Moving
Forward
Tony
E Dillon-Hansen
17
Feb 2013
Diane Ravitch said
about education reform that “The greatest obstacle to those who
hope to reform… is complacency.” While she may have been speaking
about education, her comment reflects upon any noble crusade for
reform.
Listening to the
news recently, one would think that we have achieved great milestones
with respect to equality as pertaining to the LGBT community. While
we may have finally crossed some dimensions of the struggle, there
are still many throughout the United States that do not enjoy any
semblance of equality whom those in specific states or cities enjoy
(notwithstanding the federal DOMA restrictions). We may have had our
moments including when a President (whether premeditated by political
campaigning or not) recognized the civil rights strife in the current
era as inclusive of the LGBT community. We, however, cannot rest on
our laurels thinking the war is won. We cannot become complacent.
The work of many
years and the milestones that we have achieved, thus far, can easily
be vaporized if we do nothing to keep the pace moving forward. The
Promised Land cannot be thought of as here and now, but instead, that
moment will only be when equality is achieved for all of our brothers
and sisters.
For all of the
advances that we have gained, there are those that are actively
working to stem or to reverse the tide because they have now had to
endure major setbacks. We do not have to think too far back to
remember how that feels on our side. In 2010 (just couple years ago),
judges were voted out of office because of narrow-minded bigotry
while more states voted to exclude marriage from loving couples. In
Iowa, we are but a couple votes away from having a constitutional
amendment proposal in Iowa to exclude marriage. To think we have
somehow escaped the gravity of bigotry and right-wing mantras in
American politics is erroneous and dangerous to the cause of
continued freedom.
Further, complacency
sanctions people to be lulled into inactivity and even arrogance.
Even great athletes lose important matches and games if they think
they have finally achieved the winning point without actually
finishing the win. The time to rest is not now. The time now is to
keep the presence in the face of, as well as to keep the pressure
upon, lawmakers to help equality to remain alive. The time now is to
help friends and family to remember what equality and freedom mean at
the ballot box. For those that have yet to enjoy equality, we must
help to further their cause because we are reminded of how
breathtakingly close we are.
We know the people
of the far-right are planning the next move, and again, they will be
well-funded. They are digging through numbers and stories to find
material that they can use to destroy equality. They are planning on
less active voting in the next elections. They will use fear; they
will use so-called traditions; and they will use fabrications and
distortions of truth to further their agendas. They will paint
pictures of burning Rome, will recall angry prophecies of the Bible
and will ridicule ideas that promote diversity. They will cast
terrorism and diversity as mutual enemies of the state. We know this
because we have seen this. They are still using these tactics and we
can expect them to continue this pathology of destructive lies,
especially if they think we are complacent with our recent victories.
Conservative Barry Goldwater said, “Extremism in the defense of
liberty is no vice…moderation in the pursuit of justice is no
virtue.” Complacency cannot be our resolve, but instead we should
be even more vigilant. No society can base its traditions upon lies
and deceit unless they are all liars and deceivers. No society can
continue to be great when the whole of its members are disallowed to
expand in culture, knowledge and skills. As Martin Luther King Jr
said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We
must further the cause of equality without prejudice, respect of
diversity, respect for all families, and adherence to the truth. We
must do this not just in our community and state, but we must also
help our LGBT friends and family elsewhere.
We should be extreme
with defending our rights because they are granted to us by a higher
power. Equal justice and love for neighbor is essential to what Jesus
taught. No one should be allowed to distort that, and no one should
place liberty (or equal justice) in the wavering hands of whatever
the current tyrannical majority believes. Nor should we allow hateful
lies to stand uncontested.
Freedom, justice and
equality may be birthrights, but we know that some would ensure that
we do not get to enjoy these God-given benefits. They purpose their
negative lives so that we do not get our share of the pie. They may
do this because of some false notion of a superiority complex or they
may simply not want to share the fruits of society with all. If they
will not allow us to celebrate and to enjoy our birthrights, we must
be ready and willing to fight.
