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Where's your "Land of the Free" now?
Quick, kids! Guess where the following quote comes from!
“This has been a litmus test of our constitutional values. It forced us to consider: What does equality really mean? What does it look like? Equality does not exist on a sliding scale.”
Go on, guess. Guess! Time for a shocker - it's not from an American!
Then again, maybe that's not so much of a shocker, what with America's current trend of reinstating second class citizen status on whoever it doesn't like (minorities, immigrants, the GLBT community, free thinkers, the less-than-fanaticallyreligious Christian, etc.). But what's really fun is that this quote comes from a politician in a country that recently legalized same-sex unions.
That country? South Africa.
Yes, South Africa. That same fun country that brought the world apartheid and jailed Nelson Mandela has performed a magnificent turnaround and legalized same-sex unions, becoming the fifth nation in the world to do so. I must give the country serious props, especially since the rest of the countries in Africa seem to have a...we'll say "less than favorable view" of its GLBT citizens. So bravo to South Africa for taking a stand for equality.
But all of this makes me a bit ashamed that my country, which has a long history of boasting to the world about how "free" it is. And I suppose that's true, if you're a straight white male like this guy. As for the rest of us (you know, the ones that Jerry Falwell said were responsible for 9/11 - and the liberals and intellectuals), we have to cope with a country where we are "free" only if we shut up, stop thinking, and start conforming. And if we can't manage that, we're supposed to go away.
I think it's time that America takes a good, long look at itself and asks some tough questions. I think it's time that America cleaned house and started taking steps to ensure that all of its citizens - every single one - was truly given an honest, equal standing in the eyes of both the law and society. I think it's time that America dedicated itself to breaking the cycles of poverty, injustice and hatred both in and out of its borders.
But I know what America will do. It'll beach itself on the nearest couch, grab the remote, and watch William Shatner host another asinine game show. Because that's easier than taking a stand.
It's enough to make a girl wonder why on earth she's here.
bitter like Lipton tea“This has been a litmus test of our constitutional values. It forced us to consider: What does equality really mean? What does it look like? Equality does not exist on a sliding scale.”
Go on, guess. Guess! Time for a shocker - it's not from an American!
Then again, maybe that's not so much of a shocker, what with America's current trend of reinstating second class citizen status on whoever it doesn't like (minorities, immigrants, the GLBT community, free thinkers, the less-than-fanatically
That country? South Africa.
Yes, South Africa. That same fun country that brought the world apartheid and jailed Nelson Mandela has performed a magnificent turnaround and legalized same-sex unions, becoming the fifth nation in the world to do so. I must give the country serious props, especially since the rest of the countries in Africa seem to have a...we'll say "less than favorable view" of its GLBT citizens. So bravo to South Africa for taking a stand for equality.
But all of this makes me a bit ashamed that my country, which has a long history of boasting to the world about how "free" it is. And I suppose that's true, if you're a straight white male like this guy. As for the rest of us (you know, the ones that Jerry Falwell said were responsible for 9/11 - and the liberals and intellectuals), we have to cope with a country where we are "free" only if we shut up, stop thinking, and start conforming. And if we can't manage that, we're supposed to go away.
I think it's time that America takes a good, long look at itself and asks some tough questions. I think it's time that America cleaned house and started taking steps to ensure that all of its citizens - every single one - was truly given an honest, equal standing in the eyes of both the law and society. I think it's time that America dedicated itself to breaking the cycles of poverty, injustice and hatred both in and out of its borders.
But I know what America will do. It'll beach itself on the nearest couch, grab the remote, and watch William Shatner host another asinine game show. Because that's easier than taking a stand.
It's enough to make a girl wonder why on earth she's here.