No, You Cannot | Teen Ink

No, You Cannot MAG

November 6, 2008
By Anonymous

It is a new nation,
a nation that proudly proclaims:
“Yes we can.”
But what power holds “yes we can,”
when America has told many of our
brothers and sisters
“no, you cannot”?
You cannot follow your heart.
You cannot move forward.
You cannot take a hand.
You cannot break the mold.
“Marriage is a holy bond
for a man and a woman
it is not yours to taint,” they say.
Where is the future?
Relentlessly we must
keep striving for a better day.
We must stop this hatred
and bring about change in the
wake of defeat.


The author's comments:
This piece was written after Prop 8 was passed in California, a national tragedy at the state level.

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This article has 396 comments.


on May. 11 2010 at 5:36 pm
treegirl93 BRONZE, San Antonio, Texas
1 article 0 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be nice to trees- they'll become books someday.

But that law was written by man only and laws can be changed. But first we must change our mindset.

on May. 11 2010 at 5:34 pm
treegirl93 BRONZE, San Antonio, Texas
1 article 0 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be nice to trees- they'll become books someday.

So true. The nation is becoming more and more hyprocritical as time wores on.

on May. 11 2010 at 5:28 pm
MisplacedTexan14, Saratoga, California
0 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If you can&#039;t stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them.&quot;- a Bumper Sticker<br /> &quot;If Obama was the answer, it was a stupid question.&quot; - Another Bumper sticker

He forgives us of our sins, but that doesn't mean you can accept God, go murder a bunch of people and still go to heaven. You go to heaven if you accept Him, repent your sins, and try your best to live a life the way the Bible says to. If you accept God, but then ignore his teachings, you aren't really a Chrsitian.

on May. 11 2010 at 4:09 pm
TheWanderer SILVER, Blue Springs, Missouri
7 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Not all those who wander are lost.&quot; - J.R.R. Tolkien

If it's a sin then it's not okay at all. If you are a Christian and you know the Bible says something is wrong then you would do everything in your power to keep away from that sin.

So many people seem to think that Christianity is something that lets you keep doing whatever you want and then ask for forgiveness on Sunday and everything is okay. It's not okay. Forgiveness only comes when the person seeking forgiveness is truly sorry for their sins. Salvation is the same way.

I'm not saying that Christians have to be perfect, but I am saying that true Christians try and get better rather than staying in their sin.

Sorry for the rant, but this is a dangerous  and common misconception of Christianity that can't be ingnored.


on May. 11 2010 at 2:54 pm
kissingdarkness SILVER, Mill Creek, Oklahoma
7 articles 0 photos 64 comments

Favorite Quote:
lets see............ be yourself

yes he made adam and eve but all sins are equal!!! and god loves everyone he died for our sins so that kinda means its ok !!!!!!!

on May. 11 2010 at 2:26 pm
ellemarie BRONZE, Georgetown, Massachusetts
4 articles 0 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Afterwards, the universe will explode for your pleasure.&quot; -Douglas Adams

I agree, no one said that they can not love one another.  I am all for equal rights, but it confuses me when people call it marriage, when even though I am not religious, I see marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  I support gay rights, but I am just confused on why they call it marriage.

on May. 11 2010 at 2:07 pm
dark.death.love GOLD, Salina, Kansas
14 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
love is always patient and kind , love is never jelous, love is never bostful or consieded, it is never rude or selfish, it does not to take offense and is not resentful,

i love this it is really really good!

on May. 11 2010 at 1:01 pm
BlueInk94 PLATINUM, Valley Park, Missouri
30 articles 0 photos 75 comments
This is a really good poem..and putting all debates in belief aside the poem carries a good solid foundation. 'Freedom of emeotion'. No one, NO one can tell you what to feel. They can keep you from what you want but they cant change how you feel. I love this Poem!

Skylark said...
on May. 11 2010 at 12:10 pm
I support as well, very well written.

on May. 11 2010 at 11:33 am
kissingdarkness SILVER, Mill Creek, Oklahoma
7 articles 0 photos 64 comments

Favorite Quote:
lets see............ be yourself

yes it was but did the nation stay th same way as it was founded !! ?    no it didnt it changed

on May. 11 2010 at 11:29 am
kissingdarkness SILVER, Mill Creek, Oklahoma
7 articles 0 photos 64 comments

Favorite Quote:
lets see............ be yourself

but if god didnt want ppl to be gay he should have not put the thought in their heads sorry i think ur wrong  i go to church too

on May. 11 2010 at 11:25 am
Good! Well stated!

on May. 11 2010 at 10:22 am
bkcrider92 GOLD, Roslyn Harbor, New York
10 articles 0 photos 180 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.&rdquo;

This is awesome! I support this cause as well! =)

on Apr. 26 2010 at 3:54 pm
ellyncannon PLATINUM, Mexia, Texas
29 articles 0 photos 204 comments

Favorite Quote:
That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved.<br /> Ralph Waldo Emerson<br /> &lt;3

yeppers. i agree with what you're agreeing with me on.

on Apr. 24 2010 at 12:21 am
classiccrime1 BRONZE, Greenbelt, Maryland
1 article 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
\&quot;I love mankind, its people I can\&#039;t stand!\&quot; Lionel (Charlie Brown)

I think you misread my comment. I feel the same way you do actually. What i was trying to tell breakdancegirl is that by her using the bible to put down those who chooe that path of living a gay lifestyle or any lifestyle goes against the word that she is preaching.

Jewish...don't care i dont think any differently of you. in fact my mother swears that im heading in that direction. im the type of person that sees people as human...not as black or white...or christian or jewish...or straight or gay...just human. People.

You should make sure you fully understand someones comment before making remarks, such as them being 'closed minded". But  thats something else, and it doesn't matter, but I was upset that it was made when obiviously you misinterpreted what i was saying.

But we all misread sometimes. ..it doesn't matter. i still love you..your not going to become the jewish person who called me closed minded on teenink, just a person.

Kiara


on Apr. 19 2010 at 9:31 pm
xBaByGiRrL22x PLATINUM, Pearl River, New York
22 articles 0 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The goal isn&#039;t to live forever, but create something that will.&quot;<br /> &quot;If you wanna go, baby let&#039;s go; if you wanna rock, I&#039;m ready to roll.&#039;&#039;<br /> &quot;No one ever said it&#039;d be easy. They just said it&#039;d be worth it.&quot; &lt;3

wow this is truly awesome:)) i luv it. setz thingz into perspective 4 many thingz. gr8 job! plz write moree<3

on Apr. 19 2010 at 6:48 pm
MisplacedTexan14, Saratoga, California
0 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If you can&#039;t stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them.&quot;- a Bumper Sticker<br /> &quot;If Obama was the answer, it was a stupid question.&quot; - Another Bumper sticker

Did you know, when Thomas Jefferson first mentioned the seperation of church and state, he wasn't talking about keeping religion out of schools and all that, he was saying the states couldn't make laws restricting religion. It was meant to protect religion. America was founded on Christian principles.

on Apr. 19 2010 at 6:44 pm
MisplacedTexan14, Saratoga, California
0 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If you can&#039;t stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them.&quot;- a Bumper Sticker<br /> &quot;If Obama was the answer, it was a stupid question.&quot; - Another Bumper sticker

I completely agree. America was founded on Christian principles. It should stay that way.

on Apr. 19 2010 at 6:42 pm
MisplacedTexan14, Saratoga, California
0 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If you can&#039;t stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them.&quot;- a Bumper Sticker<br /> &quot;If Obama was the answer, it was a stupid question.&quot; - Another Bumper sticker

No one says they can;t love eachother, they just can't get married. It is a holy bond between one man and one woman. Everyone has the same rights. I can't marry someone of the same gender either.

thechlo BRONZE said...
on Apr. 19 2010 at 6:23 pm
thechlo BRONZE, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 7 comments
Love it! Not only is th emessage true, but it is well written! Beautiful!