Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!
Would same sex marriage really be the downfall of civilization that opponents would have you believe? Change from the status quo is nearly impossible for some people to accept; and instead of admit that their deep seeded opposition stems from their own insecurities, bigotry, ignorance, and shortcomings, they rail against the change preaching the negative impact they believe it will have on society.
When women fought for the right to vote, they were labeled as 'hysterical'...the professional terminology for crazy in that day. Feminism was associated with having a mental disorder because it was just nuts that a woman would assert herself in such a way and even crazier that they expected society to accept it! But thanks to the sacrifices made by women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, women are able to exercise their right to vote on issues that shape the society that they live in, and allowed them to be included in the "...all men are created equal..." statement. The world did not come to a crashing halt when this happened, and it did not end democracy. Although I do wish that the 'soccer mom's for George W. Bush' had stayed home on election day, 2004.
In 1964 segregation was finally abolished, and it wasn't until 1967 that all states accepted, legally, the right for interracial couples to marry...gasp! Each other! There have only been a handful of countries that outright banned interracial marriage, and the free and democratic United States was one of them. Fear of 'racial impurity' fueled the opposition. Even the beloved Sammy Davis Jr. couldn't escape the outrage from the public over his marriage to a white, Swedish actress. The couple had to hire bodyguards and his wife wouldn't let their children appear in public with their father...the hate over their union was that deep.
History is filled with controversial ideas that test society; ideas that free people from oppression and discrimination. Gay marriage is just one more. In my opinion it is not always the ideas themselves that present the problem, but the people's less than positive reaction to them, their refusal to accept them, and it is the people that vociferously protest them that cause the real evils that permeate society.
When women fought for the right to vote, they were labeled as 'hysterical'...the professional terminology for crazy in that day. Feminism was associated with having a mental disorder because it was just nuts that a woman would assert herself in such a way and even crazier that they expected society to accept it! But thanks to the sacrifices made by women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, women are able to exercise their right to vote on issues that shape the society that they live in, and allowed them to be included in the "...all men are created equal..." statement. The world did not come to a crashing halt when this happened, and it did not end democracy. Although I do wish that the 'soccer mom's for George W. Bush' had stayed home on election day, 2004.
In 1964 segregation was finally abolished, and it wasn't until 1967 that all states accepted, legally, the right for interracial couples to marry...gasp! Each other! There have only been a handful of countries that outright banned interracial marriage, and the free and democratic United States was one of them. Fear of 'racial impurity' fueled the opposition. Even the beloved Sammy Davis Jr. couldn't escape the outrage from the public over his marriage to a white, Swedish actress. The couple had to hire bodyguards and his wife wouldn't let their children appear in public with their father...the hate over their union was that deep.
History is filled with controversial ideas that test society; ideas that free people from oppression and discrimination. Gay marriage is just one more. In my opinion it is not always the ideas themselves that present the problem, but the people's less than positive reaction to them, their refusal to accept them, and it is the people that vociferously protest them that cause the real evils that permeate society.
posted by Tootsie Farklepants at 11:23 AM
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