Justice shouldn’t take so long
For some reason I haven’t been paying a lot of attention to news articles over the past few months about the Obama Administration and its positions on the “Defense of Marriage”* Act (DOMA) and the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
Maybe it’s just that I had a busy summer. But I’m now starting to take an interest. And I’m not surprised to tell you that my favorite take on the issues was written by Hendrik Hertzberg. He summarizes the facts, offers a good analysis of how the Administration got itself into this mess, and states well the consequences of further inaction.
I tend to be a moderate, politically speaking (firmly left-of-center, and I was quite sorry to see Ted Kennedy leave the scene, but a moderate nonetheless). And I understand that Obama is tackling a lot of problems right now. Just today I said to someone that Obama didn’t just take over managing the store, he took it over while the building was on fire, a hurricane was hitting the town, and someone was holding up the cash register. Still, I don’t understand why–at a bare minimum–the White House and the Department of Justice can’t be more consistent, and more progressive, on the issue of GLBT civil rights. I understand some of the moderate-to-conservative arguments about the issue–that we can’t legislate our way through issues like this. (Though I disagree.) And I understand the political realities Obama faces. I would even understand if he and his staff are being a little superstitious: President Clinton tackled both gay rights and health care in his first year, and that didn’t go well. No, not at all.
But it’s time. It’s time for this new president to honor the promises he made to the GLBT community. I have little doubt that sometime this fall a health-care reform bill will become law. And as a health-care provider, I look forward to that. But the civil rights of GLBT Americans must also be asserted, and protected.
* I just couldn’t resist putting “Defense of Marriage” in quotation marks, since in my view DOMA does nothing to defend marriage, no matter how you define the word.
UPDATE: View the comments section for an interesting back-and-forth on the word “moderate.”
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:49 am
Stephen,
I’m frustrated to see you call yourself a moderate, or anyone call themselves that at this critical time. There’s no way we can get LGBT rights if we don’t fight tooth and nail. How can you say you’re a moderate on other issues, for that matter? You should want healthcare not just because you’re a provider, but because you’re a citizen who believes in the right of everyone to have access to medical care. Sorry, but moderates really rub me the wrong way.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:00 am
amndp2,
Thanks for letting me know your position. Here’s how I see it: right now, it may be hard to feel hopeful, but I am convinced that GLBT civil rights are going to be a reality–in totality, and well within our lifetimes. (Not sure how old you are, but even if you’re elderly, I still think you’ll live to see that!) I see how, with every passing year, states and other governments around the country–and plenty of churches, too–are moving in this direction. Having said that, I want to say two more things: 1) I think Obama needs to do more. And 2) I want to hear the stories of people who are still struggling with this issue. Maybe it’s because I’m a therapist, but if you’re not shouting at me or just making stuff up (think Sarah Palin), I want to hear from you, even if you thoroughly disagree with me. I think we can “fight tooth and nail” (as you say) while also staying in dialogue with people who disagree with us.
And yes, sometimes that slows down the change we want. It’s for this reason–these two reasons–that I see my position as left-of-center/moderate. Believe me, I want justice and I want it yesterday! I want justice in all kinds of areas, particularly in the area of income inequality. By the standards of the shouting heads on Fox News, I’m probably a socialist. But I also want dialogue with people who are seriously working on the issue, and struggling with it. I think that makes me more moderate than the next guy (and is probably a result of being a therapist!), and I know there are costs when we seek discussion and (in some cases) consensus. But I think it’s worth it, and when all is said and done and GLBT civil rights are the law of the land, I think the new law will be resting on a much more solid structure: it will have been informed by healthy dialogue, and healthy dissent. I think that’s how it’s supposed to work. But again, thanks for your comments, and I hope this sheds some light on my original post.
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:11 am
Stephen,
Thanks. I guess I would only add that Ted Kennedy was a great liberal voice, and he listened to his conservative counterparts. By your definition, he’s also a moderate. But he fought tirelessly for civil rights and economic justice. I just don’t think we can afford to wait. It’s time for action.
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:17 am
amndp2,
Thanks, and I hope we’re not just talking past each other at this point. I agree with what you’re saying, and yes, I would place Ted Kennedy–liberal lion that he was–in the moderate camp. He certainly had his passions and commitments, and he was a tireless champion of liberal causes, but he also listened (like you said) to people who disagreed with him. Sometimes this might have led him in the wrong direction. After all, he didn’t live to see the health-care reform he spent his career fighting for. But I think that reform is going to happen, and I think he should receive much of the credit, *and* I think he was a “moderate” by my definition.
Anyway, thanks again, and just to tie up one other loose end, I hear what you’re saying about me advocating health-care reform because I’m a health-care provider. I also advocate reform because I am a citizen, and because I believe that access to affordable health care is a right, not a privilege.
Best regards –
Stephen
September 9th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
[...] this blog, but this summer there are too many crucial issues being debated for me to stay silent. The first was the White House being inconsistent and unhelpful regarding DOMA and DADT. And the second is [...]