{"id":1872,"date":"2019-06-18T09:22:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T13:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=1872"},"modified":"2019-06-18T09:22:18","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T13:22:18","slug":"how-far-have-we-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/06\/18\/how-far-have-we-come\/","title":{"rendered":"How Far Have We Come?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How Far Have We Come?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday night, I watched a special on MSNBC called\u00a0Rebellion – Stonewall<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>It was a brief history of Gay Rights in the United States since the beginning of the gay rights movement in New York City in 1969.\u00a0\u00a0It all seemed like ancient history, though it is all within my political lifetime.\u00a0\u00a0Change in America has happened, and is continuing: historic change blindingly fast, and we are wrestling with the results today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, America has come so far, from punishing homosexuality as a crime and putting gay people in jail fifty years ago, we are reaching a time of legal equality.\u00a0\u00a0From forcing LGBTQI folks to stay \u201cin the closet\u201d or risk being shunned by family and society, we live now at a time when they can \u201cbe themselves\u201d in the open.\u00a0\u00a0Fifty years ago, the whole \u201crainbow\u201d of sexual orientations beyond heterosexuality was defined as \u201cmental disorder\u201d by psychiatrists in their\u00a0Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders; <\/em>today psychiatry accepts the differences as part of \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not all over though.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is a serious candidate for the Democratic nomination for President.\u00a0\u00a0He is young at thirty-seven, brilliant, a veteran, and gay.\u00a0\u00a0In 2008, Americans were asked if we were ready for an African-American President with Barack Obama.\u00a0\u00a0Today, is America ready for a gay candidate for President?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week at the Gay Pride events in Columbus, an older man held up a sign saying \u201cDad Hugs.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He spent the day hugging young LGBTQI folks whose parents have rejected them for their identifications.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirty-six years ago the Reverend (sic) Jerry Falwell said: “AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.<\/em>” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AIDS was raging through America\u2019s gay men.  The Reagan administration, dependent on the Christian Fundamentalist votes that Falwell represented and controlled, did little to stop it.  From the beginning of the epidemic around 1980 until 2000, 448,060 died in America from AIDS.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight years ago gays were allowed to openly serve in the US military.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four years ago gay marriage was allowed nationwide.\u00a0It was just after, that Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and candidate for President, stood beside the Rowan County Kentucky clerk who refused to issue a marriage license to a gay couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some say it is about religion, but it is hard to see how anyone’s God could condemn two people finding joy in a relationship and dedicating their lives to each other.\u00a0\u00a0As the Columbus Gay Pride parade went by in colorful jubilation, in the background an older man stood with a sign saying \u201cRepent of your Sins.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Their religion is one of judgment and condemnation, and like Reagan before him, Trump is dependent on their support.\u00a0\u00a0Rainbow flags were banned by the Administration from US Embassy flagpoles last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fight for LGBTQI equality is not over.  There are still legal battles, but more importantly, there are societal issues to resolve.  Gays are still discriminated against in housing, insurance, school, work and most of all, in their own homes.  Much of America has a long way to go towards racial equality, the same is true for the LGBTQI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A news host in New York last night constantly referred to Dayton as \u201c\u2026out in Ohio.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOut here in Ohio,\u201d in \u201cflyover country,\u201d in the \u201crust belt\u201d and the \u201cmiddle:\u201d Ohio is struggling with LGBTQI issues.\u00a0\u00a0I bet they are in New York City too.\u00a0\u00a0Our world, both there and here, has moved so fast that many feel left behind.\u00a0\u00a0But even here, \u201cout in Ohio,\u201d society is catching up; growing more accepting, and learning to judge all folks, as Martin Luther King demanded, on the content of their character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2004, if you asked most conservatives or liberals, they would have said that an African-American President was unlikely in the next twenty years.\u00a0\u00a0Four years later, America changed.\u00a0\u00a0Three years ago, Hillary Clinton, a woman, won the popular vote for President of the United States.\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes we don\u2019t know it’s time for change, until the change has already happened.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How Far Have We Come? Sunday night, I watched a special on MSNBC called\u00a0Rebellion – Stonewall.\u00a0\u00a0It was a brief history of Gay Rights in the United States since the beginning of the gay rights movement in New York City in 1969.\u00a0\u00a0It all seemed like ancient history, though it is all within my political lifetime.\u00a0\u00a0Change in … Continue reading “How Far Have We Come?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Far Have We Come? : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's been fifty years since the Gay Rights Movement began at Stonewall Inn in New York City. 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