Okay … I admit I’m sometimes more than a bit dense, and I admit that I’m sometimes not the most adroit person in the area of the political zones that surround social and group interactions. But, I’ve got to admit that this thing where bigwig politicians in Indiana have moved another step closer to including a gay marriage ban in our state constitution is just a little more than embarrassing.
I cannot understand how any person who believes in personal liberty can possibly be for this ban. Except, of course, I can. This is not about liberty. This is about exclusion. It’s so much about exclusion that this group went even further than banning gay marriage, but left in the notorious second clause, the one that specifically banned even civil unions (or at least they think it does, though, for some reason there exists a line of thinking that says no one actually knows what the second piece of the amendment does. Go figure.) This is about a bunch of “old” Republicans ignoring a majority of the rest of the folk around–specifically including younger Republicans (read the article), to poke a stick in the eye of people they don’t seem to understand, don’t seem to respect, and don’t seem to like so much. Are they really this afraid of living in a state where relationships different from theirs might be considered acceptable? Sadly, I guess the answer is yes.
I wish I could actually understand the root of the feelings that folks who support this ban feel. At least I think I wish that. Is it fear? Is it self-righteousness? Is it “merely” a stubborn clinging to a culture that they understand rather than an embracing of things they don’t get? Is it actually hate?
All I can do is guess. This is probably the base problem we have with communication between people. I honestly can’t have an real idea what someone else thinks or feels, so I’m left to fill it in myself. Which, of course, I do. I have my opinions. Those, and a five-dollar bill will get me a sugary coffee at Starbucks.
Like I said, though, I’m no expert here. From what I read it seems like the movement of this bill was neither unexpected, nor really very worrying to the opposition. And I should stop here and say that I continue to be proud of my previous employer, who (as mentioned in the article) has always been a visible and vocal advocate for the opposition of this ban. In fact, thinking about that is probably one reason I decided to write this tonight rather than letting the issue pass without comment. I know that several polls suggest that many folks think this is a “minor” issue, but it’s not. It’s a foundational piece of thought. It’s basic human infrastructure (he says, talking like a wonky engineer). It’s about equality, and it’s about excellence. Without these, nothing else is really possible. You cannot have equality without equal opportunity and equal treatment. You cannot have the most excellent of excellence across society if you’re excluding large portions of your population.
So, yeah … man, I just scratch my head here.
Really.