Hello all! My name is Timber Venard and I received the honor of becoming a contributing writer with “From Eternity to Here.” I feel very blessed for this opportunity and I hope that you will enjoy what I write. Thank you, Greg!

My blogs tend to be a little tongue-in-cheek, but I like to sandwich good information with humor and sarcasm. There really IS a point to the things that I write. So, bear with me on the journey and let’s see where this takes us!

I was born into a Christian family. Let me restate that: I am a preacher’s kid! Oh, my poor parents were screwed from the get go! I wasn’t a bad kid, but yes, I am gay. And we all knew it from a pretty early age. Although, that brought its own trials and tribulations over the years. Perhaps, someday I will tell you about them all!

I am a HUGE activist for the LGBT community regarding equal rights and marriage equality. I am hoping to use my superpowers (my writing skills, of course) for good! But, occasionally there is wickedness/evil that shows up in my editorials (insert evil laugh here). I also run my own VERY small blog called, Timber’s Morning Coffee. If have have the time, or the inclination, please check it out!

So, for our first topic of discussion, Democracy, our rights and our responsibilities.

We think that because we live in a democratic republic (notice I didn’t say, “Democracy”), we assume that everything changes simply because of a vote. This isn’t quite the truth. I recently read an article in Advocate Magazine regarding the comparison of civil rights work in China vs. the United States.

In some foreign countries, they believe that we have so many more freedoms and that they are all granted by the government. In many ways, that’s very true, but in other ways, that is completely false, and we have fallen into the same trap of believing that we are going to get whatever we want, simply by saying so.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1964 Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King, Jr., and others, look on. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WAKE UP!!! Yes, there was a good coup for LGBT civil rights in this last election, but it doesn’t stop there. All of the rest of the States and the Federal Government still have plenty of work to do in recognizing the equality of LGBT people. And, where does this start?

With you. With your voice. Knocking on doors, making phone calls, writing letters/blogs. Being visible in the community.

You see, we can’t just vote in our own civil rights. The point of a democratic republic is that we elect representatives to vote FOR us. This means, as our representatives, they need to listen to their constituency. Although, that’s not a guarantee that they will.

At this point, it is going to take thousands of little victories in order to gain the BIG ONE! Each city that passes a non-discrimination ordinance (C’mon, Helena!!) is a step in the direction of equal rights. If we can look back to the racial civil rights, look at what a slow process that was. It didn’t just happen over night. From the Emancipation Proclamation to the first desegregated schools it took well over 100 years.

Because of information technology, some of these things can happen faster than before, but it’s still going to take the same amount of work on our (the average citizen’s) part.

I, for one, have a good (choke. . .republican) friend in the Montana Legislature. He has slowly been changing his views on civil rights for the LGBT community because he has gotten to know me and my partner. We are real people to him. And yes, he and I will be having several discussions regarding our views on civil rights. I may not sway him, but perhaps I can get him to think and maybe even compromise.

That’s the point. We are not going to win the battle in one fell swoop. We are going to win it one heart and one mind at a time. Settle in, kids. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, but it will definitely be worth it!! And, if you don’t get involved, how are things ever going to change? But, if you DO get involved, then we will send you a plaque and a voucher for a toaster oven! (I’m shooting for the cruise!)

Not really, but you WILL get to say that you were in the forefront of changing American History. How often do we get to say that we were a part of making history? Usually for me, it’s just making things covered in glitter and feathers and although some of those things are EPIC and should be in a museum, they don’t further my equality as a human being!

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