It’s funny because two days ago my biggest fear was jumping off the roof of a houseboat into chilly water. Today I experienced a different kind of fear. Today, as I sat in a committee room ready to testify against an expansion of "hate crimes" legislation, I was afraid because I felt completely alone. I scanned the crowd hoping to find friendly faces. The only faces I saw were those diametrically opposed to everything I stand for. Suddenly I spotted another pro-family lobbyist. "Yes, I won’t have to go up alone!" When the opposition was called up, I started walking forward. Then I realized that the other lobbyist was staying behind. It was terrible. I stood up in the front all by myself while the unfriendly faces stared at me. Although they smiled and were polite, I sensed hostility. (These are people who hope to someday silence my message because they consider it "hateful." Honestly, I don’t hate anyone. I simply do not agree with their message. That’s all, really. And pretty soon, if things keep moving in their current direction, none of us will have the freedom to disagree on this topic anymore.) A dozen people had testified in favor of this bill and I was the only one against it. There’s nothing like knowing that you are going to lose and you are entirely alone. It’s much better to lose when you have other people supporting you. Honestly!
Yes, today I was certainly terrified. My stomach was in knots when I testified. But I did it anyway because I knew I had to do it. If I could change things so that this issue is not "the" issue of my generation, I surely would. I hate being forced to speak about it. Especially when I’m alone.
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On a much, much lighter topic . . . have any of you seen Johnny English? Hysterical. We laughed ourselves sick last night.
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