Goodbye, Blogger!

I'm moving my blog to Wordpress because the technology is much more advanced. See ya later, Blogspot!

http://thefeministwriter.wordpress.com

Oh, the Joys of...Tempeh?

This afternoon when I took my usual writing break, I stopped by the local co-op for lunch. I ordered the Rockin' Reuben, which consists of a reuben made with tempeh rather than corned beef or whatever the hell that pink stuff is. I thought that I had eaten tempeh, but apparently I was wrong, as I was surprised when I actually got my sandwich.

According to Wikipedia, tempeh is "made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form." On my sandwich, the tempeh was baked and marinated. It looks like this before it's cooked:




Biting into cooked tempeh is only slightly softer than biting into a rice cake. Anywho, there's no real point to this post, with the exception of informing my readers about this food. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but if it's this or corned beef, I'll take the tempeh.

The Debate

By now, I'm sure that most of you have heard about my home state's unanimous decision that a ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. On the day in question, shouts of joy were heard from all across the internet universe, made visible through Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. But lo...what is that shadowy figure in the distance? Could it be? It is! A full-blown debate! According to USA Today,

Religious voices reaction: Outrage or joy on Iowa gay marriage ruling

April 3, 2009

The Iowa Supreme Court decision today that legalized same-sex marriage prompted swift reaction -- outrage and joy with no stops in between -- from voices of faith.

Iowa's four Roman Catholic bishops released a joint statement of strong disagreement, saying the ruling "rejects the wisdom of thousands of years of human history. It implements a novel understanding of marriage, which will grievously harm families and children."

And so on, as you can imagine. I find it interesting that newspapers choose to focus on the "debate" surrounding this issue, due to the fact that almost every moral principle is hinged on the assumption that there will be two points of view. Morality not only invites debates, it needs them. We discuss an issue because we rely on that gray area to comprehend the full scope of its meaning. Laws will go one way, and then another. What is right today will be wrong tomorrow. Or, in the words of the exceedingly accessible Bob Dylan,

"The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'."

No side can ever truly win, because even a short victory will be compensated for in other ways. Of course I'm happy that we've won the battle this time, but I know that a change of heart by the American public is quietly waiting in the wings. And I am shocked by the redundancy of articles centered around the religious right's response to the ruling - these articles are not bad, but they're just reporting on the natural state of things, and acting as if they are contentious. The idea of debate should never be a negative one - it is always positive, and should be reported as such.