knoxville

Same-Sex Couples, Is The South Ready? East TN Is Divided

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Three Tennessee towns now recognize same-sex couples. In a landmark decision for the so-called “buckle” of the Bible Belt, Chattanooga joined Knoxville and Collegedale with a City Council vote recognizing same-sex spouses of City employees for benefits.

The decision, which narrowly passed in both Collegedale and Chattanooga, has left members of local churches and the tea party outraged in 2013.

Thousands of residents of the Volunteer State, people who are primarily of British, Irish and Scottish descent and whose faith takes precedence, believe decisions recognizing same-sex couples should be made by them, the taxpayers, in a referendum, not by city councils.

Mark West of the tea party in east Tennessee says that this is about “Giving the public the right to decide on issues that affect them and their society.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tennessee Democrat and Chattanooga City Councilman Chris Anderson has heralded the progress made as “historical.”

The divisive nature of recognition of same-sex couples in Tennessee has made headlines as far away as Los Angeles and across the South. The issue has already proved controversial in the UK, with hate campaigns and smear groups in Scotland and England.

Mark West achieved the  thousands of signatures required to bring the previous approval to a referendum. Which may happen in Summer 2014.

For Chattanooga, Collegedale and Knoxville, a changing world and a changing time have come to their doorstep.

With only 15 states in America granting full marriage rights to same-sex couples, the struggle between faith and change has left many outraged, confused and protesting.

Petitioners from the tea party spent “Black Friday” weekend canvassing against the recognition of same-sex couples.

Some elected officials see a “gay lifestyle” as dangerous and coming with “health risks,” according to Chattanooga City Council’s Larry Grohn. This viewpoint is alive and well across Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama today.

Yet increasingly, student migration and youth activism are forcing those on the fence to reconsider where their true loyalty lies. Cities such as Asheville, N.C., and Hunstville, Ala., which are seen as “hipster” and “techy” capitals, are paving the way for alternative lifestyles and social reform at a grassroots level.

A greater focus on the environment, recycling and Web- and app-based employment is dominating where steel, iron and mining shone in the last century. Changes similar to this can be seen today in the UK in Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle and Manchester.

Successful college hubs like Knoxville and Athens, Ga., are seeing more and more graduates remaining in the South because of heavy college loans, a low cost of living and sustained employment in IT, engineering and medicine.

An aging population and the demand for “medium care” medical professionals such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners has paved the way for thousands of graduates to stay in their hometowns. Incentives for these graduates to work in health care in isolated rural areas such as north Georgia have allowed many students to pay off their debt in a matter of years.

The change seen in Tennessee’s three urban areas where same-sex couples have made progress is merely a reflection of an underlying change in Southern life.

While drug addiction and domestic violence statistics show the South in an unfavorable light, a gradual change is coming. A mix of different nationalities, religions and societies that may initially divide towns and cities can ultimately make Southern cities stronger.

The Year The World Didn’t End

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It’s that time, when one sits back and reflects and comprehends what we saw in a year that went too fast for some and not enough for many more. A year that exploded with talks and murmurs of the Euro Crises and Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Yemen led to the western world holding its break as North Korea launched and defied sanctions with a rocket that came down faster than it rose.

The Summer months saw a build up of election madness in the US that carried controversy after controversy before London 2012 temporarily reduced unemployment in Great Britain and produced stars and inspired a generation. Mr Munch’s Scream, moved on for just shy of the cost of Christiano Ronaldo as CERN and The Mars Rover push the boundaries of science and exploration.

The first Bionic Eye opens a window to a new world as Islamic blinkers are tightened with the Innocence of Muslims while Felix Baumgartner shows the potential of the human mind and body with Hurricane Sandy reminds us Mother Nature can take lives in the blink of an eye.

The Gaza crisis heightens as children are blown to pieces in Connecticut without the feeble excuse of a superhero movie while lunatics and fanatics destroy one of the greatest monuments from the ancient world as the world almost ends.

Why the EU got a peace prize and Obama got awarded is still a wonder to most as Dick Clark and Whitney Houston show awards are worth very little when life ends and we move into the next realm of our existence.

With a world that didn’t end surely we can dare to dream and hope for a better 2013, a year where less innocent people die where drought and mother nature can be tackled better  and harnessed and where  many must not only see a new year but also a new fishing bowl of possibility where all one can do is cast a line and wait for a bite.

A Southern View

 

Here in Tennessee uncertainty and debate reign supreme as the state aims to break early voting records unsure of how much an impact it will have in playing a role in deciding the fate of the United States of America.

One thing can be sure, Romney is not truly in touch with the plight of regular Americans nor is he truly aware of foreign policy requirements. However what we are seeing are many Republican voters unable to connect with a man who is worth a quarter of a billion dollars while they struggle in middle income families but also find Obama having done very little for them or their college-loan struggling children.

It has become a case of the lesser of two evils, do you go with the man who made the money or do you carry on the way America is going with increasing debts.

Like many of us in the UK and Ireland, Americans have come to accept and embrace the here and now world we live in, a society of consumerism and expectation where actions deliver consequences and results, rapidly and effectively. Obama has failed to do that over his four year term, yet only three post war presidents have failed to get a second term in office and we are facing a bizarre scenario where Mitt Romney may win the popular vote and Obama the electoral vote.

It is hard to believe but out of uncertainty breeds rash decision making and this contest has shown that it’s breeding confusion, retraction or views, contradicting and bickering.

With time ticking for both candidates the future and fate of the most powerful country in the world and that of so many here in the valleys and plains of the Volunteer State remains uncertain.