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.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 396 comments.


TuffGurl said...
on Nov. 4 2010 at 6:34 pm
Thanks numbernine! And to sasafrass44, I don't watch the news, so I didn't know that it came out as a community center. But, just so you know, sass is with two s's. But that might be the way you spell it. And I am honestly not racist, and being called stereotypical sort of offended me, you know? But I'm still against the "community center" (are you proud of me, sasafras44 that I now know what it is?) being built just TWO BLOCKS from Ground Zero. Because in New York, that's practically next-door-neighboor.

numbernine said...
on Nov. 4 2010 at 5:44 pm
First off, that isn't her fault because they promoted it as a mosque. It was only a little while ago that it came out as a "community center". But I completely agree with tuffgirl!!

on Nov. 4 2010 at 5:42 pm
By saying it's the same as someone liking blue and someone liking red, then saying you're born gay/transgender/bi you're contradicting yourself. You make a CHOICE to like a certain color over another the same as you make the CHOICE to be gay/transgender/bi.

TommyOoOoO said...
on Nov. 4 2010 at 5:40 pm
Since homosexual marriage has NEVER been legal in America, so it has NEVER been a right, how can you comment (assuming you believe this to be a valid point) saying by not giving gays the right to marriage we're taking away a right?

on Nov. 3 2010 at 6:09 pm
wind.and.rain.again BRONZE, Amherst, Massachusetts
4 articles 0 photos 50 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What is it you wish to do with your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver

thanks for writing this! if people dont write or talk about the horrible things happening right now then no one will know about them so keep writing

BabyZippee06 said...
on Nov. 3 2010 at 4:34 pm

this poem is incredible. i dont know how i can put it in words. you said so much in so little lines. we need more people like you in the world.

~Zip


beeD3 BRONZE said...
on Nov. 3 2010 at 4:16 pm
beeD3 BRONZE, Sarver, Pennsylvania
4 articles 0 photos 3 comments

so lets ask... where is the future in a society of couples who can not produce children?

im just playing devils advocate but there is a sanctity that our country was built on when our forefathers wrote the declaration, and constitution. what happened to agknowledging (sp) the word of god is my question. 


on Nov. 3 2010 at 1:44 pm
thisisascreenname BRONZE, Sugarloaf, California
4 articles 0 photos 32 comments
i know there are definitely some other big issues with our nation (or the human race in general) but i also think we should acknowledge the fact that people are having their rights taken away because of what they believe, and if that's not a major issue then i dont know what is.

Hailey.G. said...
on Nov. 3 2010 at 1:42 pm
Hailey.G., Brethren, Michigan
0 articles 0 photos 8 comments
wow!!!! This really is a strong statement!!!! Great writing!!!!

Melody777 GOLD said...
on Nov. 3 2010 at 11:07 am
Melody777 GOLD, Tonasket, Washington
17 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you."

i really like the way you got the message across in a clear and well written way, this is very good, and very important to say!

jessicags GOLD said...
on Nov. 3 2010 at 10:04 am
jessicags GOLD, San Diego, California
15 articles 8 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I learned that you should feel when writing, not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like a child stringing beads in kindergarten - happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another." Brenda Ueland

It is wrong to base judgment on religious bases however I believe you analogy of liking certain colors and being "born with it" is completely false. Transgender have to have surgery to be a transgender.
It is not a matter of immaturity either, just a fact of conflicting opinions. I'm sure some people base things on the fact that they are in no way religious at all  but that denial can seem just as bias as saying It's, "unholy".

sasafras44 said...
on Nov. 3 2010 at 9:18 am
first off the proposed 'ground zero mosque' is not even a mosgue- it is a islamic comunity center  if you are going to oppose somthing i suggest you actualy know what you are opposing.

TuffGurl said...
on Oct. 28 2010 at 7:07 pm
Do you understand what you are saying? You are saying that I am saying this because I hate Muslims. I am firmly against racism and segregation of any kind. If they were building a church there I would still feel the same way. And I am not stereotyping against Muslims. You are stereotyping America. You think that everyone (except yourself, and maybe a few choice friends) hate all Muslims because of 9/11. You are the one stereotyping. So don't go all out and saying that I'm the one stereotyping when you don't even know me and I didn't say anything about that in my comment. Think before you write, because you are stereotyping against me, and personally I find that whole comment about me offensive.

on Oct. 27 2010 at 10:25 pm
SideraCaeli GOLD, Marysville, Washington
13 articles 1 photo 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.” -John Jakes.

This is very true... It's good to get the word out there in a very quiet and personal way...

on Oct. 25 2010 at 9:13 pm
WordforWord SILVER, Royal Oak, Michigan
8 articles 1 photo 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don't Just Exist, Live

Pen is mightier than the sword mate, keep fightin

on Oct. 12 2010 at 10:58 pm
RavenBird SILVER, Battle Ground, Washington
7 articles 3 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same" ~The Fray "All at once"
"I am who I am and who i wanna be" ~Avril Lavigne

Marriage is when two people come together, wear rings and make vows. Girl/Boy/alien doesn't matter. Not dolphins though. ;)

on Oct. 12 2010 at 6:51 pm
AndThisIsReal PLATINUM, Broadalbin, New York
31 articles 0 photos 81 comments

Favorite Quote:
Dans chaque fil il y a un debut.

Inspiring and well written.

I really like your poem, and completely agree.

 


LastChapter said...
on Oct. 12 2010 at 6:28 pm
LastChapter, Hempstead, New York
0 articles 0 photos 215 comments

Favorite Quote:
(couldn't think of anything better at the time) "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."-Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.

I understand why you would feel the need to protect a sacred ground, especially from the religion from which such pain was caused. but not every muslim is a terrorist, and it actually comes across as racist or stereotypical when people assume that all muslims are anti-American. would you tell german people that they were not allowed to live in a jewish community? no, of course not. why would you punish innocent people for a crime they themselves have not committed? i personally have befriended many muslims, so i can tell you first-hand that these false accusations that all muslims are against America is 100% not true. most of them are actually more pained by 9/11 than others, because they feel that their religion isn't about hurting others, but people might think so because of horrible terrorists. 9/11/01 is a remembered day in history, but for an awful reason, and though it has helped us band together and support patriotism, it also blinds us with hate. with all this pain, we need someone to blame. but stereotyping against all muslims is not the answer, and most definitely not the American way.

numbernine said...
on Oct. 12 2010 at 5:04 pm
Honestly, I completely disagree. We have such bigger problems in the world and all people care about is that gay people can't get married. Why not focus on issues like hunger or communism in foreign countries? THOSE are major issues.

on Oct. 12 2010 at 4:46 pm
AmeliaTheStrange SILVER, Potosi, Missouri
7 articles 1 photo 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
"losing all hope is freedom"

How can you possibly say that Christianity is the one "true" religion? You are a Christian most likely because you were born in America where it is the main religion. If you were born in India you would be raised Hindu, and if you were born in Turkey you would be raised Muslim. You would believe that one of those religions were the "true" religion. Therefore you have no right to preach to anyone about what is true and what is not. Everyone has the right to believe as they wish.