They're not dead yet, but it can't be long now. Bigots and xenophobes are seeing their time come to an end and I couldn't be happier.
Sure, there are still people who burn crosses and scream about the evils of Mexican immigrants but those people are losing the war for the soul of this country. (A quick note about those fears about Mexican immigrants: they sound an awful lot like those leveled at my Irish and German ancestors when they came to this country. 80 years ago, there were certain parts of New York you could probably walk for hours without meeting anyone who spoke English. Through the German, Italian and even Irish ghettos, it would have been hard to find people who spoke English. And guess what, it all worked out in the end. Two generations later and everyone pretends to be Irish on March 17th. The fear that people have over others not speaking English is as understandable as it is misplaced. These people see our language as the thing that unites us as a Nation. However, what really unites us as a nation is the American spirit and you cannot tell me that people who run across barren land in the middle of the night while rednecks try to shoot them just for a chance that their children can one day do better than themselves don't have the American Spirit.)
The thing is that children being raised today in a world with a biracial president and people in other countries literally a computer and an internet connection away. The world has become a smaller place and there is no where for bigots to hide themselves away. Gone are the days when someone could grow up without ever seeing someone of another race.
The fight against these types isn't over. Membership in racist groups has gone up since the election of Obama. However, these are no where near the numbers they had just half a century ago. As the President himself reminded us many times during his campaign, in no other country in the world is his story even possible. Where else could the member of an ethnic minority be elected to a nation's highest office? When that minority had been enslaved 150 years ago and had been treated as a second class citizen by the law just 50 years ago. America has once again started leading the way for the world, showing them that the old racial tensions don't have to matter, that we can get over the old wounds, no matter how deep. That is why, no matter what the economy does, I still have hope. We are on the right path, we have the right leader, we are going to be ok (or even better).
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I hope you're right. It's hard to agree when only about 5 years ago the fear that I'd be killed for dating a black guy was the biggest argument in my house.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll find that it is more the act of being a bigot or a racist that is under judgment, but there are still hundreds of people raising their children this way. People just hide it better, because they know society will not accept it. So, it is for the better that society deems racism as a horrible trait. However, I can't get Prop 8 out of my mind. Yes, we have a black president. But how long do the gay citizens of the country have to wait to have the same legal rights as you or I?
Yeah, but think about how quickly that is changing. It took 100 years for black people to be able to drink out of our water fountains and homosexuals have been asking for rights for a bit over 20 years. Things are moving in the right direction.
ReplyDeletePeople raise there kids plenty of ways but that does not dictate how they turned out. Look at you, your parents didn't want you dating a black man but you're very open when it comes to race. Things are getting better, slowly, but surely.
That is very true. Whereas there was no direct prejudice against other people in my house, it was known what was acceptable and what was not. Of course, I took the opportunity to challenge those unwritten rules every chance that I could. Which takes us to today, where I wouldn't have an issue with our kids dating someone of a different race, as long as that person was good to them. I know you feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's just hard to think that 20 years is such a short amount of time, considering how we know what an awful mistake slavery was, and how we make all attempts to "fix" it. It can't ever be fixed, but society knows what a horrible mistake it was to think that black people deserved less rights than white people, just because of their color. So knowing that, why don't people automatically know that straight people don't deserve more rights than gay people, just because of their sexual preferences? Isn't it the same concept?
The only reason it isn't, is because multiple religions don't speak out against people of a different race. But they do have a lot to say about homosexuals. I may be wrong, as usual; I may not know of some prejudice against gays in the government alone. However, I can't think of any. I can only think of religious beliefs. So then, is there no Separation of Church and State? I realize people throw that term around not understanding it. But I would think it to be used for the rights of our citizens. I'm not explaining my point well enough.
If there is no other reason to not give gays full rights other than religious prejudices, why do gays not still have full rights? I didn't think Christianity, or what have you, still mandated what we made law in this country. I know the people making the laws have a background of religious beliefs, but once you're in the position to change the country, shouldn't you be checking those beliefs at the door for the sake of the rights of all citizens? You have an American. He/She should have the right of every other American in the United States of America. Done. Where exactly is the damned problem??
I don't care about churches not allowing gay marriage. That is their right. but why can't homosexual couples have a legal ceremony in every state like all straight couples can? Why can't they declare each other dependents on health care? Why can't they leave money to each other in wills? Why can't they have the same familial visitation rights in hospitals as straight couples? These things have nothing to do with religion. They have everything to do with legal rights. And those two should not be mixing when it comes to this issue. And this is why I cannot grasp the concept that 20 years is a short time. In my opinion, this has taken entirely too long for a country that believes in freedom and equality for all men.