“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
– Martin Luther King Jr., fearless civil rights champion, American hero, birthday boy
Today, amidst all the talk about MLK Jr., I got to wondering if we’re really moving toward his dream of brotherhood among all people, regardless of difference, or we’re just moving to a place where we’re better at hiding our prejudices.
What do I mean?
We seem to be pretty good at hiding our racism in politics. It comes across in subtle ways, like the constant attempt to paint Obama as the Other: he’s a Muslim, he was born in Kenya, he’s not a REAL American. And while none of those are overtly about him being black, would any of that fly if he were white?
There’s all kinds of sexism at all levels of American society as well. If you thought electing a black man as president was tough, we haven’t managed to elect a WOMAN yet. I wasn’t at all surprised that Michelle Bachmann was the first major GOP casualty–call her crazy if you want (guilty), but I think it’s still telling that she was the only woman on the field and we made sure she went away first. (Not to mention Santorum is at LEAST as crazy as she ever was.)
(And lest anyone think this is me indulging my liberal leanings, it isn’t. Obama has PLENTY to answer for, and the Democratic party has been anything but impressive for many, many years. What I’m saying here is about being an AMERICAN, not being a liberal or a conservative.)
Racism, prejudice, bigotry… these things are NOT American. They do not belong in our discourse or our society. A long history of crusaders for tolerance and understanding, including MLK Jr., has led us to this moment. We have learned the importance of embracing diversity and difference without prejudice.
So why can’t we quite manage it?
Racism is still an issue at all levels of our society, but what I really wanted to talk about here was prejudice against 10% of our country, across many ethnicities and both genders: homophobia.
Somehow it’s ok to be a raging homophobe in politics. It’s ok to say “naw, the gays aren’t real citizens, like us straight people,” and still have a promising career in anything but the looney bin. I don’t see how campaigning on an anti-gay marriage platform is any different from campaigning on a pro-segregationist platform (see politics in the 40s and 50s). And I *really* don’t see how you can equate consenual sexual acts between gay men with pedophilia or bestiality and still be taken seriously in modern politics. Seriously?
And while politicians who use these sort of tactics may not be bigots themselves (though Santorum, yeah, definitely a bigot), appealing to this sentiment still makes a politician complicit in it. If you make your politics about hate and intolerance, then you are about hate and intolerance, regardless of how strongly you protest your innocence.
So this day reminds me of where we need to go, and how far we still need to travel. It is our duty to stand up against prejudice and intolerance, racism and sexism, for any reason.
That is Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, and it’s our duty to see it done.
Cheers
