This is a critical time in America. Many things are at risk and our greatest adversary might be our own ambivalence. This post is the first in a series of articles intended to start conversations and inspire action. Please pass it on.
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I believe fiercely in freedom. Freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of speech. Freedom of self expression. Freedom of choice.
...Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand, a mighty woman with a torch whose flame is imprisoned lightening, and her name, Mother of Exiles...
I wasn't alive during the women's movement or desegregation so I don't know what the nation feels like when its human rights spirit swells to its full and mighty self. And I don't know what caused it to quiet and rest for decades as we ordered our straights not to ask and our gays not to tell.
I can feel America swelling. Gay rights is headlining the news with greater and greater frequency. Should a lesbian be a Boy Scout den mother? Should gays be protected under anti-discrimination laws? Should gays be allowed to marry? Should company benefits be extended to the spouses of gay employees?
For a long time I just shook my head and put down the paper or clicked to the next news story. I am ashamed. I cannot believe we are having these conversations as a nation.
But what do I contribute by shaking my head and turning away? My acceptance? My ambivalence? My permission?
...give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuge of your teeming shore...
For eighteen years DADT (Don't Ask Don't Tell) was the official policy of our military where closeted homosexuals were protected but openly gay members were not. From 1993 to 2011 we forced people to hide who they were. Formally in fact, as we enacted a law. We asked them to pretend they were something they were not. Women and blacks could never do that - they couldn't pretend they weren't black or that their gender was different, at least not for long - which is perhaps why their Constitutional amendments came much earlier than the gay rights one will.
...Send these the homeless, the tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
The italic text in this article comes from a poem by Emma Lazarus called The New Colossus that adorns the Statue of Liberty. It embodies our national history, for this is the land people came to so they could be who they were without fear of persecution. In the 236 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed we have failed to overcome the prejudice and repression our very nation was created to abolish.
All men are created equal.
President Obama has announced plans to repeal the Defense Against Marriage Act that was signed into law in 1996. This law prevents same-sex partners from receiving spousal social security benefits as well as joint income tax filing. It's not really a life or death issue - no one will stop breathing because this law is in effect. But that it exists, that we formally and legally endorse inequality, erodes the spirit of America. It weakens her pulse and diminishes her strength.
We cannot be quiet on this issue any longer. Every one of us must be an active and vocal guardian of human rights in whatever large and small ways we can. The gay community deserves to be protected and acknowledged. They deserve the right to marry whomever they choose. It's not a religious issue. Its a human issue. It's about the right to be with and care for the people we love. We are all the same in this regard.
Find your voice.
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What can you do? Here are five simple actions you can take right now:
1. Forward this to your network. Start the conversation.
2. Speak your heart. Defend human rights in your everyday conversations.
3. Write to your senator and ask that the Defense Against Marriage Act be repealed.
4. Get informed. Do your own research on gay rights in America.
5. Share your actions here on The White Paper (thewpaper.blogspot.com) in response to this post - I will celebrate and cheer you on.
