Many are ushering in this new year contemplating both the audacity of hope in our new president and the fear of the unknown surrounding our deep economic recession. During this time of contemplation, it is wise to ask ourselves what things make us distinctly and genuinely American. One is our history of bold human rights fights.
One of the greatest American achievements of the last half-century has been the battles won for the human and civil rights of its citizens. In a fury of 20 short years, the U.S. considerably advanced toward equality. Brown v. Board of Education desegregated our schools, the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act gave substantive access to millions of minorities to rights supposedly guaranteed by the Constitution, Roe v. Wade gave women the right of choice over their own bodies, Affirmative Action helped break down overt professional racism and Medicare and Medicaid gave seniors and low-income families necessary health-care coverage.
We, however, would be fooling ourselves if we think we have, as a country, risen above the necessary threshold of equality that all liberal societies ought to strive for. Currently, there are two great human rights issues in the public discourse: guaranteed access to health care and equal rights to gay and lesbian couples. Unfortunately, their progress seems to be going in opposite directions. Universal health-care coverage will almost assuredly be passed within the next four years. However, we need to look no further than California's passage of Prop 8 to see the work still needed for gay and lesbian couples.
This past summer, a lesbian couple watching a Seattle Mariners baseball game was asked to cease and desist their public displays of affection after a near-by fan complained to an usher that there were children in the stands, and parents would have to explain to them why two women were kissing. There was the normal uproar from the gay rights crowd, and for good reason. The couple was obviously singled out by the patron for being gay. But why they were singled out is as important as the immediate fervor.
It is quite easy to see why a fan might ask an usher to ask a couple to please keep their hands to themselves until behind closed doors. And although that is the reason given by the usher, it is not the reason the couple was singled out by the other fan. Instead, she made the further moral claim about protecting the children,"" and this is where worlds collide.
If her children are old enough to understand and comprehend the concept of two women kissing, then I think it can be fairly assumed they are of the age to have already understood the concept of homosexuality (at least, that is, if they go to school and have friends with whom they discuss things with). Essentially, the mother would have to explain nothing at all (but if she wanted to be a good parent, and her child did have a question, she could explain the simple fact that people like kissing who they are attracted to, and to whom you are attracted to is of no importance whatsoever). If, however, they aren't of this age, then seeing two women kissing at a baseball game, with all the other excitement going on, would almost assuredly not register very highly on their radar. It would probably fall in line somewhere right around scary hairy guy with shirt off, but definitely way behind cotton candy, hot dogs and the huge blinking scoreboard.
Incidents such as these show Americans how far we still have to go. Couples interacting lovingly and emotionally, as couples tend to do, should be of no public consequence. It is a sign that we are unwilling to have a real dialogue about openly gay and lesbian couples, especially by those who hold publicly visible and important positions. The equality of gay and lesbian rights, along with universal health-care coverage for all citizens, are two of the next biggest human rights battles facing the next generation of American policy makers.
However, the window of opportunity is before us. Barack Obama in many ways represents the culmination of many of the human rights battles won during that 20 year frenzy, and he is coming into office at a time not only rife with calls for change within the dialogue of the citizens, but also great turnover in both the House and Senate (nearly a quarter of the Senate has turned over in the last two years, with four to six more seats up in 2010). Unfortunately, by selecting Rick Warren for the invocation, he punted on his first possession of this issue.
These aren't times for the ideas of our parents anymore. It is not about ""redefining marriage,"" as Pastor Warren claims. It is about recognizing another's right to fulfilling their conception of the good life, and that includes acknowledging, inside government and outside in the public discourse, that anyone can love who they want to love, marry who they want to marry and raise a family as others raise theirs. These are times for the ideas of the new Generation X/Y America. Waging the fight for equal respect and concern for all, including gays and lesbians, is part of this new ideal. If we lose the path, or lose faith, we need to look no further than those 20 incredible years between 1954 and 1972 for inspiration that the good fight can be waged by governments and those people dedicated to seeing progress.
Joe Koss is a junior majoring in secondary education in social studies. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
