Outerzone by Zvook

As the dawn of a new age in America comes upon us, we have to consider what our expectations for this very unknowable future are. As I am writing this, the presidential elections for 2004 have yet to happen, although this article will probably be published after the voting takes place, I doubt we’ll actually know who our president is until after enduring a few weeks of legal mumbo jumbo. Either that or one of them will win by a landslide (we know who we hope will), leaving no room for objections. The alternative to the successful democratic candidate is almost too horrible to consider, but we have to consider it, and we also have to consider the fact that although Keary is extremely favorable to Bush, he, and his running mate, have yet to state that they plan to make gay rights a walk in the park. We’re not going to receive a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card. We’ll still have to deal with the Monopoly.
 
But first, let’s look at the possibility of Bush winning this election. My concern for the ramifications of this happening go so far beyond gay marriage and equal rights that I can barely even bring myself to care about it when I think on the numerous other despicable things that this man is capable of doing to the world. You have to be alive to get married…..And as we can see by the recent release of Osama’s latest message to Americans, Bush’s current tactics are doing nothing but angering the terrorists even further. Who knows if Kerry can do better? I’m willing to bet that he certainly can’t do worse. Most likely, the same holds true for the economy, and the general reputation of America as perceived by the rest of the world. I don’t think that with Kerry’s well known opposition to war, and his adamant opinions on the negative effects of war on the world and on the soldiers participating, that he would ever be willing to institute a draft unless if was completely inevitable. On the other hand, Bush’s disregard for the lives of soldiers became totally evident when we went to war with Iraq, based on selfish reasons that were covered up by the many now exposed lies that he spouted off to his country. I am probably least likely out of any young man I know to be drafted, based on various health problems, but unlike a lot of republicans who are in the tax bracket that keeps them out of harms way, I still have a concern for my fellow American men that might be forced to serve in this farce of a war against their will. Once again, I have to say, this takes precedence over any concerns I might have for equal rights based on sexuality. But, seeing as getting Bush out of office will help assure that there’s no draft and might assure that civil unions (at least) are legalized, I can wrap all of my concerns into one ball and drop that ball at the voting booth.
 
Here’s the problem. Even though voting for Kerry will most likely assure a better scenario in Iraq, I’m not so sure that any good for equal rights will really come of it. On the plus side, you have to consider how many votes both Kerry and Edwards risked losing when they refused to pander to the majority of voters who still oppose gay marriage and civil unions. In the debates, they didn’t falter or ‘flip flop’ on the subject. They both made a much stronger case for civil unions then their opponents. There was a lot of talk about Edwards intentionally mentioning the sexuality of Cheney’s daughter during their one debate. Many thought it was an underhanded move. As far as I’m concerned, it’s underhanded to be the supposedly accepting and understanding father of a lesbian woman, and still openly oppose her rights as a human being. It was an issue that deserved to be mentioned because it blatantly exposed Cheney’s hypocrisy. I think it’s also amazing that Edwards and Kerry could be fathers of heterosexual children with no known history of homosexuality in their families, and still be that much more understanding of our issues than Cheney, the father of a lesbian woman.
 
As amazing as it is, it’s still politics. Maybe after four years of Bush, I’m so completely pessimistic about politicians that I can’t even trust the ones I’m voting for. I can’t help but think there’s an ulterior motive to their acceptance of the Gay and Lesbian community. Maybe they just wanted to use it as a contrast because in the beginning, the differences between the two campaigns seemed few and far between. Maybe they wanted to be able to subtly point out Cheney’s hypocrisy, as I just not so subtly did. Whatever it was, even if the reasons were perfectly legitimate, I don’t think I’ll be completely satisfied until I begin to see completely satisfactory laws being passed.
 
My idea of a satisfactory resolution is probably not like most peoples. I support the idea of civil unions- Completely. I don’t think marriage can ever be a fair a legal union between two people, merely because of its innate mingling of church and state. I’d like to see civil unions become the only type of unions to be recognized by the government, and marriages to be only recognized by churches, and no mixture of the two. Any preexisting marriage can just be grand fathered into this system as a civil union and a marriage. If you want your union to be legally recognized, go to the judge. If you want it to be religiously recognized or other, go to your church. But don’t let either have anything to do with the other. Any other way, as far as I’m concerned, is ridiculous.
 
But voting isn’t until tomorrow, and as I said, I don’t expect a winner to be announced until next week. Until that happens, who knows what the future might hold for our community? But as you vote, and as you sit at your homes and wish and hope and pray for Kerry to win, dreaming of the day when he’ll give you your equal rights, or at least start the ball, try to also remember all the soldiers that have died, the Iraqi civilians that have perished, the families that have lost their jobs in this wretched economy, and know that Bush’s defeat goes way beyond our issues. As far as I’m concerned, by defeating Bush, we save the entire world.