Tonight I had the privilege of attending a presentation by Michelangelo Signorile at Saint Lawrence University in Canton, NY. He addressed the firestorm currently sweeping the country regarding Gay Marriage, the influence of the Hate Amendment in the 2004 election, and other issues with today's political scene. I found him to be entertaining and personable, and was pleased to hear that he's a big fan of both Daily Kos and Eschaton (Both of which he was able to pronounce correctly, <cough cough> unlike some of Air America's hosts). More info below....
The presentation began with the issue of Gay Marriage. For Michael, the Gay Marriage issue is purely a matter of equal rights. Surely many of us have heard the charge that "this (gay marriage) is an assault on the sanctity of marriage," to which Michael basically responds "it sure is;" and it is hardly the first time marriage has needed to be assaulted. If we had not challenged the conventions of marriage in the past, then Interracial Marriage would still be illegal. More so, marriage would still be about a man dominating over his wife as children (ah, how many on the right YEARN for a return to the good old days), and so on. Basically, he was saying that the Gay Marriage debate IS an assault on the concept of marriage as many in our country know it. It is an assault on the notion that only one man and one woman have the right to legally join together, which for many (myself included), seems no less ridiculous than the idea that only people of the same race are have the right to marry.
He cautioned, however, that we not let this one issue overshadow the many other important issues in the Gay Rights movement. Anti-discriminatory legislation has foundered at the Federal Level, and despite many victories for the movement in the past year (the Supreme Court Sodomy case, marriages from SF to New Paltz), anti-gay rhetoric is reaching new highs, and Gays and Lesbians are still denied many basic rights which other Americans enjoy.
Which brings us to the 2004 election. While Michael seemed cautiously optimistic, he stressed again and again WHAT A BATTLE this election will be. This is a point that I don't think we can bring up too many times. If things seem bad now, just wait a few months. We have to be ready to deflect the blows, deny the lies and rhetoric of the right, and perhaps most importantly, be willing to STAND UP AND FIGHT for what progressives and the left stand for. I asked if he was discouraged by Kerry's weak stance on Gay Rights, and Michael admitted that yes, he was, though he suspected that Kerry and many other Democrats were hiding their true feelings to avoid potential political fallout. And so, the idea that I took from his presentation was that the left and the Democratic Party will only be successful when we are willing to fight for our issues, regardless of what the polls say, regardless of the rhetoric and defamation that are sweeping our country.
Many of us feel that the failure of the Democrats in the 2002 election was due to their REFUSAL to take a stand against an unjust war, against the lies of the Bush administration. We must stand not only against Bush's Iraq policy, but against the many other failed policies and twisted positions taken by this corrupt administration. And we cannot forget to demand complete equality for gays, lesbians, and all other groups who are discriminated against. I'll finish with a rough quote from the last portion of Michael's presentation:
"With the terrible situation in Iraq, the lack of Weapons of Mass Destruction, criminal investigations and failed programs, Bush needs a distraction. But instead of `Wag the Dog', it's going to be `Wag the Fag.' Bush will work tirelessly to distract America from his failed Presidency, and to completely focus their attention on a minority which is very easy to discriminate against, the Gay and Lesbian community."
Regardless of what the polls say, if Democrats stand and fight for the issues we believe in, we will win in November. America doesn't want neutrality and focus-group one liners, it wants leadership.