RYAN LEE
| 9.24.2008
I FEEL LIKE I’M on the brink of starting a new relationship.
I’ve got a buzz. I feel euphoric. And I couldn’t help but notice how bright the sun was shining this morning, how crisp and refreshing the fall air felt as it blew through my bedroom window.
I also have the nervousness that normally comes along with a new relationship — the little voice inside my head telling me to not get my hopes up too high, to not let anyone see how excited I am, because that will make me feel even worse if things don’t work out. While most of my friends undoubtedly want the relationship to succeed, more and more of them are beginning to express their doubts, apparently trying to instill a bit of hesitation in my heart.
But I’m still convinced that he is The One, and I have no fear of stepping out on faith and proclaiming that we will prevail. Barack Obama has been courting Americans for almost two years, reflecting back to us our best qualities and brightest potential, and I still believe on Nov. 4 we will collectively say, “I Do.”
Or “Yes We Can.”
I don’t think the election will even be close; quite frankly, this race would be over right now if Sen. McSnore didn’t remind people he was running by nominating Gov. Sarah Palin for vice president. I think Palin is a charming woman with a remarkable life story who at times has been unfairly lampooned by Democrats and liberals.
I’m interested in what kind of political future she has, and I think it’s unfortunate that her successful career is being exploited by a tokenizing campaign that is heading toward one of the biggest electoral smack downs of our lifetime.
OF COURSE THIS IS PURELY A gut feeling, seemingly contradicted by historical voting trends and current polling that shows the presidential race is neck-and-neck. But America is at a crossroads in so many regards — its status as a global superpower, an economy fueled by imaginary money, fulfilling its promise of “liberty and justice for all” — that it seems unfathomable for John McCain to stand a chance next month.
For all of the admirable qualities McCain and Palin have as individuals, they are conservatives, and our country should be ready to end its relationship with conservative leadership. Conservatism is proving itself to be wholly incompatible with the technologically, culturally and globally dynamic times we live in.
The conservative agenda dreams of an American economy as deregulated as it was in the 1970s and ‘80s, an American culture as distilled as it was in the 1950s, and an American legal system governed by the constitution as it was written in 1787.
To view war as the best way to peace is wrong — deadly, deadly wrong.
To view offshore drilling as a healthy response to America’s oil addiction is wrong.
To cut taxes for those who benefit most from our society and economy, while ensuring that millions of others don’t have access to the American Dream is wrong.
To impose your values on someone else and attempt to control their destiny — either by forcing them to have a baby they can’t take care of, or denying them rights and dignity because they are gay, or sending them to die in war because they can’t pay for college — is wrong.
Modern-day conservatism is as bankrupt as Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, and rewarding conservatism by electing John McCain president would be worse than giving the CEOs of failed Wall Street companies astronomical severance packages.
The condescension and mockery of conservative elitists — the people who really believe they are superior to others, that their blood, wallet and morality is more valuable than others’ — has marginalized liberal philosophies for too long. America is in desperate need of progressive leadership, and I have faith that this time voters won’t fall for the stale jokes that took Al Gore and John Kerry down, or the even staler policies that John McCain proposes.
YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW how the conservative agenda views you as a gay person: you are a threat to American families, you are an abomination attempting to force the rest of society to accept your sinful ways, and you are fundamentally undeserving of the equality that this nation prides itself on. You’re also trying to weaken our national security and destroy the sanctity of marriage.
The conservative position on homosexuality is as doomed as John McCain’s candidacy. In 2004, the gay rights movement endured one of its most embarrassing and traumatizing defeats when voters in 11 states — including 76 percent of Georgia residents — enacted bans on same-sex marriage in their state constitution. The results were dark and dispiriting.
Yet, only four years later, the gay rights movement is on the verge of celebrating the most significant victory in its half-century history: defeating California’s Proposition 8 and maintaining same-sex marriage rights in the most influential state in our nation.
The outcome of the Prop. 8 vote is far from certain, and putting up a vigorous fight to defeat it is itself a small victory. It’s affirming to see straight actors like Brad Pitt and Fortune 500 companies like PG&E donating money to protect gay rights in the same way that it was depressing to see millions of voters support bigotry in November 2004.
But now is not the time for small victories. If Barack Obama prevails, and Prop. 8 is defeated, Nov. 4 will be a landmark day for gay Americans and liberalism. Change will have started.
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