Marriage Equality: Good News

It's time for some positive marriage equality news!

On the home front, two Labour leadership contenders, Ed Balls and Diane Abbott, have come out in support of marriage equality. Although Abbott clarified she has always supported marriage equality:

"I have always supported gay marriage and made that case when civil partnerships were first discussed. Despite what may now be reported, it wasn’t New Labour that first proposed civil partnerships but Ken Livingstone in his first administration. I supported it then, way before New Labour had the bravery to put this issue into legislation."

Given the rather offensive responses of the Miliband's on the issue, who managed to combine New Labour evasiveness with a politicians urge not to rock the boat quite neatly, it's good to see two candidates declaring their support on the matter. Whatever the reasons, and despite their other policies, it's a positive development in the battle to get marriage equality on to the political agenda, be it in the short term or long term.

And across the ocean in Argentina (I'm not going to boo and hiss for once at the mention of that country's name), marriage equality has been approved by both legislative houses and now needs only a rubber stamp from the President to become law. This will make Argentina the 10th country in the world to bring in marriage equality, and the very first in Latin America. It serves as an example to us all, that despite fierce Church opposition, decent countries can still make sensible decisions. Let it be a lesson for our country!

If you feel benevolent and particularly generous, this writer always appreciates things bought for him from his wishlist

Their Last Chance Of Survival Is Our Last Chance Of Redemption

In our post Cold War world it is often difficult to imagine ways of life outside our own Western capitalist structure. Whilst many will point to cultural differences the world over, it is hard to find any modern nation which does not conform to our way of life to a greater or lesser extent (North Korea, I'll admit is one of the aberrations).

But there are still a few places on this planet whose exposure to our lifestyles is limited or, in some cases, non-existent. They still continue the traditions of their    (and our!) ancestors in tribal societies. You may think you've seen them on television, those plume feathered covered aborigines of various countries. But they are often tourist/television friendly versions of their uncontacted and isolated cousins.

Uncontacted tribe photographed on Brazil-Peru border

Our culture has destroyed, over the last few hundreds years, thousands of such societies through "missionary" work, spreading our diseases, and through plain and simple slaughter. And it is this slaughter that is still ongoing.

In the Americas, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea commercial interests on both corporate and individual not only threaten the places these tribes live but also their very lives as loggers, miners and farmers massacre tribes with near impunity.

We in the Western world have blood on our hands. We began this process many years ago and it's time we stood up and said "No more". It is time we accepted that, whilst it is too idealistic, and perhaps morally suspect, to isolate these tribal societies clinically and completely, we have a duty to protect them from others and allow them the freedom to choose whether they wish to participate in the modern world or live by their own ways. We owe it to them and we owe it to our collective conscience.

I'm planning on sending out some letters this coming week to various countries, as suggested by Survival International. Take a look at their website and see what you could do to help these people.

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist