An idea whose time has come

The issue of gay rights has become a central topic in today's political scene, and it is as divisive as it is important. To those of us in support of gay rights, the great mystery is how the opposition perceives this issue as fundamentally different from human rights issues of the past. Looking back at history, every such issue seems to go through three distinct phases - what is at first ridiculed is then wildly opposed before being finally accepted as self-evident. In recent memory, we have watched women and blacks endure this fight, and now it is the turn of our gay citizens. The only thing of which we as a society can be certain is that like all others forced to live under oppression, the gay community will see the day when they are embraced by society - but today's fight against their equality will surely be America's shame of tomorrow.

Progress in the field of human-rights is driven by the cultures in which they are contested and as such, occurs as slowly as does cultural change. And as with any time in history, it is dogmatized opinion which stands in the way of progress. As a society, we look back at our parents who practiced segregation and at our grandparents who fought against women's rights with disbelief and wonder what could cause someone to think that way. Yet as we cast our shame on generations past, we commit the same atrocities without thinking twice. In fact, without even thinking once, for any study of our laws would quickly see how opposition to gay rights stands in the face of two hundred years of progress.

Surely, the greatest mistake would be to assume that this issue is any different from issues of the past. Take note that in the same way people of today use the bible to justify the oppression of gays, so too did their predecessors use the bible to justify segregation, arguments against women's rights and slavery.

The unfortunate reality is that while common sense will eventually triumph, it rarely wins over the minds of the dogmatized - as Jonathan Swift so eloquently stated, "you cannot reason a man out of a position he didn't reason himself into." Time will pass, we will persist, and the children of today will see the error of their parents' ways, just as their parents saw the errors of generations past. Progress can be delayed, but it can never be stopped. Remember - there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.