“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still, just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall,”
I have to admit, that I had to look up the cities of Seneca Falls and Selma:
Seneca Falls is a New York town where, in 1848, the women’s suffrage movement gathered momentum. Selma is an Alabama city where, in 1965, marchers amassed, blood was shed and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood his ground against the unconscionable oppression of black Americans.
Aside from of course, the sentence construction, which resounded very nicely, it’s a historic moment. Never before in an inauguration address has a president acknowledged, and then moved on to fight for, the LGBT community.
It’s been talked about a lot this last week, but it really is monumental.
Before the riots at Stonewall that kicked off the equality movement, it was illegal to serve alcohol to anyone who was LGBT. We could not assemble in groups, use the postal service to mail anything associated with equality. Our community was harassed, jailed and blackmailed.
Stonewall was the tipping point when we fought back (side note, it’s hard to write this in the proper tense, since I wasn’t born yet, but just go with it) for dignity and equality. Certainly it’s a fight that continues today, and has a ways to go, but at the same time, has been so rapid.
And it’s empowering and amazing to have a president who will stand up for our rights. There was a quote after the last election about how it was
“the minorities, women, African Americans, LGBT, Hispanics, that reelected the President (as well as so many other left-leaning victories). Or as we like to call ourselves, citizens.”
I’ve been more and more sad opening facebook and other social media as I see people fight and bicker and choose sides. And I think that’s part of the problem. We don’t need sides; we all have to live together. And once we can recognize and embrace each other’s humanity, and work through our problems together, then we’ll be in a much better place.
All my best,
Mike
