Dang, lots of progress has happened since 2008, and I am smiling big time. Sure, you still might encounter some of those backwards nutcases that think black folks are inferior (don't say it to one of my favorite poets - Langston Hughes), but a lot has happened in recent times to make my mind and heart happy and amazed.
Yes, that silly Confederate flag needs to be hidden and shamed. It stands for bigotry, and only the most staunch bigot (hi, Archie Bunker!) would dare to defend it after what happened to those nine innocent people during a routine Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina such a short time ago. Bless them big time.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
— Langston Hughes
As far as the gay marriage issue is concerned, I'm just wondering why the hell it took the Supreme Court so long to make it legal? Obama has something that is rarely found in government these days: intelligence and ethics. Let's hope this trend continues in the near future :-)
6/27/15
P.S. Here's the original essay I wrote (about gay marriage) before everything changed for the better:
WHAT IF STRAIGHT PEOPLE COULDN'T GET MARRIED?
I actually overheard someone asking this question, while I was standing in line at Safeway the other day. There was an "article" in one of the tabloids about how gay marriage would bring America to its knees (bad pun on purpose) if it ever became legal. The man asking the question appeared gay to me, and he was chatting with the cashier - a straight male Christian. I assume this because he was sporting a wedding ring, plus his casual answer was: "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, so your question is ridiculous."
The gay man's face tensed up, but he didn't say anything more. However, the incident really got me thinking about the gay marriage issue, and how some straight folks seem to be clueless when it comes to understanding why so many gay folks are fighting for the right to legally get married.
Let's imagine (to help me make my point) a world in which straight people can't get married. A world in which gays and lesbians are casually stating, "God made Adam and Steve (or Amanda and Eve), not Adam and Eve." A world in which straight people see gays and lesbians getting married on television, in the movies, newspapers and magazines, but never any straight couples. A world in which gays and lesbians defiantly hold protests every time straight people fight for the right to legally get married. A world in which gays and lesbians openly hold hands and/or kiss each other in public, but straight people risk ridicule or worse - if they try to express their love for each other in the world.
Now let's throw in the Bible for good measure (pretend there are sections which clearly state that heterosexuality is an abomination, and the holy union between man and man, woman and woman - is something which pleases God to no end). If you are a heterosexual, how would all of this make you feel? Would it make you angry, depressed, or apathetic? Especially if the idea of straight marriage was considered a "ridiculous" one by many.
Essay © 2007 by Dylan Mitchell
