Written by Patty Stewart
Citizen columnist
|
|
Saturday, 29 November 2008 |
Something has happened south of the border, in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Intolerance is thriving. At a time when the world celebrates an historic election that serves as the ultimate act of inclusion, there is a movement toward exclusion.
I spoke with some who wonder how President-elect Barack Obama can take on the cloak of the “leader of the free world,” a phrase I had not heard in at least a decade.
They criticize me for suggesting a president is elected to lead his country and of all his fellow citizens, not to champion the moral opinions of only some of them.
Whatever happened to the separation of church and state?
I am shocked. I am saddened.
I am told I should read the catechism and that people should only marry ready to perform their divine duty to propagate children.
They infer that by choosing to do otherwise, we run the risk of becoming outnumbered by people with different, therefore perceived lesser values than their own.
And then I broach the subject of California’s now infamous Proposition 8 - the popular vote to turn back the clock and rescind that state’s ruling to allow and recognize gay marriage.
I am sickened by a government that would, in one month of this year, allow people of the same sex to marry, legitimizing their union under the eyes of the law, only to rescind that right weeks later.
It is a fact that less than 50 years ago, Obama’s own parents, one white, the other black, would not have been recognized as legally married in at least two dozen states.
The same perverted, mean-spirited reasoning that allowed this historical injustice was just used in California.
At the same time at the Obama Store in East Austin, Texas, the word CHANGE is prominent, on campaign buttons, posters, t-shirts and ball caps.
Two worlds collided during my 10 days away: One world judgmental, suspicious and closed-minded; the other loving, tolerant and hopeful.
On this Thanksgiving Day, I wish Americans more of the latter. Let them sit around their tables more united than divided, more hopeful than paranoid, more tolerant than mean-spirited.
If you know of someone or something that should be In the Spotlight, contact Patty Stewart at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 |
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 29 November 2008 )
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Patty, maybe you should read some of the bs on this website.
This is not just a US problem it's in our own backyard, you should help work on that before whining about the what the bigots down south are doing.
Cause I think you would be "shocked and saddened"
I'm not even going to bother emailing you cause if you don't know by now you should be ashamed.