DOMA and Proposition 8: The Long War

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The Supreme Court of the United States dealt a major blow today to anti-equality proponents everywhere by striking down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor and dismissing Hollingsworth v. Perry, effectively invalidating California's Proposition 8 and legalizing same-sex marriage in California.  A momentous day, to be sure - and we liberals should be proud of what we have accomplished in such a short time to bring marriage equality to all fifty states.  This was a victory well-earned, in a battle well-fought.

However, one battle is not enough to decide who wins the war for equality.  The danger of SCOTUS' dismissal of Hollingsworth v. Perry is in that the dismissal does not strike down other anti-equality laws already in place in many conservative states, and those conservative states that do not already have same-sex marriage bans will soon start the process - there is no better way to rile up a social conservative than making him look like a fool in the Supreme Court.  The Republican Party is now gunning for a fight - and they'll beat this dead horse to a pulp to ensure their Bible-thumping ideology will be adhered to in as many states as possible.

It is for this reason that, as a good friend noted to me today, I am not nearly as excited as my fellow liberals when it comes to SCOTUS' decisions today.  Call me a cynic, but I truly believe that the fight for marriage equality in all fifty states is just about to get tougher.  Conservatives do not take getting beat easily, and they excel at mobilizing in support of a cause, no matter how misguided that cause may be.  It is the blessing of being a social conservative - the lack of an informed social conservative base makes it very easy to see complex issues in black-and-white.

What this all comes down to is that we liberals are in for a long, hard slog to ensure that LBGTQ individuals are treated as equals across all fifty states.  DOMA's execution is a big step in the right direction, but true equality can only be reached when same-sex couples can be treated the same as heterosexual couples in the eyes of the law - and I am not talking just about the right to marry.

In 27 states, a gay man can be fired just for who he loves.  In 10 states, gay individuals and couples are not allowed to adopt, while 16 states are ambiguous as to whether they want to allow LBGTQ individuals and couples to adopt.  Across the United States, LBGTQ individuals are degraded and humiliated in schools, the workplace, and at home just because of who they love.  How is that fair?  How does that fit into our immortal Declaration that "all men are created equal?"  How dare we, the self-declared paragon of freedom and equality, be so heinously hypocritical as to demand one thing from other countries on the international stage while simultaneously denying a large portion of Americans the same rights?  It is a tragedy, it is a travesty, and it means that us, as progressives, have a long fight ahead of us, and, while we may celebrate in our victory, we must understand that this victory is small, and we cannot rest - no, we WILL not rest - until we ensure that all men are truly equal.

I stand before you, my fellow liberals, and the rest of America, and declare that I am, always have, and forever will be, a soldier for the cause of equality for all, in the spirit of that immortal Declaration that made us Americans, and I hope you will all join me in the fight to ensure that our LBGTQ brethren, from Hawaii to Maine, from Anchorage to El Paso, can stand with the rest of us as equals in the eyes of the law.

That is all for today.  Class dismissed.

Why Shouldn't We Talk About Politics?

Since this is my inaugural post here at Liberal D.O.G.MA, I figure y'all deserve an explanation as to why I got into this in the first place. Unlike the many others who publicly express their opinions on politics, I'm not in the game to pontificate or proselytize, nor am I here because I get paid to spout the talking points of the day and to get into cat fights with other amateur pundits. No - take away every assumption you have about political blogging and throw them out the window, because I'm about to blow your mind. I'm here to make you both smarter and politically aware, all at the same time

I think - no, I know - that our country is in decline because we, the American people, don't care about what our government is doing, or what direction it's taking. I find it a damn shame that children recognize Ronald McDonald faster than John Adams, or Spongebob Squarepants faster than the Speaker of the House. I find it reprehensible that grown men and women - the taxpayers that make America function - would rather watch "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" over CNN, and they can rattle off the last seven Taylor Swift singles, yet have no idea who represents them in local, state, and federal government. I can't stand how Americans choose not to vote because they "hate politics," but always muster enough breath to whine and moan about how they pay too much in taxes while taking advantage of the services paid for by the taxes they pay. We have a certain level of political ignorance in this country that defies our self-proclaimed status as the "greatest country in the world," or our status as the world's sole superpower.

If you walk the streets of Rome, or sit at a café in Pristina or Athens, or go to dinner with friends in Helsinki, you will find a common trend in conversation: politics. Around the world, people are more aware of political realities than ever before, especially due to the Internet - Canadian students protest the Parti Québeçois for anti-Anglophone legislation, or Greeks contesting an EU bailout - and yet the United States holds the distinct and pitiful title of "Most Politically Ignorant and Apathetic Country in the Developed World."

...seriously? America - the birthplace of modern republican democracy - is so ignorant and apathetic about its politics that we refuse to even talk about it? We're too apathetic to even exercise the most basic political right of voting? This isn't even a shame - it's a goddamn disgrace, an embarrassment, a massive failure by us to keep alive the passion and interest in politics going for future generations. As an evolving electorate, we must break out of this rut and give this dying institution a little defibrillation, a new spark plug. Without lively political debate, we keep our ideas and views of the world hidden to ourselves and, if we don't challenge our own ideas and the ideas of others, this ideological divide we are witnessing today will only grow more divided. I anticipate that the fires of hatred an violent rhetoric will only grow higher and hotter until it burns alive the fair, beautiful maiden we call Progress.

I will be damned if I allow Progress to die. By sharing our personal politics, we can find common ground, see the similarities in ourselves and see that shared bond we all have for our beloved home. We an make this land truly great once again, and that is why I'm here.

I am not an ultra-lefty Liberal, though I am left-handed. You will see that there are things my colleagues will say with which I will disagree, but you will find that I am a lower-case liberal who demands common sense and progress from his government and his people. I see this land, and this medium, as a classroom for proliferation of great ideas, and I fully intend to be your professor and your moderator in this great debate. I'm about to drop some knowledge, so grab your textbooks, friends - class is now in session.