Gays Stand Up!

Ok y’all. Adam Lambert openly gay singer from "American Idol" kissed a male keyboard player and had a dancer simulate oral sex on him during the American Music Awards performance on Sunday. That’s all over the headlines. Adam admitted that he got carried away but believes there wouldn't be nearly as much of an outrage if he were straight. Maybe he’s right though I doubt it, (look at the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction) but truthfully, so what!

Can I just say that gays need to be just as appalled as I am by the presentation of Adam Lambert and most other movies and how they portray them as hyper -sexualized, self-indulgent, degenerate mutants.

I’d love to see more gays standing up and speaking for what they really believe in. And when necessary speak out against other gays for their true cause. They can’t speak a good case for family values, equal rights to marriage, adoption and yet applaud these out right excessive antics from the likes of Adam.

The argument has been, “well heterosexuals do the same thing on TV, it’s a double standard”. No it’s not, I hate it from straight entertainers just as much, and as of recent, my people (black folk, especially in Hip-hop and R&B) are the worse perpetrators of the same thing! Justin Timberlake needs to TAKE sexy back to where ever he got it from! J

There’s something cool about sex just being personal and not cheapened by folks wanting to sell records.

It’s long over due to have real dialog about gay life in our country. A lot of our fans are gay, and I love em. Yes I follow Jesus and if asked I’d say that I see their lifestyle as a sin and destined to fail spiritually with use. By the way, I also see many other people’s lifestyles as sinful and destined to fail spiritually as well. I’m even including my own lifestyle before I allowed Jesus to help me out! I also see many “good church going folk” whose lives are just a sinful as anyone else’s. So it’s not a unique judgment that I’m not willing to also measure to others and myself.

And by now, it shouldn’t surprise gay or bi-sexual folks that there is and always will be a large section of our population that doesn’t agree with homosexuality. At the least, Muslims & Christians should never agree with this lifestyle as a choice for righteous living. Would I accept a gay person into our church? Of course! Should any Christian or I offer love and help to a gay person? I would to them as I would with anyone else.

I know this will sound cliché’ but some of my BEST FRIENDS have had homosexuality in their life resume’s. But they are now Christians and though they continue to struggle through temptations on a frequent basis, they no longer act on their sinful desires. They “deny” themselves just like I do when it comes to various sins.

As far as the bible is concerned, it’s clear on this issue; it’s not even a debate among true Christians. Sure, false jokers, or “liberal” preachers claim it is a lifestyle acceptable to God, but they’re simply wrong according to scripture. And if scripture doesn’t hold a lot of weight to them, then they are not Christians, simple as that.

Anyway, in light of this Adam controversy, I thought it be cool to get some dialog going, and hopefully for gays to stand up against this wack representation of their lifestyle. And by the way, I’d rather not hear a bunch of hate responses from my fans saying, “I will never buy another AD or Speech record again”. That tends to happen once an artist expresses themselves on these issues. Or when fans say, “I thought you & AD were different and that you stood for peace, love and unity”. Hello! Of course we do, but since when does STANDING for anything in this world mean not rubbing someone the wrong way. Maybe today I’ve rubbed YOU the wrong way, another day it may be the establishment and we’ll agree with each other on other issues. The next day it may be ignorant black folk, spreading wack ghetto themes to the youth. The key to this dialog is loving others DESPITE their differences in opinion or belief.  Not separating the world into those who support everything about gays and those who don’t. (Left or Right, liberal or conservative). Most people don’t fit into these easy categories.

Our fans know that we are & I am clearly AGAINST gay bashing, or harm of any gays. I DO believe in everyone having civil rights and the ability to get various benefits just as straight couples do. I DO believe in gays being able to live a life of dignity according to their own beliefs. I’m not a believer in gay marriage, because I believe that marriage is a divine concept that God himself ordains. Therefore, He wouldn’t ordain a same sex union. But hey, that’s simply my belief. I don’t want necessarily lose fans because of it, just like Ellen hasn’t lost my support because of her sexuality and belief. Can’t we all just carve a Turkey or (tofu in my case). Have a great thanksgiving time with family, friends and them other crazy folk that somehow get invited to dinner.

Peace & Strength,

SPEECH

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Moral Dumbing Down

Moral dumbing down

by: Jim McGuiggan In the race for ratings and sales, notoriety and profits, movie and television companies, publishing houses, businesses and their advertising companies continue to see how far they can go. They keep testing the public’s taste and patience—what will the public put up with? It makes sense to say that some of what the media offers reflects what some sectors of the public want, but it would be nonsense to suggest that they don’t help to shape the public’s interest in and hunger for the bizarre and outlandish. More to the point, they cheapen us by degrees until the bizarre and outlandish won’t be able to satisfy us. In a vile movie I watched recently, one of the characters, a depraved and murderous sicky is unmasked and instead of looking like the brutal and sadistic murderer he is, he’s ordinary looking, even inoffensive. When his mask is torn off he asked his surprised captor, "Well, what did you expect?" So it is! Earlier the vile character says that he had a fine childhood, wasn’t abused by his parents or anyone else and that he had no other reason for doing the unspeakable things he did than that he liked doing them. He enjoyed it. Whatever else the movie did, it brought us face to face with a truth, and that is that we’re capable of loving evil and getting pleasure from it. You don’t need to look for elaborate explanations for our pleasure in oppression and moral dirt (though all such study is not wasted time or energy) but there’s no doubt that we feed each other’s hunger for it. But—I think—it isn’t the extreme violence or depravity that hurts society the most. It’s the creeping and sly kind of product that corrodes the foundations that is most dangerous; where the writers and producers, bit by bit, make ugly behavior more familiar, more "normal" until to protest it makes the protestor seem like a dinosaur. Heroes and popular characters are essentially amoral, but with an occasional show of kindness or tenderness ("Ah, look, isn’t that sweet!" or funny or tear-bringing.) Highly rated programs like Friends (n America) and Coronation Street and Eastenders (in the UK) show as normal and "acceptable," behavior and attitudes that blur moral lines or completely dismisses them. You protest about these and people roll their eyes in despair at you. You criticize banks or companies for making too much money by breaking the backs of vulnerable and indebted nations and shareholders and savers look at you like you’ve come out of a prehistoric world. Say something about virgins and the sacredness of marriage and there are embarrassed smiles all around. We think it’s the public we’re testing when we promote this acceptance of violence, war, greed, sexual infidelity and all-round cheapness. It isn’t! And it isn’t mere conventions we’re burying when we weaken the sense of honorable fidelity and loyalty between nations and communities and families. There’s a day coming when we’ll discover, says George A. Smith, that we aren’t dancing on the edge of public taste but teetering on the brink of the abyss beyond which is moral death and hell. It isn’t Western civilization we’re testing, it’s the eternal and Holy Father himself. At this point, there’d be embarrassed smiles, rolling eyes or an outburst that is neither prayer not praise.

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My first music video for my new solo album called, "The Grown Folks Table". Featuring: Arrested Development, John Butler, Zap Mama, Chali 2na, Chase Innis, Marvin Priest, Jahah, Steph Pockets, 1 Love, Za', JJ boogie,And here is the rest of it. Read more!

The Search

The Search

Through the cobwebs weaved from too many glasses of cheap wine the night before, he opens his tired eyes and rises with the hope that today will be different from the last hundred. “My ability, experience and yearning desire to contribute will match somebody’s need today”, he says desperately trying to believe his own testimony. He remains confident that his knowledge and accomplishments will trump a poor economy and advanced age. While washing his face, he looks hard into the mirror, trying to find the man that not too long ago believed he could do anything.

He prepares a healthy breakfast to feed the healthy body and mind he hopes to regain and knows they are there, hiding behind the aging mess he feels he has become. He resists the urge to shower, knowing small sacrifices can help minimize the expenses he already can’t afford. “Got to keep looking for that silver lining in this gray cloud”, he says. It makes him feel like he’s contributing something, anything.

Instead, he climbs the stairs to his computer with the hope that one of the many applications he will send into cyber-space, one of the contacts he has made or one of the voicemail messages he will leave will spawn the opportunity he so desperately desires.

He feels stiff after a few hours at the computer and suddenly realizes that mailman has arrived, a valid reason to take a break and stretch. He walks to retrieve the check he knows will be there and when it isn’t he sighs and thinks “it’ll come tomorrow”, ignoring the reality that when it does arrive, it won’t sustain his family to the degree necessary.

Lunch time arrives and he rationalizes that his good choice for breakfast, combined with his diligent job search efforts have earned him the right to indulge in overeating the wrong foods. Feeling sluggish, he knows that he should go for a walk but heads back to the computer because walking won’t pay the bills.

From an IT Director opening in Alpharetta to a position bagging groceries at the Publix, he applies for everything he can find, but rarely receives any response. He knows that if he can just talk to a hiring manager in person he can sell himself, but he is always directed back to the online application process. He submits his name for international opportunities and is invigorated by the fact that a real person had the decency to send a personal rejection email. “The Europeans certainly haven’t lost their compassion for their fellow man”, he says to himself.

His wife, daughter and dog are the sole reasons he continues to strive. In a time of desperation, his wife continues to show an unwavering faith in his ability and demonstrates her love for him consistently. He believes his daughter can’t and shouldn’t have to grasp the deep concern her parents share for the future. He pledges to himself that she will never know true poverty, no matter what it takes. In the afternoon, his daughter comes home from school and brings with her a reminder of how joyous a life still full of hopes and dreams can be. It gives him strength. His dog sees that same person she has always seen – a leader that loves and feeds her. He thinks how simple and powerful that kind of love is. With all of this he knows he is blessed with so much more than most in his situation and certainly more than he has, or ever will deserve. He vows to prove that their love and support is not misplaced.

After dinner, his wife leaves for the evening to pursue her passion. He knows it keeps her going and is grateful that she has found it. He spends the early part of the evening with his daughter, helps with her homework and listens as she shares the stories of her day. He realizes how bright and full of life she is and gains motivation to ensure that remains uninterrupted. He also acknowledges his terror that he potentially won’t be able to control that outcome. He puts her to bed and reconfirms his love for her, praying she sleeps without worry.

He is alone for awhile afterward and takes another look at the contents of the in-box, still hoping that fate-changing meeting request will be there, but it’s not. He turns on the news, looking for a story about an economic bright spot and awaits the call from his wife to say she is on her way home. He is happy and relieved when she arrives, thankful for her safety. She tells him about her evening and they share a few laughs until it is time for bed. He kisses her goodnight and prays for her sound sleep.

As he lies awake, he tells himself that tomorrow will bring new and creative ways to find employment. He will look in the mirror once again, with the hope of finding the man that can make it happen. G. Adams 03-10-09

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