Wednesday, March 27, 2013

What if.....?

We sit poised on the precipice of some of the most important judicial decisions of our generation, whose outcome can and will affect millions of Americans, either positively or negatively, fairly or unfairly, equally or biased. The greatest tool of our generation is abuzz with dialogue, going beyond cute pictures of our kids, pets, or meals, going beyond Farming and Slot machine apps, going beyond daily thoughts of positive inspiration or complaints of personal aches and pains.

I watched profile pictures change more rapidly than during any election, to variations on a theme of equality. I saw Yoda, Burt and Ernie, Pink Peeps on a Red background, Lady Liberty kissing Justice, Kittens flying through the mountains, Bacon, all showing support in their own way for equality. This is the America I know and love.

A few people have made light of this momentous occasion, belittling this show of solidarity. They are comparing this fight for equality to the current gun debate, or ridiculing those of us that see this for what it really is, a fight for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, a fight for equal protection, a fight for 1,138 benefits, rights and protections provided on the basis of marital status in Federal law. This doesn't include the ability to do even the little things, like having a family membership at the gym, getting insurance through a spouses work, or doing something as common place as visiting your husband or wife in a hospital.

Yes, this is a lot to take in, and for many of you, this is not something you even want to bothered with, or think about. Why, because it doesn't directly affect you. Many of you are taking your own marriages for granted, cavalierly enjoying rights that other, hardworking, tax paying, family loving Americans don't share. For those of you ignoring what is happening, are apathetic to the what is being fought for, or are avoiding this simply because this feels political, I want you to do one small thing. I want you to ask yourself the question.......

What if?

What if you didn't get to make a lifelong commitment and have the right to marry the person you love?
What if you didn't get to raise your children in a healthy, stable, family unit?
What if you had to sit by and watch as others got special rights and privileges, while they denied them to you?
What if your religious or spiritual beliefs were looked at as secondary to others?
What if the person whose rights were being denied was one of your friends, your family, your children.
What if people hated you for being you?
What if people wanted your family dead?

Please realize that what is being decided isn't about what you can or can't own, isn't about funny red and pink pictures, or reposts of newspaper articles, and this isn't a joke. This is about real American lives. We are watching an historic event and decisions that will have repercussions affecting many, many people. It might even affect someone you love and care about. It might even affect your child, or children yet to come.

Will you fight for the traditional, even though traditional marriage has changed more times in history than you can even imagine? Will you sit back and ignore what other people are fighting for? Will you teach your children the value of apathy towards others equal rights? Don't belittle this showing of solidarity. Take a minute, ask yourself "What if?", and then decide, what side of history will you be on?

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