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I dig a pony
Well you can celebrate anything you want
Well you can celebrate anything you want
Ooh.
I do a road hog
Well you can penetrate any place you go
Yes you can penetrate any place you go
I told you so, all I want is you.
Ev'rything has got to be just like you want it to
Because--
I pick a moon dog
Well you can radiate ev'rything you are
Yes you can radiate ev'rything you are--
Ooh.
I roll a stoney
Well you can imitate ev'ryone you know
Yes you can imitate ev'ryone you know
I told you so, all I want is you.
Ev'rything has got to be just like you want it to
Because--
I feel the wind blow
Well you can indicate anything you see
Yes you can indicate anything you see--
Ooh.
I dug a lorry
Well you can syndicate any boat you row
Yes you can syndicate any boat you row
I told you so, all I want is you.
Ev'rything has got to be just like you want it to
Because--
-- John Lennon
Years ago, in a meeting in the office of the Governor of New York's attorney's office, I remember Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman saying, "If you dig a white man's grave, you'll go to jail; if you dig an Indian's grave, you'll get a Ph.D."
The long and often acrimonious fight for human rights for Native Americans in the United States has involved federal, state, and local laws and policies. In recent decades, there have been some steps forward, including the Native American Freedom of Religion Act, and the Native American Burial Protection and Repatriation Act. Still, the idea that it takes a federal law to say that Indians as a group should have the "right" to freedom of religion, or to have the remains of their ancestors rest in peace, seems rather curious. More, although these federal laws sound good on paper, Native American people still have on-going struggles within the state and federal court system, in order to try to get the non-Indian society to enforce the law.
In the 1950s and 1960s, many black Americans participated in the civil rights struggle. They were, of course, struggling for basic human rights. The most famous civil rights leader was Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. He pressured the local, state, and federal legislators for the protections under law that every citizen was supposed to enjoy. The Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act were the result of years of constant struggle. Yet, the greatest advances that King made were often the result of going to the federal courts to get laws enforced.
Since the vice presidential debate, there has been a great deal of discussion on DU regarding gay marriage. This is, without question, a human rights issue. It is the sibling of those Native American and black American issues (as well as the women's rights movement, including women of color). We live in a society that for a variety of reasons -- none good -- holds adults to a different legal/social status, simply because of their sexual identity.
The VP debate reinforced my belief that we have an imperfect ticket. I understand the stance that it is politically wise to avoid taking a stance that opens the ticket to a heated point in the cultural wars that the republican party exploits. But it goes beyond that -- Obama, for example, has made clear in his second book that he opposes gay marriage. It is beyond a mere campaign tactic.
I've said numerous times that when Obama is elected, that the work of the progressive and liberal democrats has to step up to the next level. This does not mean that we put issues involving human rights on a back burner until then. In the example of gay marriage, we need to be taking steps today. I've had more discussions with people in the Obama campaign on this topic than any other.
The truth is that there can be no justification for anything short of equal rights regarding gay marriage under the Constitution. To say otherwise is no different than taking the position that there are specific groups, such as Indians and black Americans, who do not have the right to the same rights as others enjoy.
Martin Luther King, Jr., often used the quote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident ..." when speaking. That applies here. Progressive and liberal democrats need to increase pressure on elected officials to pass legislation that protects everyone's rights. And we need to be prepared for when those who want to deny human rights to a segment of the population take cases to the federal courts.
Electing Obama and Biden is thus not putting gay citizen's human rights on the back burner. They represent the only chance we all have of decent judges being appointed to the federal courts.And, in my opinion, the federal courts are where progressive and liberal democrats will need to focus on the struggle for having the human rights that the US Constitution implies belong to all people in this country.
In the long and on-going struggle for Indian rights, we found that the ACLU was less able to advocate the cases we pushed forward, that the closely related Center for Constitutional Rights. (I am still an ACLU member, however.) I think the CCR might be the vehicle that we need to promote strong cases advocating gay marriage during the years of the Obama administration. Still, of course, I recognize that this is just my opinion; others likely have better ideas than do I, and I am fully willing and prepared to support any of these.
This is a human rights issue that should be uniting the progressive and liberal democratic community. We should be aware of any attempts by the republican right to divide us on this. And we should be making very sure that the Obama campaign/administration knows that we are united on this issue, and unwilling to compromise on anything less than full rights to marriage for any and every adult citizen in this country.
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