Cheap and Easy

Time got away from me and I was unable to update my blog yesterday, my apologies!

I really want to talk about one of my favorite quotes in the entire history of oppressed minorities. On 28 August 1,963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’”

This sentiment is taken from the “I Have a Dream” speech, wherein King outlines his desire that every person have a chance to live freely and equally in this country. His daughter, Coretta Scott King, was one of the most well-known LGBTQ-friendly advocates. The idea that virtues of civil rights and equality can be transmitted from generation to generation is a hopeful one; but there is a dark side, too. For every tolerant individual, it seems as if there are two or three homophobes, bigots, racists, what have you. These are also virtues that are taught at home.

Now, being gay, I don’t understand homophobia. If I were to openly discuss a fear of heterosexuals, I would be thrown into therapy as a social degenerate. But since I have no fear, I am a “functioning” member of society. Homophobes are considered a fact of life yet they do not pay us the same courtesy. They believe we, as homosexuals, are liars and can be changed into heterosexuals through therapy, prayer, intimidation or incentive.

Dr. King speaks of cashing a check. This is also a long overdue sentiment in the gay community. We feel our struggle for civil rights is an uphill battle, one of limited progress and baby steps. I say, because we live in a free country where our rights are guaranteed from birth, but get taken away when we come out, this is actually an entitlement battle. We are fighting for what is already ours, we are fighting to take back the rights stolen outright by unapologetic powers that be. The silver lining in this debate is our ability to change the system, to cast off tyrants, as laid down in the documents that gave this nation a backbone.

Giving homosexuals the right to marry would be cheap and easy. During the recent Proposition 8 fight in California, both sides raised at least $82,869,785 to pass/defeat the amendment respectively. I’m not economist, but couldn’t that money have been used to, say, fund healthcare, veteran’s insurance plans, bolster the floundering educational systems, deal with poverty, etc.?

By donating millions and millions of dollars to fund homophobia, individuals and organizations are taking away liberties they themselves would revolt over if taken away from them. Imagine your state voting to abolish the right to marry for all people with blue eyes. It’s an extreme example, but to gays and our allies, our sexual orientation is as trivial as blue eyes. Discriminating on the basis of what or who we do behind closed doors seems like playground childishness. There are better ways to spend time and money. Sending kids to college with the $80 million on both sides of Prop 8 would be a good way.

Now, again, I’m no economist, but if we set aside all the money used to pass or defeat the gay marriage amendments, wouldn’t there be some kind of economic benefit for the states? I imagine the jobs created, the money from registering marriage licenses, the wedding cakes, the photographers, the venue rentals, on and on the cookie crumbles until we see some kind of return on investment in civil liberty. In valuing our citizens, America always benefits one way or another. Dr. King’s long fought battle enabled educational reform, continued marriage protections, gave rise to federal antidiscrimination laws and so much more. The similarities in our struggle for equality are almost too many to ignore.

Homosexuals need a civil rights bailout. In a country where every person is born with a silver spoon in their mouths in terms of freedom and equality, it is immoral to strip these rights away for merely living our lives in accordance with what makes us happy. It is time to cash this check and to acknowledge the benefit of these micropayments since the 1960s. Progress has been made, but as is the case in California, progress can be taken away, too. Legalizing gay marriage is a great step in the right direction, it’s cheap and it’s got to be easier than what we’re doing now.


Be good,

Will