America is filled with bigots.
Yesterday California passed proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage. I feel sick to my stomach. What country do we live in? What year is it? Throughout the entire election we've heard a million times how America is the greatest country on earth. Really? Because not so much if you happen to be gay.
When I was in high school I was fascinated by the civil rights movement of the 60s. I watched so much news footage of college sit-ins and the march on Washington and Martin Luthor King Jr's speech, and I was simultaneously invigorated and disgusted. I was so happy that people were able to bring about change and give people what they deserved, but at the same time I was angry that they ever had to fight for those rights in the first place. I wanted so much to go back in time and join the march and the protests.
In this country's declaration of independence are the following words:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"
What part of
ALL and
EQUAL is so hard to understand? How is it even possible that after all this country has fought for, that we are still denying basic rights to our citizens? Is it religious beliefs? I thought we were supposed to have a separation of church and state? I thought Jesus tought tolerance, respect, and love for all people? It doesn't seem, to me, to be very Christian to cast people aside and deny them equality.
My youngest brother has Down Syndrome. Nary a day goes by that he doesn't experience some kind of discrimination. Whether it's an unsavory glance at the mall, or a snide comment from an ignorant teen, he's the victim of bigotry. For 22 years my family has been dealing with this and hoping for a better America, one that doesn't mistreat its citizens. Yet some of the same people that would find it so dispicable to make fun of a retarded person, are the people that find it so easy to crack a joke about a gay person or are the people that are quick to cast a vote of inequality.
Today I should be elated by the election of a man the country sorely needs, but instead I am sick to my stomach. I cannot believe that in this day and age, in the United States of America, we are so unaccepting of our fellow Americans. I hope, with all my heart, that one day soon we can put this all behind us and start accepting everyone for who they are.