Yesterday was my first class in International Human Rights – The Dutch Influence and Perspective. I have never taken a course on human rights and/or race relations in my academic career. My knowledge on the subject is what I have experienced through travel, studying the Holocaust and genocide, which has granted me the insight of viewing equality and human rights through a different lens. Politically, religiously, and selfishly, the idea of morality is used in a context that discriminates based on unaccepted religious practices. We have the moral code wrong in our political system in the United States. It should be based on what is humane in the treatment of our own citizens to better the state of our own nation.
I try to see the world as equal. If the United States Constitution, and more globally, the Bible, state that “All men are created equal,” why are we living in a world that is constantly questioning the rights of people and differences that we fear and don’t understand? I was surprised to learn that the Netherlands, being so small, is a leading, and influential part of the global Human Rights puzzle. The Netherlands is doing more than the United States, while the influence of the U.S. may be greater in global affairs.
With this being said, I want to take a moment to look at the election and inauguration of President Barack Obama. When he was inaugurated, I was taking a course on African American Literature. I was asked this question: Has America Changed? Or to put it another way: Has THE Dream been realized? My answer to this question is as follows:
This question is a complicated one. Has America changed? In many ways we are on our way to change, but have we as of this moment? Not really. The evening Obama was elected he gave another inspirational speech in Chicago, and it seemed that Americans had put aside their prejudices in the effort to put the best person in the White House. Americans did overcome racial boundaries and made huge progress in a universal statement that African Americans will finally have the sense of full equality. It was a beautiful and almost indescribable feeling. It really felt like America was on its way to changing and that I could say I was proud to be an American.
The following morning, the feeling of this forthcoming change left me. November 5th, 2008, in three states, Americans told a group of people, like we did with African Americans, that they are a lesser people and do not deserve the right as any other American. Is this a parallel to segregation and the Civil Rights Movement? I would say that it is. In Arizona, California, and Florida, America spoke loud and clear that being a homosexual was wrong and even though they pay taxes, obey the law, fight and die for our freedom, and contribute in so many ways to the success of this country they don’t deserve equality. When it came time to provide members of our human race with equal rights and treat them with decency as human beings, we shied away and treated them as a lesser person, just because of a difference that a religion or norm does not accept.
Many proponents to these propositions said that homosexuals were asking for “special rights” that they did not deserve. How is marriage a “special right” when every other American can get married. I ask others and myself that present the “special rights” argument this: Were African Americans asking for “special rights” when they wanted to drink at the same water fountain, attend the same schools, pick their own seat on public transportation, and be respected as any other American citizen? Were women asking for special rights when they wanted suffrage? No. These struggles and push were from the uproar of civil society wanting to be treated as equals, as they, and every other American deserves to be.
From the time of the Obama’s nomination to his inauguration, statements like “equal rights for everyone,” and “we finally live in a country where everyone is free” were thrown around as if they were two-cent statements. The problem is that these are far from being accurate. Segregation and the Civil Rights movement have come full circle in such an inspiring way, but America is far from a change and far from being “equal for all.”
Because of this, I don’t feel that the “dream” has been realized. Dianne Feinstein and Pastor Rick Warren both made statements during the inauguration that made me really think about this question. Dianne said, “the struggle for equality in a democratic society made this day possible.” Rick Warren commented that we live in a land of opportunity and that freedom and justice for all unites us as a nation.
Isn’t that the “American Dream;” to live in a land with opportunities and unity through justice? If the “dream” is for everyone to have freedom, equality, and justice, Election Day accomplished making the “dream” possible for some, but took steps away from making it possible for everyone. All Americans are not equal, we still hold prejudices, and we continue to provide judgment on people with differences. Until the day comes where we can truly see every American and human being as an equal piece to the complex puzzle the “dream” will not be fulfilled for all.
It has been over a year since I wrote this response. In that year, America has still not changed. We continue to elect officials who use the religion and the Bible as their platforms, deny our military the right to serve openly, and leave it up to independent states to make the decision whether or not gay marriage should be legal. My hope is that our government rearranges their priorities to make the decision at the national level. I am speaking directly to Obama here: Being from a background of oppression and a history stained with the missteps of a racist government, don’t you think it’s time that you focus some attention to the issue of gay marriage and the equality of homosexuals?
I give this question to President Obama and the entire government with great criticism. I know that is hard to make things change when our government is plagued with special interests and religious extremists. Our priorities focus on death, war, arguing and other wastes of time and money. It is 2010 and I cannot believe that this is even a question in society.
JP Popovich
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