probably be too costly to have the film digitalized. So maybe one day I'll find someone that will do the job without charging me to much. I have many pictures of the family with me. I did not want to loose them. They are my ties with the past. These pictures have gone through 3 major hurricanes, floods and at least 10 or 11 relocations. They've been to New England, Florida and to Texas. They are bittersweet. They are part of my history. Now my mother is gone, I am an adult orphan so to speak. These pictures, about 500 of them are my life line in these days battling depression. This photo in particular reminds me that I was a little child once, that all I cared about was being loved. Mine was a tight family. I grew up with an extended family of nearly 20 people. Grandparents, uncles, first cousins. Our family gathering seemed so big, so happy, so joyful. I miss these times miserably. All of my elders have passed away. The loss of Mami last March has been the hardest thing I have gone through. I'm doing my very best to move on. I never thought It would hit me so hard. Each day is a challenge without her presence and constant advice. I do feel a part of me died with her. We were the closest of friends. I lived with her most of my adult life. I only moved out of her apartment 2 years before she died. I want it to try total independence at 44, if you can believe that. Boy, do I wish to hold her right now and tell her how much I loved her and how much she meant in my life. I'm content in the fact that our love was expressed on a daily basis. I'm lucky in that. I love life and people, I want to get back to do the things I always wanted to do. I feel regret that she will not be there with me to share my future. I know it is the rule of life that your mother dies before you do. I guess I'm just going through the mourning period. Most days I'm OK, I survive. But other days I'm shocked that I cannot phone her or visit her at her apartment anymore. As much as I try to be philosophical about this matter I cannot do it. I miss her terribly. This photo also reminds me that I was brought up by two very caring parents and four devoted grandparents. This photo shows the very first time I learned how to walk. Ironically, I'm learning to walk again on my own after this great loss.

It's All About Love

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.


From couragecampaign.org/divorce
"Ken Starr, who led the campaign to impeach President Bill Clinton, filed a legal brief last month -- on behalf of the "Yes on 8" campaign -- that would forcibly divorce 18,000 same-sex couples that were married in California last year before the passage of Prop 8."

I believe that Love is the highest truth.

Nobody should be denied the right to commit publicly and legally to this principle.

Diversity is part of the human race, to deny this principle is to deny our humanity.

Please watch this video, it's about Love and Truth.