Someone save our country from hate-filled conservatives... please
This morning in my theater class, we had a guest performer/lecturer, Tim Miller. He's a performance artist who used to be a theater professor at UCLA, and he now travels and performs and writes and all that good stuff. His performances deal with his identity as a gay man, and specifically, a lot about gay marriage and equality, and it got me thinking a lot about the political climate right now in the US. In the context of the rest of the country, California still seems wonderfully liberal and accepting, which is great - I'm proud to be a Californian - but at the same time, it's not even that great here. Apparently, when the Governator shot down legislation to allow gay marriage, he didn't agree with it, but he was doing it to appeal to his Republican supporters. So maybe once he gets booted as Governor (did people seriously vote for him?), that legislation will go through. But I mean, if that can't get approved in California, then it's never going to happen in the rest of the country.
When I stop and think about it, I get saddened and shocked at how conservative, and even regressive our country is. I mean, there still remained states (or maybe just Alabama) in which biracial marriages were illegal until the year 2000! For a nation that is a world leader in many aspects, we have major issues with human rights, and just recognizing humanity itself. America is supposed to be this great big melting pot of different types of people, but then everyone (not really everyone) ends up discriminating against those who are different from themselves. And the worst part is that so many Americans refuse to admit, or even to see that we have issues.
And Tim Miller seemed to think that in our lifetime (or even in the next few years), Roe v. Wade will get overturned, which is a scary thought. I heard on NPR this afternoon that in South Dakota, legislation is about to go through that will make abortions illegal except if they are for health reasons. Seriously?! In 2006? Whether you're for or against abortions, you have to realize that when you make them illegal, women will still have them done, just in much more dangerous ways, and that doesn't help anyone. I don't think that I personally could ever get an abortion, but I believe that it is a woman's right to choose for herself, not middle aged, white, priveleged MEN in government.
Realistically, I can't fathom living in any other country permanently. As much as I LOVE London, even after being there for four months, I was starting to get homesick. I love travelling, but I also love coming back home. And you know, your country is your country. I just hope that things start changing for the better, because right now, it just seems like they're getting worse.
When I stop and think about it, I get saddened and shocked at how conservative, and even regressive our country is. I mean, there still remained states (or maybe just Alabama) in which biracial marriages were illegal until the year 2000! For a nation that is a world leader in many aspects, we have major issues with human rights, and just recognizing humanity itself. America is supposed to be this great big melting pot of different types of people, but then everyone (not really everyone) ends up discriminating against those who are different from themselves. And the worst part is that so many Americans refuse to admit, or even to see that we have issues.
And Tim Miller seemed to think that in our lifetime (or even in the next few years), Roe v. Wade will get overturned, which is a scary thought. I heard on NPR this afternoon that in South Dakota, legislation is about to go through that will make abortions illegal except if they are for health reasons. Seriously?! In 2006? Whether you're for or against abortions, you have to realize that when you make them illegal, women will still have them done, just in much more dangerous ways, and that doesn't help anyone. I don't think that I personally could ever get an abortion, but I believe that it is a woman's right to choose for herself, not middle aged, white, priveleged MEN in government.
Realistically, I can't fathom living in any other country permanently. As much as I LOVE London, even after being there for four months, I was starting to get homesick. I love travelling, but I also love coming back home. And you know, your country is your country. I just hope that things start changing for the better, because right now, it just seems like they're getting worse.