A Pep Talk of Sorts

The following is an email message I sent to a friend today:

Ted -

I understand your feeling of dejection - I have felt it as much as anyone. It seems reasonable to infer that Kerry's defeat was due in large measure to the gay marriage issue.

That said, I don't regret for a minute that gay marriage has come to the forefront of political discussion in America. You couldn't buy that kind of publicity, as the saying goes. The mere fact that people are forced to confront this issue and are talking about it even in small towns is a very positive and powerful thing. And while there are a lot of homophobes who were galvanized, there are undoubtedly a lot of reasonable and fair-minded people out there, in states both red and blue, who changed their mind in our favor as a result of having to think about whether gay people deserve the same treatment as everyone else. Not to mention all the people still in the closet who may have gained some small hope for themselves by seeing the media images of loving couples embracing and kissing.

It is true that the publicity has compelled a lot of hateful and/or ignorant people to come out and make a show of their hatred and ignorance at the polls. However, I really believe that as time goes on, the climate will change. People weren't ready for such a drastic change, but now that the shockwave has hit them, the next waves will go over with progressively more ease.

Let's not forget that we've been through worse. A lot of us felt pretty hopeless and apocalyptic during the early years of the AIDS crisis, but look how far we've come since then.

Besides, think of the mess Kerry would have inherited. Now Bush gets to reap what he's sown and has four years to self-destruct and go down in flames. Get your marshmellows ready for the roast.

Lee

Comments

[robert j. fata]

you know after the election i was so low that if any lower i would have been underground-but hey, i'm getting out my marshmellows in anticipation of the roast which can't come any time too soon!