Wash, Rinse, Repeat

The rivers haven’t turned to blood.  The locusts haven’t consumed the harvest.  Dogs still chase cats.  The world hasn’t stopped spinning around the sun.

**BREAKING NEWS**

GAY MARRIAGE DIDN’T END THE WORLD!

Almost two years have passed since the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that barring gay couples from the right to marry is unconstitutional.  In that time, the prognostications of the religious right have fallen flat.  The ridiculous fears and bigoted rhetoric that encompassed the Court’s decision have been proven just that, bigoted rhetoric.  A survey conducted 18 months after the ban was lifted, showed that 92% of Iowans felt that their lives were ‘unaffected’ by the ruling.

All of that being said, we find ourselves once again being bombarded by hate speech.  A public hearing was held tonight in Des Moines where people were given the opportunity to speak their mind on this issue.  The divisive nature of this gathering was made eerily clear by the wearing of colors.  Blue vs. Red.  Sounds familiar right?  Who wore the colors shouldn’t surprise you either!  The pro-equality crowd donned as much blue as their frames could support, while the pro-discrimination crowd wore all red their hate could muster.  Now that the Iowa Governor’s Mansion is occupied by Terry Branstad, and half of the Statehouse is under the control of Republicans, the shadow of hate and bigotry has once again befallen Iowa.

Iowans have been historically proud of their progressive roots.  The first amendment of Article One in the Iowa State Constitution reads,

“All men and women are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights--among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.”

As Iowans, we have had a history of progressive policies & equality for all.  The first decision ever handed down from the newly minted Iowa Supreme Court, was to abolish slavery.  They did this 20 years before the US Supreme Court ever heard the issue.  Iowa was the first to end “Separate but Equal,” 80 years in advance of the US Supreme Court.  Iowa was the first to grant equal access to education, interracial marriage, and the list goes on.  So why now, when Iowa has broken down yet another barrier of discrimination, are our leaders & some of our citizenry, trying to turn back the clock?  

The history of our great nation is one of escaping the tyrannical boot heel of religious and political oppression.  “He who does not learn from history, is condemned to repeat it!”  This turn of phrase has such relevance now.  Our nation was besmirched with the lasting stains of slavery & Jim Crow.  Women’s Suffrage was a long and hard fought battle to grant their right to vote.  Does our history not give us lessons?  Does it not teach us the consequences of blatant hatred & ignorance?  The fight for civil rights in this country have gone on long enough!  This is the 21st century.  We have long reflected on the painful mistakes of our past.  The lifting of obvious infringements on civil rights shouldn’t require debate or moral equivocation.  

I am at a loss to understand the so-called ‘conservative’ ideology.  When did it become acceptable to advocate bigotry on such a pervasive level.  Who walked up to the metaphorical clock, and spun it like the wheel on the Price is Right?  It frightens me that the message we’re sending to our future generations is so filled with ignorance.  What will they say when they look back and see their fore-bearers were advocates of creating a second-class of citizens.  

The logic behind these backward and twisted arguments is one that, frankly, shouldn’t be in the debate.  The freedom of religion, is also freedom FROM religion.  Marriage is a civil contract.  There haven’t been any attempts to tell churches they have to marry same-sex couples.  When the first amendment says, “Congress shall pass no law regarding the establishment of Religion,” it is also meant to protect us from Religion establishing law.  The basis of this entire issue boils down to one response uttered tonight at a public hearing in Des Moines,

“The only proof I need to define marriage between one man and one woman the Bible, God’s word.  God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.”

I often wonder if these people have ever really read the bible?  Do they think that we should kill people for eating shrimp and lobster?  Do they believe we should still have slaves?  Do they believe that stoning someone to death in the town square is an ‘ok’ punishment for missing Sunday Service?  All of these things are in the Bible too.

America, Iowa especially, isn’t supposed to be a place of exclusion & bigotry.  We are a land of freedom and equality.  I think it’s time people start to remember that!