It’s time again for another blog-cation. Today we go to the headquarters of Vyzion Entertainment where I’m posting as a guest writer.
Vyzion is a gutsy start-up that aims to bust open the marketplace of ideas for entertainment and talent.
Stephanie and Greg Bailey founded Vyzion Entertainment in 2009 as an independent record label. In 2011, the Baileys joined forces with my friend Eric Bostic and his wife Tomeka. They expanded the company by adding Vyzion Radio as a platform for independent artists and an affordable advertising venue for small businesses.
Greg describes Vyzion Radio as “international, free, public radio.”
The company is on-air 24/7 with listeners in more than 200 countries and 2,200 cities from India to Los Angeles to Detroit to their home base in North Carolina.
Vyzion DJs are not limited to a single genre like traditional radio. They are free to play the music the listeners want to hear including independent artists and DJ mixes. Bailey foresees Vyzion as a channel to introduce new music to the world.
“I want the station to be for everybody,” said Bailey.
He and Eric served in the U.S. military and strongly believe in freedom of the press, unhindered by corporate or government influence. They work to keep Vyzion self-sustaining and independent as the company grows.
Vyzion recently began to offer “exposure without exploitation” to modeling talent like Zewdi Reda Miss Ethiopia and to writers.
Guess which category I’m in.
Supermodels, you’re safe for now. I’m posting as the blogger with a topic most wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole: Truth, Grace, and NC Amendment One.
We can try to ignore the elephant in the room or we can listen, discuss, and figure out what to do. Same way we can continue to be spoon-fed what traditional media wants to give us or we can bust open the marketplace with new ideas.
Catch the Vyzion, click over, scroll down to read my post, and let the music play.
Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 NIV
Let the Music Play by Shannon because here we play what the people want, too.
Go to Vyzion now. Tell Eric I sent you.
I commend you for taking on such a heated topic and holding your ground, but also being open to alternatives. This is such a hard topic and I love hearing all perspectives since mine is still being formed. Thank you!
Thanks, Amy. It is a really tough topic, and I don’t know what the answer is. I hadn’t thought through it much until this deal in NC pitted friends against one another. I don’t believe the reformed church can or should back down from taking a Biblical stance. This may be a good place to wisely use separation of church and state. Let the state enact measures to protect a diverse citizenry AND protect the religious liberties of the church by taking the traditional definition of marriage off the table.
Honestly, I can see your point, Aimee. For many people of faith or other spiritual belief – call it Christianity, orthodox Judaism, Islam, or whatever you prefer – it goes against a religious definition of marriage that they believe in. However, there are people who don’t subscribe to these beliefs, or any beliefs for that matter. I don’t think the state should ever mandate it one way or the other. I always thought that in the eyes of the state, marriage is about one thing, and one thing only: for taxation and income purposes, two singular units join together to form a union. If I were to make the rules (mwahaha), I would simply mandate a civil union to be performed in any and all marriages, regardless of the genders of the parties. If the couple decides it’s their faith and choice to get their relationship blessed in a religious ceremony of their preference, so be it.
In Hungary, all couples have to have a civil wedding. It’s usually not even a ceremony (some couples do make a ceremony out of it, of course), just the bride, the groom, and a testimony for each go into the registrar’s office and sign the marriage certificate. I have actually known several couples who had their civil wedding months before their church wedding and reception!
While the Constitution never spells out a need for a separation of church and state, it is there in the spirit, and I think civil unions would be a huge step towards that goal.
P.S.: I re-posted this comment on Vyzion as well.
Thank you, Nusy :)
Nusy, I believe you may be a libertarian. Not a bad thing to be at all.
Religious freedom runs through the veins of American history, especially pertaining to (but not limited to) Judeo-Christian beliefs. Separation of church and state has to be for the protection of both parties. Part of what I think may be tripping folks up is the nomenclature. The word and idea of marriage is loaded with meaning, symbolism, and metaphor for most Christians. If what same-sex couples want is really about legal rights and protections, then can we accomplish that without using the word marriage and appearing to trample on another group’s religious concept? I don’t know what either side is willing to give on this.
The key word is civil union. After all, it’s nothing else than unifying two individuals into a single unit in terms of law – and that’s why I like riding that particular hobby-horse.
As for me being a libertarian, you hit it right.
I’m sorry, I kind of went brief here – I meant to write more, but then I got interrupted. Basically, what I meant is that a civil ceremony unifying a couple – heterosexual, homosexual, or any other flavor – should be called just that; a civil union. And if the couple desires and their faith allows for that, then why not get married in the church of their choice as well?
In my opinion, the state doesn’t (and under the establishment clause, really shouldn’t) care about whether it was a priest, pastor, rabbi, imam, yogi, or court clerk that examined that the couple is legally free to join their assets into one combined household. For taxation purposes, gender should not matter whatsoever – whether we’re talking about being able to file taxes jointly with a same-sex partner, or being able to garner child support as a single dad.
And about the libertarian note, yes, you’re completely correct. I guess it’s the swing of the pendulum :)
I knew it! One of my best and smartest friends is a libertarian, too :)
Thank you so much for spotlighting Vyzion. As we like to say over here……V’ssss Up!!!
V’ssss up right back at you. Thanks for the opportunity to guest post!