Still proud to be a Mountaineer; even more proud to be a Citizen of the World.

Overall, i tend to agree with Joi's recent post "The people of America have failed us today".

The problem is that much of America is still rooted in religious intolerance and ignorance, and it will take time (20-50 years? 2-3 more generations?) for this to change. And yet, I'm not here to blame America. But maybe i can explain America a little bit... and at the same time, explain what it means to be a Mountaineer, and also what it means to be a Citizen of the World.

So which of these two nations are we?

I grew up in West Virginia, and while I love my family and respect my home state's unique culture -- yes, I'm still a Mountaineer football fan, and I still sing Almost Heaven nostalgically -- a lot of folks there (and in the south) still fear and hate those that are different. Honestly, I don't believe they're all that different from most other people around the world... they just don't get much exposure to people who are [non-white / gay / non-religious / foreigners / etc]. And like many other people around the world, we tend to fear and hate that which we do not know.

Note that i'm not blaming all religions and all people who are religious. I'm sometimes guilty of making sweeping statements about religion being based in the past and being intolerant and bigoted, but at heart I depend a lot on the ideals of faith and spirituality. Curious as it may sound, I'm such a strong believer in Science that I can't be so arrogant as to claim God doesn't exist (though i may suggest you can't prove he does, either). But I do have a lot of faith in humanity, and I appreciate religions and groups that are open to everyone, such as the Bahai faith and Glide Church.

It will change, but it will take time. I used to think that day was right around the corner (and it may today for those of us here in Northern California and other urban / coastal areas), but now i realize it may take another generation or two to reach into middle-america. Perhaps even longer, since many immigrants also bring other religious short-sightedness with them as well.

But as more immigrants from other countries come to US universities in the heartland, and gradually interact with local people (and even inter-marry occasionally) there will come understanding. As more gays come out to their friends and neighbors, and adopt/have kids who go to school with other kids, they will gradually come to be accepted by their families and co-workers. Just don't expect it to happen by 2008, and maybe not even by 2018. However, I'm guessing by sometime inbetween 2024 and 2054, it will change.

In the meantime, I encourage all of you to spend time getting to know christian voters and learn more about The South, and take time to explain your view of the world to them, and spend as much time (or more) listening to theirs. Leaving the country in frustration or isolating yourself in big cities won't solve the problem.

My wife Saya is Japanese, and she and I are about to have our first baby next spring. We're also thinking about adopting down the road a bit, specifically a baby (or two) of non-caucasion background so we have more diversity in our own family. I'm also sponsoring my half-sister who lives in West Virginia to do a high-school exchange program abroad next year. And maybe I need to spend more time understanding what my relatives in the south think about gay rights, and then explain how a few of my friends and family are hurt by gay marriage bans.

Anyway, we all have a lot of listening and understanding to do. We can't just all blame it on Bush and conspiratorial republicans. We as a nation (and a world) have much to learn about ourselves, and a lot more room to grow spiritually and globally.

But we should not despair. Remember how long it's taken for the American Civil Rights Movement to come in the past 40-50 years? It didn't happen overnight. 60 years ago my grandfather and my wife's grandfather were trying to kill each other in World War II. Now we're having a child together. Time heals all wounds.

So please... be patient, don't be complacent, and be optimistic. In time, we will overcome.