When the idea of suffrage was expanded in the U.S. to include people of all races, genders, religions, etc., the country was asked to adjust to the idea that suffrage, which had previously applied to a more limited group of individuals, included everyone. Guess what? The country survived.
The same is now true in terms of the idea of marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering expanding an idea that has previously only applied to a certain group within our borders. The biggest obstacle, for expanding both suffrage and marriage, is fear.
With the suffrage movement, the fear was allowing minorities to begin to feel equal to American citizens – more specifically to white American men – enough to voice an opinion that contradicted with common thought.
Today, the fear is now that traditional marriage will be “defiled” if homosexuals feel accepted and comfortable enough to live in their relationships openly. Where does this fear come from? It’s not coming from political lust for power; instead, it stems from a lack of understanding.
The fact that this is even a conversation in politics at all is appalling. No American advocates for overbearing social control by the government, so this debate should not be in our Supreme Court. It doesn’t even have to be in our churches, but that is a separate issue, between man and God, supposedly – but heck, even the new pope is rumored to have supported gay marriage prior to taking office in the papacy.
In regards to the failure to understand, when a math problem is too complicated, average students do one of two things: either they leave it blank, or they attempt to solve the problem in a way that seems correct to them but wouldn’t necessarily make any sense to mathematicians.
This in mind, those who do not understand homosexual relationships also do one of two things: they ignore the demand for social equality, or they attempt to resolve the problem in ways that make no sense to the target group but give the impression that efforts have been made to bring about the social equality demanded.
This is why the laughable argument that domestic partnerships are equalizers between homosexuals and heterosexuals exists. Conservative heterosexuals, who fear the idea of sharing their “right to marriage” with a group who lives a lifestyle they could not understand, have a need to feel like they are “doing their best.”
No one in the right mind will say that justice prevailed during the time when the right to vote was merely a white man’s privilege. So, 20 years from now, when marriage is a privilege for everyone in this country, to whom or whatever they choose, students will learn about the evolution of the right to marry, and they will write SAT essays about how unfair this time of history was.
Future students are in for a long lesson in the failure of a portion of the American people to recognize that pledging allegiance to our flag also pledges “liberty and justice for all.” History will document the ignorance that dominates conservative thought and has done so through today.
Paige Pelonis is a sophomore journalism and international studies double major and an assistant opinions editor for the Daily 49er.