Sometimes it is the journey that changes us.

And sometimes it is music.

**********

I have a friend who is about 10 years older than me, who has never ‘had any time’ for the LGBT community, and didn’t understand the fight or desire for marriage equality.

He would, offhand, use offensive terms without thinking about it.  When he did it in my presence, I would call him on it, and we would discuss it, and debate the issue.  It usually ended in an “agree to disagree” standoff, with neither of us having changed our points of view.  Over time, he stopped using slurs in my presence, but I believe that was more to avoid the discussion that he knew would follow, rather than a change of heart.

That changed this weekend, as he discovered a video that moved him, and changed his point of view.

The video has over 35 million views… he has listened to it over and over.  He even printed out the lyrics. (They are below the video)

Music can change the world.

Same Love

by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, featuring Mary Lambert:

“Same Love”
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
(featuring Mary Lambert)

When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay,
‘Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight,
I told my mom tears rushing down my face,
She’s like “Ben you’ve loved girls since before pre-k… tripping,”
Yeah, I guess she had a point, didn’t she ?
Bunch of stereotypes all in my head,
I remember doing the math like, “Yeah, I’m good at little league.”
A preconceived idea of what it all meant,
For those that liked the same sex,
Had the characteristics,
The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision,
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion,
Man-made re-wiring of a predisposition,
Playing God, aw nah, here we go,
America the brave still fears what we don’t know,
And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten,
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago,
I don’t know,

And I can’t change,
Even if I tried,
Even if I wanted to,
I can’t change,
Even if I try,
Even if I wanted to,
My love,
My love,
My love,
She keeps me warm,
She keeps me warm,
She keeps me warm,
She keeps me warm,

If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me,
Have you read the You-Tube comments lately ?
“Man, that’s gay” gets dropped on the daily,
We become so numb to what we’re saying,
A culture founded from oppression,
Yet we don’t have acceptance for ’em,
Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board,
A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it,
Gay is synonymous with the lesser,
It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion,
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment,
The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins,
It’s human rights for everybody, there is no difference !
Live on and be yourself,
When I was at church they taught me something else,
If you preach hate at the service those words aren’t anointed,
That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned,
When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless,
Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen,
I might not be the same, but that’s not important,
No freedom ’til we’re equal, damn right I support it.

(I don’t know)
And I can’t change,
Even if I tried,
Even if I wanted to,
My love,
My love,
My love,
She keeps me warm,
She keeps me warm,
She keeps me warm,
She keeps me warm,

We press play, don’t press pause,
Progress, march on,
With the veil over our eyes,
We turn our back on the cause,
Till the day that my uncles can be united by law,
When kids are walking ’round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart,
A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are,
And a certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all,
But it’s a damn good place to start,
No law is gonna change us,
We have to change us,
Whatever God you believe in,
We come from the same one,
Strip away the fear,
Underneath it’s all the same love,
About time that we raised up,

And I can’t change,
Even if I tried,
Even if I wanted to,
I can’t change,
Even if I try,
Even if I wanted to,
My love,
My love,
My love,
She keeps me warm,
She keeps me warm,
She keeps me warm,
She keeps me warm,
Love is patient,
Love is kind,
Love is patient,
Love is kind,
(I’m not crying on Sundays)
Love is patient,
(I’m not crying on Sundays)
Love is kind,
(I’m not crying on Sundays)
Love is patient,
(I’m not crying on Sundays)
Love is kind,
(I’m not crying on Sundays)
Love is patient,
(I’m not crying on Sundays)
Love is kind,
(I’m not crying on Sundays)
Love is patient,
Love is kind.