Mr Spinkles
Mr
The following is an essay I wrote in response to this question on an application I submitted: Select a pressing social, cultural or scientific problem facing today's world. This problem can have global, national or local significance. Write an essay in which you imagine you have been given one year as well as substantial resources to address this problem. Where would you go? What would you do, and why?
"Gay Lovers":
Harnessing the Voices of Straights in the Fight for Gay Rights
Whenever and wherever there is prejudice, there are those in the majority who sympathize with the oppressed minority. These people may have been labeled as "communist sympathizers" during the period of McCarthyism, or "****** lovers" before (and sadly, even after) the Civil Rights movement. Today, there is a sizeable number of straight people who sympathize with the plight of homosexuals in this country. Though they may not have a label (yet), their role will be crucial in the growing debate on gays and gay marriage.
I happen to be one of these straight people for gay marriage rights, and I have seen firsthand the wariness with which fellow straights regard my firm stance. Apparently, some heterosexuals believe that only homosexuals can possibly express such passionate support for gay marriage rights. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. The firmness of a person's stance on gay marriage--just like that of a person's stance on segregation or slavery--does not necessarily have anything to do with which group that person belongs to; instead, more often than not, the firmness of a person's stance on gay marriage depends solely on how seriously that person values the rights and liberties guaranteed by our government to all its citizens.
That is why, given the one year and the substantial resources stipulated, I would found an organization dedicated to getting heterosexuals active in the cause of gay rights. I would call this organization "Straights for Gays". Straights for Gays would focus on educating and persuading the straight public, and on getting straight voices that support gay marriage heard. Given one year, I would hope to found a self-sustaining nonprofit organization--with chapters in every state--that gives straights a voice in their support for gay marriage rights, without them feeling as though such support compromises the certainty of their own sexual orientation.
I have noticed here at Miami the presence of Spectrum, an organization for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, and straights, that dedicates itself to celebrating sexual diversity. I have not, however, heard of any gay rights organization at the local or national level that makes straight people its focus. An organization such as Straights for Gays would be unique and would serve an important role in the gay rights movement.
America was founded upon a fierce determination to preserve liberty. Liberty, indeed, is precisely what is at stake in the gay marriage debate. Unfortunately, a thick prejudice clouds this issue. An organization like Straights for Gays would make it its goal to disperse this prejudice and address the core of this issue: it is unjust for any amendment or law to restrict the liberties of a group because of their race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. Straights for Gays would predicate itself upon the words of James Madison, who said:
"It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much ... to forget it."
Let us hope he is right.
Feel free to respond on the topic of straights in the gay rights dispute, or on the essay itself.
"Gay Lovers":
Harnessing the Voices of Straights in the Fight for Gay Rights
Whenever and wherever there is prejudice, there are those in the majority who sympathize with the oppressed minority. These people may have been labeled as "communist sympathizers" during the period of McCarthyism, or "****** lovers" before (and sadly, even after) the Civil Rights movement. Today, there is a sizeable number of straight people who sympathize with the plight of homosexuals in this country. Though they may not have a label (yet), their role will be crucial in the growing debate on gays and gay marriage.
I happen to be one of these straight people for gay marriage rights, and I have seen firsthand the wariness with which fellow straights regard my firm stance. Apparently, some heterosexuals believe that only homosexuals can possibly express such passionate support for gay marriage rights. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. The firmness of a person's stance on gay marriage--just like that of a person's stance on segregation or slavery--does not necessarily have anything to do with which group that person belongs to; instead, more often than not, the firmness of a person's stance on gay marriage depends solely on how seriously that person values the rights and liberties guaranteed by our government to all its citizens.
That is why, given the one year and the substantial resources stipulated, I would found an organization dedicated to getting heterosexuals active in the cause of gay rights. I would call this organization "Straights for Gays". Straights for Gays would focus on educating and persuading the straight public, and on getting straight voices that support gay marriage heard. Given one year, I would hope to found a self-sustaining nonprofit organization--with chapters in every state--that gives straights a voice in their support for gay marriage rights, without them feeling as though such support compromises the certainty of their own sexual orientation.
I have noticed here at Miami the presence of Spectrum, an organization for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, and straights, that dedicates itself to celebrating sexual diversity. I have not, however, heard of any gay rights organization at the local or national level that makes straight people its focus. An organization such as Straights for Gays would be unique and would serve an important role in the gay rights movement.
America was founded upon a fierce determination to preserve liberty. Liberty, indeed, is precisely what is at stake in the gay marriage debate. Unfortunately, a thick prejudice clouds this issue. An organization like Straights for Gays would make it its goal to disperse this prejudice and address the core of this issue: it is unjust for any amendment or law to restrict the liberties of a group because of their race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. Straights for Gays would predicate itself upon the words of James Madison, who said:
"It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much ... to forget it."
Let us hope he is right.
Feel free to respond on the topic of straights in the gay rights dispute, or on the essay itself.
.
