Libby Eckstrom AP English Period 2 6/10/13

The Lesser Man

Homophobia; an extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexual people. Although the legality of gay marriage is something that has blown up in the media, it is not really the legal marriage that homosexuals crave, its acceptance. The acceptance of gay marriage has grown exponentially in the past, with nearly 21% more of the country accepting the institution in the past 10 years according to UChicago News. The main argument against the legalization of gay marriage is that it goes against moral values that we based our free nation upon. The US constitution, which is still the basis of every rule and regulation in the country today, states that: all men are created equal, that they are endowed...with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness... Nevertheless, our views of life have changed; with the evolution of society and the differences from todays world than it was 238 years ago, the standard of living and an ideal life has been altered. One thing that never has changed is the pursuit of happiness, the promise of a healthy, happy lifestyle that comes along with life in America. This ideal life seems promising and full of hope and simplicity; however its full of complication and hardship. Without acceptance comes isolation and depression. One may say to themselves that America is the land of the free, and theres no way oppression of any nature would be deemed fit for society of its caliber. America is where you have the white picket fence with a golden retriever who protects your average stay at home mom with two sons and a daughter. Lets say

that one day, a new family moves in across the street, as you go over to give them their freshly baked apple pie, you discover that your new neighbors are two men. Assuming that theyre just roommates, you drop a few hints and eventually come to the conclusion that they are in fact, a homosexual couple. Upon coming home, you burst through your front door with anger and frustration that something so unnatural could just move into your neighborhood without any prewritten note of warning. You sit your kids down and tell them how wrong it is, and how they must take the long way to school in order to avoid going around their house, even though it means that they have to leave 20 minutes earlier for school and go through a sketchy part of town. Although the white picket fence is not what we aspire to have today in a modern society, the situation illustrated is very real, and happens more often than it should. This striking truth is something that no person or neighborhood should have to deal with, ever. By wiping this out of our brains and the media, the future generations can become the more open minded and accepting people that we always paint Americans to be. Some organizations preach that the institution of gay couples and marriage are destroying the traditional home that has been around for hundreds of years (Huff Post). The institution is neither denying nor encouraging the act of homosexual behavior, it simply wants to be recognized and socially accepted. Teens and younger generations are in fact, more accepting of homosexuals than older generations. When 23 high school students were surveyed randomly, 22 said they support marriage equality, only one did not. Upon being asked whether or not they knew someone who was gay, 22 said yes and the same one did not. Although only five of these students were directly related to a homosexual or bisexual person, a majority still supported the cause.

As a so-called growing nation, it still astounds me something so microscopic in the big magnifying glass of society can have such a restraint on what we can accomplish. More than 50 years ago we were blinded by the color of someones skin, and now were telling everyone who they legally can and cannot love. This is unjust as color, sexual orientation, or gender should not define a person. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said the 28th of August 1963, I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."