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two
years later... things have changed
Ricardo
Lopez
I
wrote an article about two years ago when I was in
the 7th grade. It is now two years later and I
have since then re-evaluated what my belief system
is.
In
two years I have come a long ways from who I used
to be but in many ways I have not. Back then, I
questioned my religious roots deeply and
proclaimed myself an atheist. I know the reason
why I went to such extremes... I am bisexual--
that's why.
I
know I always have been, I know I was born with
it, regardless of what people say or believe, and
for that reason alone, I am agnostic. I believe
and I know that there is a higher power, a God,
but I cannot devote myself to any religion that
casts me as a sinner or an outsider simply because
of my sexual orientation. It is something that
cannot be helped, whether "natural" or
not, it's who I am. Often times, when people learn
that I am bisexual, they question me: Have you
been raped or molested by a man? Were you raised
by a single mother? The answer to those questions?
NO. I have never been raped or molested by a man,
nor was I raised by a single mother. On the
contrary, I have been raised in a Roman Catholic
home by a very traditional Mexican family.
Not
too long ago, my mother discovered I was bisexual,
not intentionally, but either way, she did. By
this time, I had already been out to my closest
friends who had no problem whatsoever accepting me
for who I was.. It wasn't any different to them--
I was still the same Ricardo they knew and loved.
Back
in January I applied to the Junior Statesmen
Summer School at Yale University. The Junior
Statesmen of America is nationwide program that is
run by high-school students who are interested in
politics and debate. I was accepted to the program
and I was at Yale from June 28th to July 23rd. I
have to say, that experience was a life-changing,
eye-opening experience.
Each
night, we held congressional workshop debates
where often times, the topics were very
controversial. They included topics such as:
Should abortion be made illegal except in cases of
incest, rape, and protection of the mother's
health? Should research on human cloning be banned
in the United States? Should a constitutional
amendment be added to prohibit same-sex marriages?
These topics did indeed spark many many heated
arguments and they all revolved around people's
religious beliefs.
From
the most conservatives to the most liberal, ideas
were passed around-- good ones and bad ones. In
one particular dinner conversation, a guy named
Aldrich, a conservative, began ranting on in front
of my friends and me, that homosexuality is a sin.
Homosexuals aren't being sent to hell by God, they
are condemning themselves. He didn't know at the
time that I was bisexual, and I wasn't going to
tell him just yet (everybody else knew though),
but I only opened my mouth to ask him this: What
would you do if your son turned out to be gay? His
answer? "I would put him in rehab."
That's when I pretty much let loose and gave him
my whole "schpeel" that left him in
shock and wordless.
In
two years, it has been easier for me to let people
know who I am. To summarize everything I have just
said: I know there IS higher power. I am just a
teenager looking for the belief system that will
allow me to be me. A belief system that is
extremist in any way. This earth is much too
beautiful and much too precious to have come out
of thin air. There's something there, and I intend
to look for it, regardless of anything else.
____________
Ricardo
Lopez is currently a sophomore at Advanced
Technologies Academy High School in Las Vegas.
Ricardo was a student of Reverend/Mr. John O'Keefe
two years ago and submitted an article then, after
two years, his view points on religion have
changed.
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