| SHARED SACRIFICE PROGRESSIVE POLITICS AND CULTURE 2 July 2009 |
| SHARED SACRIFICE ON BLOGTALK RADIO M-F 8:00-9:00 PM MT Saturdays 12:00-2:00 PM MT |
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| 2 July 2009 By Eric Atcheson Reflecting back on the June 28, 1969 police raid of the Stonewall Inn, one might well be tempted to think, “Look how far we have come since that day.” After all, multiple states have legalized same-sex marriage, Lawrence v. Texas overturned oppressive statutory bans on non- vaginal forms of intercourse, and Gus Van Sant’s biopic about Harvey Milk, eponymously named Milk, won two Academy Awards and was nominated for half a dozen more, including Best Picture. We should hold ourselves to an even higher standard. Holding the Obama White House accountable to its promises is a good start. From his Justice Department playing defense on the Defense of Marriage Act, to ignoring public opinion on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (the vast majority of Americans want to see it abolished), to the belated extension of a few civil union rights to same-sex federal employees (this is what tokenism means), President Obama has proven himself to be disturbingly out of touch with the current American cultural awakening. While Obama’s initiative on important issues like health care reform is admirable, it is likewise important that he make same-sex equality a priority, lest he end up on the wrong side of history for completely failing to act in what amount to very basic questions of right and wrong. Because of my day job as a seminarian, I have already heard every religiously-based argument in the book for why non-heterosexual persons should be denied certain rights on the basis of their sexual orientations. This column is not about rehashing those debates. Those debates need to end, and amongst many in Generations X and Y, they already have--and by every statistical measure, erring on the side of inclusion has prevailed. This is partly why President Obama’s ineffectual waffling on same-sex rights is so galling–he has done more than sell out the GLBTQ peoples who voted for him; he has also let down the millions of Generation X and Y voters who placed the almighty check mark next to his name on their ballots. Our generation also came of age during the Clinton presidency, which was marred by its own failures in the realm of pro-equality policymaking, by a president promising better. During the tenures of both of these most recent Democratic presidents, Mr. Obama and Mr. Clinton, GLBTQ peoples and their heterosexual allies have had to settle for a lot of “at least he’s not as exclusionary as the other guy” consolations. However, those who happen to be single-issue voters on the issue of same-sex marriage and queer rights would be entirely justified in voting for third-party candidates in a presidential election, because the Democrats have yet to nominate a candidate with the political courage to stand up for what is fundamentally fair. (I also believe a single-issue voter can do more harm than good, but that is a subject for another column.) This is, perhaps more than anything else, the greatest sign to me that there is still a long journey ahead for America, 40 years after Stonewall. My right-wing Christian brethren can distort and warp the Bible’s inclusive message all they wish on behalf of their anti-gay politics, but it is high time that the Obama White House no longer entertain such distortions. Now, more than ever, a re-commitment from President Obama on repealing both the Defense of Marriage Act and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell would represent a significant step forward for equality in the age of Obama as well as in the larger saga of American history, a history that is already sadly frought many instances of systematic inequality. In the quest for GLBTQ equality, there need not, and should not, be another. Eric Atcheson is a student at the Graduate Theological Union, and Religion Editor for Shared Sacrifice. |
| FROM STONEWALL TO OBAMA |
| REFLECTING LIGHT ERIC ATCHESON |
