On Equality

For the last the several presidential elections, hopeful candidates have used the rights of homosexuals, bisexuals and transgendered people (also referred to in this post as the LGBT community), as a ploy for votes. Republicans use it to appeal to Christians and other religious groups, who believe that homosexuality is wrong. Democrats use it to strengthen their image as the peoples’ party.  I admit to leaning to the left on most political and social issues, but I usually see value in every viewpoint. Equality for all American citizens, including gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual citizens, however, is a topic that forces me to stand firmly on one side of the proverbial fence. I respect an individual’s right to unique religious beliefs, but this is America. America is not a theocracy. Our people are afforded rights, not based on what other people think is correct or moral, but because they are alive.

The LGBT community is attacked from all angles and one of the biggest problems they face is that countless Americans oppose their right to marry. This, because of the special privileges awarded to married couples, means that same-sex partners have trouble supporting and building families together. In thirty states, they cannot share health insurance, retirement funds or even care for each other on their death beds.   

President Barack Obama recently told the world that after years of supporting civil unions for same-sex couples, he now believes that they should be able to marry. Many democrats, like Kathy Galdrisi, who wrote to CNN.com, were overjoyed. Galdrisi was such a big fan of Hilary Clinton, that she chose to sit out the last election, but Obama will have her vote in November. (Gladrisi, 2012)  Not everybody was so moved, however.  Shortly after he made this public declaration, New York Time Columnist, Maureen Dowd, appealed to other liberals when she wrote “The president finally did something humanizing.”  (Dowd, 2012)  Ms. Dowd, like a lot of constituents, was impatiently waiting for the president to be passionate about one of the many ideologies he ran on in 2008. Support for this particular lifestyle was  a commitment he made.

Maureen Dowd, and those of like mind, are not the only ones who believe that president Obama’s statement came too late. Texas senator Ron Paul, who personally believes marriage is between a man and a woman is quoted as saying, “…the government should just be out of it. I think it should be done by the church or private contract, and we shouldn’t have this argument.”   As always, Paul is holding true to the Libertarian idea that government should not only stay out of our personal lives, but out of just about everything (Johnson, 2012).

He may not have jumped on the marriage-equality bandwagon fast enough, but Barack Obama did do something wonderful for the LGBT community. He repealed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and, now, openly homosexual people can, as of December 2010, serve in the United States military.

Of course, ultra- conservative Rush Limbaugh mocked the decision by saying “If the decree to getting open homosexuality is so vital to the defense of the nation, why has it taken 234 years to get around to it?” (Limbaugh, 2011)  Although most conservatives probably do not enjoy being represented by somebody as caustic as Limbaugh, he is staying true to one socially conservative ideal, the idea that we should honor tradition and do things the way we have always done them. Several other conservative writers and pundits said that repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, is bad for our troops because straight men will be worried about being hit on, and gay man will be terrified of being physically harmed. This is no less offensive to the LGBT community than what Mr. Limbaugh said, and I really hope that all of them were just trying to be provocative.       

 I understand that kindness is not a good enough reason for most of us, and that equality being the humane thing to do, is not a valid argument. So, in response to those who let their political loyalties or religious convictions overshadow their empathy, I have to quote the incomparable Nelson Mandela who once proclaimed, “All men are not truly free if one is oppressed.”  The United States will not be the greatest country in the world until we all realize how true that statement is. It is not only a liberal ideology that doing things for the good of some of us is eventually good for all of us. It is simply common sense.

I believe that the behavior in which members of the Westboro Baptist Church engage, when they picket soldiers’ funerals and stand on college campuses shouting “God hates fags” is disgusting and shameful. In my perfect world, hateful cults like that would not exist. Still, the Supreme Court was right, on March 2, 2011, to rule that they are allowed to nonviolently picket anywhere (Sherman, 2011). If they are not allowed to express themselves, what is to stop the government from suppressing my right to tell my future children that people who shout those obscenities are incorrect and mean-spirited?

      Our ancestors, wherever they may be from, came to this land for the opportunity to pursue their own happiness, regardless of what others believe. The minute we deny anybody the right to do that, we are risking everybody’s right to do that. None of us can live without fear until all of us are accepted.      

WORKS CITED

Dowd, M. (2012, May 12). Seeking original bliss. NEW YORK TIMES. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/opinion/sunday/dowd-seeking-original-bliss.html

Gladrisi, K. (2012, May 10). View shift. Retrieved from http://www.fdlreporter.com/viewart/20120627/FON06/120627032/Views-shift-little-after-backing-gay-marriage?odyssey=nav|head

Johnson , B. (2011, November 29). Ron paul: Personally opposed to same-sex ‘marriage,’ but….. Retrieved from http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/ron-paul-personally-opposed-to-same-sex-marriage-but/

Limbaugh , R. (3, January 2011). Bigoted "don't ask, don't tell" policy finally repealed. Retrieved from http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2010/12/20/bill_clinton_s_bigoted_don_t_ask_don_t_tell_policy_finally_repealed

Sherman, M. (2011, March 02). Westboro baptist church wins Supreme Court appeal over funeral protests. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/02/westboro-baptist-church-w_n_830209.html