“I will get involved because the states do not have the right to undermine the basic, fundamental values that hold this country together.”

Oh, oh really? You mean like those values that our country stands on like bedrock? You mean, like religious tolerance and freedom? (The ones that inspired our country to even be birthed, so to speak? That led us to flee from Europe and whatnot?) Really? Those ones? Well, that’s kind of funny, considering you’re basing your entire argument on your religious values, not the country’s as a whole. Believe it or not, this country is not a “Christian” country. Religion and politics should never mix. That’s what’s got America stuck in such an ethnocentric rut, with Europe and Asia laughing their heads off at us. Can’t say I blame them.

The United States have truly got to be one of the most ethnocentric nations out there. It’s even worse, though, because it’s the old timers versus the young people, our future generations, fighting this battle over change. Fear drives the republican party this election season, or so it seems. The conservatives are unwilling to accept that mass social change might not be such a terrible thing, many of them, including Santorum (despite his younger age), still under the appalling impression that homosexuality and pedophilia are even mildly related. The age-old argument of how accepting same-sex marriage will lead to legalization of polygamy, pedophilia, and bestiality was used back during the early ’60s, too, back when conservatives were fighting against the legalization of interracial marriage, and I still don’t see three-year-olds marrying their forty-year-old uncles and men fucking their dogs (except on television, but, hell,what haven’t we seen on television.) Seriously, guys, it’s been half a century. Come up with a better argument.

The young people of today are growing more and more accepting of the gay community, thankfully, far more blind to difference than our older generations. Though teenagers are still using the phrase, “That’s gay,” toward anything they don’t find interesting, as a whole they’re far more open-minded toward the idea of knowing people who actually are gay. Despite the fact that the phrase, “That’s gay,” is still mildly insulting if nothing else, it’s becoming more of a general term, rather than an actual attack. I mean, Germans use the phrase “That’s Russian,” (in German, obviously) as a way of expressing distaste, stemming from World War II and the Cold War, but it’s no longer a personal attack, rather just a figure of speech. I, myself, don’t use the term, “That’s gay,” and am liable to comment if I hear someone else use it, but I can accept that I know that most of the time, no harm is meant.

Technology aside, the U.S. is fairly primitive, at least regarding social structure. While rapid social change often results in a “crash and burn” scenario, it’s been long enough. We need more open-minded individuals in politics. It’s a shame that the smartest and least ethnocentric Americans would rather just stay out of things. (Perhaps they’re just smarter than politics.)