I Will Say This... And No More

I do not like Glenn Beck. Ideological differences aside (and they are huge), I still can find nothing about him worth respecting. I do not like his smug, superior voice, which puts unnecessary emphasis on every single word. I do not like his conceited smile. I do not like people who fill other people's heads with fear in an effort to control them and obtain their support.

He insists "progressivism" is a disease. Well, Beck Man, I got news for you. Progressivism is how women in this country got the vote and how people of all colors can vote without having to submit to a "literacy test." Progressives control the flow of American destiny. When we really do have justice for everyone (cough cough gay marriage cough) we can finally say that progress has worked. What's so wrong about every law-abiding American having the same rights? According to Beck, it's cancerous to believe such a thing.

So I'd like to maintain a safe distance from Beck and all his venomous, hateful rhetoric that disguises prejudice and arrogance as the will of God. Let me ask you a question. Doesn't God have compassion for all people? God doesn't hate. God doesn't hold grudges, or care about opinion polls. God knows whether President Obama is a Muslim or a Christian (not that it really matters), and whether he was really born in the United States (and haven't we moved past that by now?!).

So enough already! If you've got nothing but violent hate and festering anecdotes, don't pass it off as fact. Glenn Beck doesn't need to reclaim America's honor-- he needs to claim some common sense!

An Important Aside to Xander Candor Readers and Perusers: Please don't forget to vote in Xander Candor's poll every month. The current poll (which you should be able to find at the top left of the blog) runs all through September. I look forward to your answers!

FAQ

In perusing the comments you readers leave on my blog, I occasionally discover questions you ask me that I, initially, wasn't too sure how to answer. Should I leave a comment on the post in reply? No-- good chance you wouldn't see it. Should I go to your own individual blog and leave a message in the interest of "reciprocity"? No-- not as easy to refer back to prior comments.

Finally, I settled on a method. I realized I've been fortunate enough to have people who actually read my random (and very leftist) ramblings from time to time. So I want to thank anyone who reads Xander Candor-- remember, without my readers, I'm just a crazy guy with a keypad and access to the internet. So thank you! And from time to time, I shall produce an "FAQ" post to not only answer questions, but also address some of the more interesting non-interrogative points.

Following my first "Worst Movies of All Time" list, I was asked how I first saw Twilight by a reader (you know who you are-- hi!) who, apparently, was a big fan of the books and refused to watch the movies. The A to that Q: I was being visited by a certain sister who decided to watch it. She had a certain infant son at the time, and without the crib, when his naptime rolled around, he had to be held by someone. That someone was his uncle. So for two hours, the nephew was asleep and I was stuck while that certain sister watched for the very first time Twilight. People holding sleeping babies, understandably, have very little mobility.

As for one of the other comments on that post... well, I simply think Stephenie Meyer needs to go away. I would prefer a secluded island somewhere where the world will never know what she's up to, except perhaps close friends and family members. But any words from this day on that leave her pen (or word processing software, as you will) will immediately be blasted by yours truly as more civilization-killing blandness.

And someone (or someones) keep leaving random snippets of profound statements on the comment posts. I have no idea who you are, but it's always very interesting to read. Thank you.

By the way, if you're not watching Futurama, you should be. It will remind you that there are gifted people working in TV and cinema these days... they're just getting quieter and less numerous.

Thank you for your attention.

Victory at C... California, That Is!

Congratulations, Judge Vaughn Walker. You helped strike a victory for justice, morality and decency this week.

I'm referring, of course, to his decision to overturn California's unnecessary, hateful, overwhelmingly phobic ban on same-sex marriage.

The ban (known on the ballot as Proposition 8) was passed with a 2% majority in the enormous southwestern state back in Aught-8. Of course, by democratic rules, a simple majority was needed. But 2% is a little nebulous, wouldn't you say? So thanks to its powerful backers (entirely religious-conservative, although I'm sure confusion over the wording of the proposition did contribute some) which included apolitical churches and fear-and-hatemongering politicians and pundits, hordes of loving, committed couples were no longer allowed to enter into the same holy sanctity of marriage shared by billions throughout history who were happily and successfully united. Also Henry VIII and Britney Spears.

"Sanctity of marriage" is an abstraction, and in my mind, entirely personal. The institution of marriage, in my opinion, has no universal sanctity when it can be dissolved with a simple phrase as vague as "irreconcilable differences." And not when thousands of couples are drunkenly married in Vegas not knowing their spouses' names. Not when supermodels and "actors/actresses" have new wedded spouses every month. If you ask me, two married people create their own sanctity by their devotion to each other. A marriage isn't automatically better because it's between a man and a woman instead of two men or two women.

This, of course, applies only to civil marriages and marriages performed under faiths that embrace same-sex couples. Obviously, all religions are welcome to set their own standards for who is worthy of marriage. But with that right comes the responsibility not to interfere with those who choose love and equality. And yes, I realize that's a loaded sentence, because I don't believe discrimination against the GLBTQ is any better than discrimination against racial or religious minorities, or against women. Or men, for that matter-- no double standards today, thank you very much.

Quite frankly, the tidal wave sweeping across this country to make way for victory on this issue is the same that previously surged across America and ended slavery and allowed women to vote. It's called progress.

So well done, California. I await the results of the appeals. My advice to the ban proponents: Don't push it, please. Sometimes the world needs to change. This is one such time.