I am voting NO. Yes you read it right – NO. Before any keyboard warriors set fire to their fingers responding in outrage and disgust, and before any readers set fire to the paper they are reading, let me explain.
I am voting No, to telling anyone how I am voting regarding same sex marriage. I am voting No, to the bullies from both sides who are trying to make me feel guilty whichever way I vote. Who or what I vote for is my business. I don’t tell my wife who I vote for in elections, whether it is for the chairman of the RACV, the council, federal or state politics. My vote is my personal choice and that is how it will stay.
I think I am smart enough to evaluate all the issues, and then make a decision. I am comfortable with that process, always have been.
To be quite frank, I don’t care how anyone else votes. It is their right to choose, and if their choice is different to mine, then so be it. If the side I vote for does not win, I am fine with that too. The majority has spoken, I accept the decision and move on. I would hope we never lose the ability to agree to disagree, yet still remain friendly, but I think that is becoming less the norm as people go on the attack. Rather than conduct a civil exchange examining the for and against points of the issue, it has become a non negotiable, agree with me or hit the road jack ultimatum.
The debate on SSM is far from healthy. It is threatening and judgemental rather than respectful and good natured. The cut and thrust of lively verbal discourse is now just a screaming match. Apparently the best way to get your message across is to just repeat the same thing over and over, adjusting only the decibel level of delivery. This is called the Dimmeys and Forges principle, best exemplified by Dipper in the early 1990s.
The other requirement for engaging in speaking on the same sex marriage issue, is that you must have had a humour bypass recently.
There are lots of things in life I care about more than how you are going to vote on this issue, and I trust you feel the same way as well, but it is OK if you don’t. ■
