The Answer: Through the courage of the few.
The Question: How does one overcome the prejudice of the many?
In recent posts, I have been quite critical of President Obama’s failure to make good on his commitments to gay rights. When he took office, his campaign promises regarding gay rights were posted on the White House website. Then suddenly…half the list disappeared. Then…the language of the remaining promises was softened. Vows to “repeal” the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy became statements of a vague intention to “work with the military to modify” the policy. As a result, in just the last week a veteran Arabic translator and a veteran war hero have been threatened with discharge from the service of their country. About this, he has said nothing. Some states are passing laws allowing gay marriage…others specifically against it. Again, he says nothing. The most he has done is to NOT FIGHT a recent federal court ruling that states that the military can’t dismiss someone solely because they are gay…meaning they will probably just have to manufacture some other reasons, and news reports show this is already the case.
Many have called this particular battle the “civil rights struggle of our time,” and they are clearly correct. The parallels between “today’s” discrimination towards gays and “yesterday’s” discrimination towards women and people of color are unmistakable:
– They used to say that women and blacks were inferior based on biology…using “evidence” that reflected either dubious methods, or no science at all. This should sound familiar, as it has also been used in attacks against gays.
– They used to say that women and blacks were inferior due to certain “psychological factors” and “personality traits.” They said they were more “sexually promiscuous,” less “disciplined,” more “unstable” or “fragile.” This should sound familiar, as it has also been used in attacks against gays.
– They said that granting equal legal and social status to women and to blacks would pose a threat to the family, most specifically our children. They said that women would “effeminize” our children, they said that blacks would molest and sexually abuse children. This should sound familiar, as it has also been used in attacks against gays.
– They said that under no circumstances should blacks and whites be allowed to intermarry, because of its “threat” to both the family and to the “institution of marriage” itself. It was also suggested that biracial marriages would be unsuitable for childrearing. This should sound familiar, as it has also been used in attacks against gays.
– They said at the heart of their disagreement…was scripture, and they put forth many verses to attempt to support their attacks against women and blacks. This should sound familiar, as it has also been used in attacks against gays.
And yet there are still people who don’t see these attacks as what they really are: simply another mechanism for hate, using the same, tired, and indefensible arguments. These people don’t care about the “science of homosexuality“…nor do they care about the “economics of homosexuality“…nor do they care about the “legality of homosexuality.” If they did…they would be forced to accept that homosexuality is a biological trait, that allowing gays all the same rights and privileges is an economic boon, and that legally (in a Constitutional sense) we are already OBLIGED to provide gays the same rights and privileges.
So, I’m certain that President Obama is familiar with these lessons from the civil rights battles of the past…the battles that allowed him to one day become president of this country. So what is he waiting for?
It’s because he’s forgotten one other lesson from those fights: in the end…what is required is the courage of the few, or the one, in the face of the many.
Did women or blacks achieve their rights alone? One day, did the rest of the country just “come around?” NO. One more step is required. A person in power…most often a person representing the majority…must, regardless of popular opinion, use his or her power to do what is right. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed…do you think the majority of Americans would have voted for it? There is a misconception these days, as with the Proposition 8 measure in California, that what is POPULAR is what is RIGHT. NO. What is RIGHT is what is RIGHT. Despite that fact that most Americans still held prejudice against blacks, President Kennedy brought the bill to Congress. Upon his death, President Johnson took steps to defeat a stalling of the bill in the House, and to prevent the bill from getting stalled in the Senate. In short…these two men did whatever it took to make sure this bill passed, regardless of opinion polls and politics. Many blacks fought bravely and at great cost in the struggle…but in the end, the final battle that would grant black people their rights, required some white people of courage to stand up with them against other white people. Similarly, many women fought valiantly and for many years in the battle for their equality…but the battle that won the war required some men of courage to stand up with them against other men.
What I am really saying: As long as this civil rights struggle is a fight where only gays are displaying courage and sacrifice…it will never be won. As long as the outcomes of this struggle are resolved on minor political stages, and through the popular vote…it will never be won. This is for two simple, and related reasons: the persecuted minority cannot dominate the will of the majority…and among the majority, the ignorant ALWAYS greatly outnumber the enlightened. This is true in any culture, any society, any country…and it has always been true in America. This is why this kind of change always requires an enlightened and courageous member of the majority (in this case, heterosexuals), in a position of high power (in this case, the president), to take action (in this case, putting forward legislation to end discrimination)…simply because he or she has the knowledge that it is the right thing to do. Vast numbers of the population WILL disagree, but that doesn’t make the actions of this brave individual less right or less required. Some would say, “what about democracy?” We do not have a true “democracy,” but instead a “representative democracy,” and that is for good reason. If our government, our laws, or policies were left up to the constantly shifting, largely ignorant, and easily manipulated opinions of the population…the result would be horrific and unmanageable. Instead, we try to elect “the best of us” and while we trust them to exercise “our will,” will also grant them our trust in making decisions as to what is best for the country based their consciences, and on the information that they have available to them.
That’s the trust we gave to John F. Kennedy, President Obama…and he used it to champion the establishment of formal legal rights for people of all races. Despite prevailing racist sentiments amongst the public (and many politicians)…he made sure that America continued in the right direction: the direction of growth and equality. Because he did so…you now sit in the same office that he once held. It’s time to return the favor. Don’t read one more poll. Don’t do another study or set up another commission. Don’t ask the military to conduct “feasibility studies.” Knowing, as you do, the science, the economics, and the law…you know all that you need to know. Put a moratorium on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” discharges through executive order and draft a bill to end discrimination against this segment of our American population, once and for all. And see that the bill passes. The rest will take care of itself…public opinion will start to change…eventually support for a Constitutional Amendment will exist…leave that for the rest of us.
President Obama, there is only one answer to the question, “how can you help us to overcome the prejudice of the many?”
…through the courage of the few. The minority has fought this long enough, Mr. President…it’s time for a member of the majority, a person of courage and power, to stand with them. That person…should be you.