Prop 8 Personal Pledge

Guess...

2010-08-10T20:29:00.001-07:00

...who can get married now!! ;)

More later...

My Pledge Video

2009-03-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

(allow several minutes to load in order to avoid pausing)

I am currently in my last few quarters at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). Enrolled in a Queer Communities sociology class, I opted to do a creative project for my final assignment, feeling it was a chance to take action, to do something truly effective. As mentioned in my video above, my pledge was initially taken in November 2008. Since then, I've learned accountability is often stronger when others are enrolled in one's commitment. What better chance than this, to truly declare my pledge to the universe? Declaring this pledge so publicly is pivotal, forcing me to truly sift through my November impulse vowing against my own civil rights. I must be honest, this pledge wasn't an easy one to take. It was tough, battling through the "what ifs" that armed my worry. But you have to ask yourself - who am I to have the choice, when others don't? I am confident I do not stand alone, facing a reality where I see my own privileged luxury against others societal handcuffs. Since the passing of Proposition 8, I know there are others out there whom question their own place in this battle for equality. So, I urge you to join me in investigating where equality truly sits in your own heart's desires. Do a little soul searching...

What I found floating on the surface of my heart's desires-for-humanity is equality, civil rights, and above all, LOVE. More importantly, I found questions begging to be answered: "What do I have to give up in my life to make my fight succumb to any meaning in the battle over equality, marriage, and 'legal-love'?"

...A handful of protests, an ocean full of tears, and infinite desperate apologies to the LGBTQI community on behalf of the state I call my home, this is what I turned in on the last day of class. This is my answer. ...what's yours?

The Pledge

2009-03-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

My name is Alexandra Frost. I believe humanity is suffering, and equal rights have slipped out of our hands, and out of our hearts. I believe we are all equal. Our hearts beat, our lungs breathe, our eyes cry, our lips smile, and above all, in each of us lies love. Who is to say what love really is, and whether it’s right or it’s wrong? Who is to say what my love can or cannot be?

On our way home from a protest one night, we got to thinking … as heterosexuals, what do we have to give up in order to fight for others' equal rights? Is it right for us to maintain the rights others do not have? Is our fight strong enough when we ourselves bathe in privileged luxury?

Saturday, November 8, 2008, three of us took a personal pledge….

“I, Alexandra Frost, pledge not to marry until every citizen is granted the right to legally wed under the Constitution of California.”

I urge you to join me in taking a stand for equality. To take this personal pledge, leave a comment with your name added to the sentence above. ☮ ♥ ☯