Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Our Generations Civil Rights Movement

      I have been doing a lot of thinking about the subject of same sex marriage, and by extension civil rights in general, and I truly believe that this subject is our generations primary civil rights fight. I'm 22, I believe that at the very latest in 20 years this will be in a similar place as the race civil rights fight, that is to say not over, but no longer fighting an all out war against a clear opposing side (such as Jim Crow, segregation, overt racism etc. or in the homosexuality parallel, same sex marriage, adoptions rights, and widespread overt homophobia). I believe that children today are increasingly growing up in a world where they are genuinely unconcerned about sexual orientation, that within a few years most kids will come out when they want to, unafraid of social ostracism or parental, church, or social condemnation. So this is our fight, and winning is in how quickly we can achieve true equality. The best part about this fight is that as with all fights against intolerance it is one which works something like a ratchet, as homosexuality becomes more open, and as people learn that they do in fact know people who are homosexual (and trust me, you do, even if they aren't out), they have their preconceived notions stripped away, their prejudices and fears abolished, and they come to view homosexuals not as some fearful other, but just another part of the fabric of society of which they too are a part.

     I will therefore address the issue in several ways, in order to add my voice to the online conversation, and to help me organize the thoughts I've had on the topic. The first is a comparison of this fight to the one fought in the 50s-70s for race equality.

     One of the clearest parallels is the fact that this is at it's core a question of a majority which is not directly affected by legal and social discrimination facing the question of the morality of that discrimination, a question raised and driven by the minority and their allies among the majority. Black Americans found support among liberal progressives and religious organizations, and faced opposition from businesses, socially conservative regressives, and simply put, racist ignorants. Homosexuals are finding support from many of those same liberal progressives, and some of the same religious organizations (the "religion" I was raised with, Unitarian Universalism has been strongly active in both causes from their earliest days) yet many religious folk have been at the forefront of the anti-gay movement. These run the gamut from the spittle spewing "GOD HATES FAGS" crew to the more soft spoken "we don't hate you, we just want to help lead you away from sin and into grace" type, yet each does harm to people who want to live their lives as they were made, doing no harm to anyone by doing so.
   
    Miscegenation is a great example of the similarities, and represents where I see the future of same-sex marriage going. Once it was viewed as inherently wrong, and rightly illegal, now it is socially unacceptable to condemn it, though many from both races will still judge those who are in interracial relationships. Human attraction is a complex thing, we don't entirely understand what makes some people attracted to one feature, or one gender. Races mixing was viewed by many in earlier generations as unnatural and disgusting, much as homosexuality is viewed by some today, and was widely regarded as such quite recently. This is partly due to simple societal trends which stated one one hand that being attracted to your own race was the only normal condition, and on the other that being attracted to the opposite gender was the only normal condition. Both are reinforced by those people who do not feel much temptation to step outside those norms, and thus FEEL that the norms are correct. People often conflate gut reactions to some sort of implicit rightness of a position, our revulsion at the thought of pedophilia is then compared with heterosexual revulsion at the thought of homosexual sex and the two feelings being alike we assume both are equally unnatural. The same feelings affected people thinking about racial mixing in the middle of the last century and earlier. The difference between pedophilia on the one hand and miscegenation/homosexuality on the other though is harm done, and consent given. Children are not able to give consent, this is a view that is widely accepted by the public, and by psychologists; they don't have the mental or biophysical maturity to make and informed decision, and in a relationship between an adult and a child the inherent power-imbalance means that coercion is impossible to avoid. The same cannot be said of adults of different races, or the same gender. Simply accepting that since YOU don't see the attraction of homosexuality, and indeed are decidedly turned off by it that that means homosexuality is unnatural or wrong displays a lack of logic, and more importantly a lack of empathy.

     The Civil Rights Movement fought against the notion that separate could be equal, that there was some inherent distinction between white and black, that it was okay for people to be treated differently because of some characteristic that they could not change, and that did not, in any real way, change their character, or affect other people. It fought for equality, for fair treatment under the law, and for increased understanding of the plight of black Americans. It fought for love. MLK made much use of biblical lessons in his speeches, as is to be expected from a preacher, he drew on Jesus, a man who endorsed love and compassion, who endorsed empathy, rejection of dogma, acceptance, and forgiveness. That is what I, and fellow activists fighting for the rights of LGBT people and couples are asking for. Empathy for people different from yourselves, understanding of the plight they face for something they didn't choose, likely would not have chosen if they'd had a choice (for who in the present climate would prefer to feel an attraction that means they won't be able to marry the person they love, they will face hatred and intolerance on a daily basis, and will have to deal with and come to terms with the fact that many people say they are going to burn in hell?). We ask for fair treatment, for true equality, for acceptance instead of segregation. Same sex marriage may not be common in history, but neither is marriage purely for love, and for that matter, neither is miscegenation. There can be no argument which does not rely on misdirection, resorting to a narrow interpretation of religious doctrine, or simple ignorance and hatred which can be used to say the marriage should be restricted to people of opposite gender. Just as there couldn't be for denying the rights of people who wanted to marry outside of the socially accepted boundaries of race and culture.
Next up: why basing laws on religious doctrine is a dangerous path, why Christianity doesn't actually condemn homosexuality, and why arguments claiming to show the "damage" done by homosexuality to both society and individuals are absolute bunk.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Hope for a brighter next decade, if not tomorrow.

A number of TED talks, along with thoughts I've been having about the economy, environment, society, and future of said have coalesced today into a somewhat amorphous haze of a philosophy/hope for the future. There is a certain sense of dread which is facing the world at the moment. Conservatives see Big Government killing the economy and stealing their rights, liberals see conservatives threatening to destroy the planet, sell the nation to Big Business and steal THEIR rights. Europe is facing social and economic upheaval, Syria is imploding, China and the US are getting more and more antagonistic, and everywhere we look there seems to be more and more indications that the world is just plain going to shit. I do not want to give into this general ennui. I seek hope, and when I seek hope I often find TED talks a good place to find it. Such has been the case, because even as they present challenges, they also present opportunities.
Here's the first talk, which addresses the notion of measuring a nation's "happiness" and what it costs. This dovetails nicely with evidence that in America the income-happiness relationship plateaus at 75k a year, an amount which while substantial, is by no means exorbitant. The mean household income in the US is about 60k, but the median is only 44k. This is due to income inequality, which is next up in this post. But this is inherent to the American system, where there are certain conditions such as cost of living, and comparisons with our neighbors, and the "culture" which we absorb through media, and our daily observations. At 75k it's speculated, money is no longer a day to day worry, we feel our wealth compares favorably to most people around us, and thus don't suffer so much from social angst about people who have more than us. I feel however this number could be dropped considerably through a few different means, one is typically liberal, and that's a much stronger social safety net which would remove the fear of losing basic necessities such as health care, housing, and sustenance. The other is through a cultural change that focuses less on money and material gains, and more on social and experiential gains. A very full and enjoyable 2 month trip around Europe can be had for less than $5000 dollars per person, one around the US can be even cheaper, maybe $2000, if we valued that more than having a new impala to drive on the trip I think we'd be happier. Getting a nation full of happy people means ensuring no one is suffering a lack of basic needs because of lack of money, and changing the way we view success, from merely being a calculation of money made to an evaluation of how life is lived.
The next talk is about income inequality, and how among countries capable of providing basic needs to it's residents the actual average income or Purchasing Power Parity doesn't predict a variety of social ills, but income inequality DOES.
     This raises serious questions of morality, and even more, practicality. If we want to reduce crime, improve health, and prevent mental illness and addictions we should focus on bringing more equality to our country. Providing basic services is a good start as is making a tax system that is TRULY progressive, removing tax havens and heavily exploited deductions, and taxing capital gains in a progressive manner.
     The single best way to help even society out though is to ensure that each child born in this country is given as close as possible to equal opportunity as any other, whether born to a single mother who works two jobs, a homeless family, or Donald Trump. This means education, early childhood health, and nutrition. I believe that we need much much better social services for parents at the bottom of the income scale, to help provide them with care so they can keep working and still ensure their child gets the early life care, treatment, and nutrition that has been PROVEN to improve that child's performance in school, and through life. Long before children enter the school system their brains are developing and learning habits, among middle and upper class families this period is filled with books, lots of interaction, and programs designed to help that child develop strong mental processes, good social skills, inquisitiveness, creativity, and other traits associated with success and happiness. There's much research out there which shows how important those early years are for human development, and among wealthier Americans that research is known and applied, among parents struggling to get by though, there's a huge lack of both knowledge and opportunity to apply that knowledge, so children start out disadvantaged. After that they are placed in schools which are absolutely horribly unequal, in rich areas, property taxes mean that students have access to good teachers with a good teacher-student ratio, good supplies, support, programs devoted to children who either struggle or excel various areas. ALL schools should be improved and better funded because information is the only inexhaustible resource, and cultivating the minds that will create the next generation of great ideas is the single best investment any society can make, but special attention must be paid to evening the playing field so that the child of an indigent has as much chance of graduating from Harvard as the child of a US Senator.
     This is both a moral and a practical issue because children represent the future, and children of talent who because of social situations find themselves unable to use that talent represent a massively wasted resource, and a terrible shame for the society that thwarted them.
    Finally there's a video about the birth of a new type of organization, facilitated by the web, which I believe has the opportunity to unite capitalism with is focus on market forces and collective intelligence driving innovation and progress, and communism with it's desire for collective control of the means of production, decentralized power and a popular movement focused on the betterment of mankind instead of the accumulation of wealth.

I find in the open-source philosophy the possibility of an escape from the American focus on money and goods, and a renewed interest in social action, in charity, and in passionate innovation for the purpose of innovation, rather than for the purpose of getting paid. I dream of a future where we don't spend each day worrying about how we will pay the bills, or whether we are destroying the planet, or whether we can keep up with the proverbial "Joneses" where we measure our worth by what we've made with our lives, not how much we've made in our lives, when people are judged by the content of their character, and the content of their workshop, the the size of their pay package, where it's not the size of your house, but the taste you've put into it, and the life you've filled it with that impresses the neighbors. Refocusing on conservation, on charity, on love, passion, and ingenuity, and away from conspicuous consumption and affluenza is the way of the future, at least if we want that path to resemble the garden of eden, not Cormac McCarthy's Road.
-Jeff Trechter