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"You Lost, Get Over It"

By Scott Straley
Monday, November 10, 2008

"You lost, get over it," shouted one passerby, evidently miffed at the protest of about 120 same-sex marriage supporters in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday. The same words were repeated, more or less, by a dozen or so other brave hecklers from passing vehicles.

"F*** gay people!" shouted one passenger in a pickup truck. An oversized SUV passed multiple times with its family of six to shout "Yes on 8!" and offer gestures of disapproval.

It is quite strange how people think that American democracy is a one-time event. When the founders of our nation drafted the constitution, they restricted the rights of the poor and women, and included slavery.

What if people like John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr gave up, and said, "Well, we lost?" Would the abolitionist movement have advanced our country's collective social conscience? Should American morality have stopped in the 1830s when Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Anglican Churches in America called for the spiritual equality of black people, but protected the tradition of slavery in America?

American democracy, while not perfect, allows for us as a Nation to learn from our mistakes, to advance our collective social morality, and to continually adapt our laws.

When early polls showed that Barak Obama would fail horribly to Hillary Clinton, should he have just gotten over it? In August, when John McCain was leading in the polls, imagine if Barak Obama had said, "Well, the people have spoken. We lost."

While the struggle for sexual orientation equality is an ongoing battle, it is not a battle against the people of faith. Just as the abolition movement and suffrage movements were not a battle against people. This is a battle for the hearts and minds of America. This is a struggle of ideas and ideals.

On Thursday, a group of same-sex marriage supporters gathered outside the Mormon Temple in Los Angeles to voice their frustration with the financial support Proposition 8 received from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They placed signs between the bars of the fence surrounding the temple, prompting LDS followers at the temple to begin a small counter protest. Eventually, the LDS followers grew outraged at the protestors outside, and instigated a few scuffles, with one LDS follower crying, "I will die for what I believe."

Unfortunately, too much blood has been shed in this country. Over 500,000 Americans died when ideological struggles led to the Civil War. No one needs to die to resist progress of society.

In 2009, there will likely be a special election to address the state budget crisis. If this occurs, and there is time, a new same-sex proposition may appear on the ballot. And, again, in 2010. And so on, as long as the struggle needs to ensue.

American democracy is messy. We take steps forward and backward. But, this is part of the process that insures a voice for everyone in this Nation.

This article was first published on Monday, November 10, 2008 at 8:39 am. This article has been viewed 1807 times.

Scott Straley is the founder of RIMOFTHEWORLD.net. As part of the RIMOFTHEWORLD.net team, he is dedicated to keeping our community informed and engaged.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RIMOFTHEWORLD.net. This column is copyrighted by Scott Straley.