Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Opening Doors in D.C.

Between the pundits, the politicians, the special interest groups, and shifting allegiances (Arlen Specter is going to be a Democrat?!), it's easy to feel like politics may be an arena that many of us are unwilling to negotiate.

However, from the economy to the environment to health care, issues directly affecting us all are being debated and decided in D.C. Of course, you can opt to just sit back and take what your lawmakers come up with, or you can take a more direct approach by sending emails or making phone calls to your representatives.

If you choose the latter, you can easily follow the progress of bills you care about, as well as the accuracy of statements made by politicians, by visiting FactCheck.org and Project Vote Smart. FactCheck is a nonpartisan website that researches statements made by politicians and then verifies or dispels them based on the results. Project Vote Smart offers access to representatives' biographical information, voting records, positions on key issues, public statements, interest group ratings, and campaign finances. Visitors can also follow key votes at the national and state level.

Tracking down this type of unbiased information on your own can be daunting. These sites make it easy to learn, and speak out, about issues that matter to us most.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A Very Merry Un-Earth Day

Once again, we celebrate Earth Day. One of the main themes of this year's celebration is that we strive to live environmentally responsible lifestyles every day. With this goal in mind, the Earth Day Network has launched their Green Generation Campaign, which has 3 main goals:

  • A carbon-free future based on renewable energy that will end our common dependency on fossil fuels, including coal.
  • An individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption.
  • Creation of a new green economy that lifts people out of poverty by creating millions of quality green jobs and transforms the global education system into a green one.
For a round up of events and ways to get involved today and every day, visit the Earth Day Network's website and Earth911's Earth Day Network.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Now About That Storm...

Last week's blog was a repost of my friend Seth Fischer's reaction to the recent Vermont legislation that legalizes same sex marriage. As Seth said, one of the most important variables in the movement towards granting human rights for all is a commitment from everyone to support and pass legislation towards this end.

While there has been predictable "outrage" and expressions of non-specific fear about this new legislation from groups such as Focus on the Family and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which made this commercial about a "brewing storm", it is critical that we all work together to expose these types of intolerant, fear-based arguments that have no basis in fact.

Of course a little satirical humor is effective as well, and Steven Colbert's spoof of the NOM's commercial does a good job exposing the nebulous concerns posed by the original, which you should watch first so you can fully appreciate the spoof:



It is up to us to support legislation, legislators, and activists who are working to make same sex marriage legal all over the country.

One organization that has been working hard to educate and lobby is the Human Rights Campaign, and I encourage you to visit their website, sign up for email action alerts, and consider making a donation. HRC's legislative and grassroots campaigns have been highly effective in educating and empowering the public to advocate for basic rights for all.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Can We Get a Few More Vermonts?

On Tuesday April 7th, Vermont made history by legalizing same sex marriage in the Green Mountain State. My friend and fellow Antioch MFA writing student Seth Fischer writes a blog called "A Map of My Brain for All the World to See." I met Seth at our first writing residency, and I was immediately impressed by both his insight and kindness. He posted the following on his blog about the vote in Vermont, the historical implications of legislation and court rulings on discrimination, and the current forces swirling around the issue of same sex marriage. He has graciously allowed me to repost it here:

Today, the Vermont state legislature overrode the governor's veto to legalize same sex marriage in the state. This is a monumental moment. Never before has a democratically elected body in the United States confirmed the rights of LGBT people to marry whom they choose. In Massachusetts, Iowa, and Connecticut, the courts have determined that marriage is a fundamental right for all people. (California did as well, but that decision was overturned by ballot measure). Now, for the first time, the representatives of the people of a state have passed a law making marriage legal for everyone. And while this might seem like something minor, it is hard to understate how important a shift this is, even if it did occur in a state as small and liberal as Vermont. If you look historically at rights movements for minority and oppressed populations in the United States, there are generally two phases. In almost all recent cases, courts get the ball rolling. Brown v Board, for example, helped kickstart the Civil Rights movement, but it led to nearly a decade of unprecedented racial tension and violence. Ten years later, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, a law that cost the Democrats the south but also fundamentally changed this country's attitudes towards race. Today, racism is still pervasive, but it is almost universally frowned upon. Racial violence persisted, but it has gradually faded (though it still unquestionably exists). This, I argue, is largely because the people Americans chose to elect them passed a law granting further rights to African Americans and other racial minorities. It by no means fixed the problem; it did, however, help to fundamentally change the culture. The women's rights movement, unfortunately, is a not-as-happy counterpoint to the Civil Rights movement. Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion, resulted in a huge backlash against the women's rights movement. The Equal Rights Amendment, an amendment to the constitution that would have guaranteed equal rights for women, failed largely because of anti-choice concerns that it would invalidate any restrictions on abortion. This history is largely glossed over and hugely oversimplified due to the fact that no one will read more than a few paragraphs on a blog, but the point is this: court decisions do not necessarily mean that a minority group will gain any more stature in the long run. The civil rights movement was largely successful: legal segregation was ended, outright racial violence such as lynchings were minimized, and the culture was fundamentally changed, though a subtler and some would say more dangerous form of racism still exists. Women, on the other hand, continue to be beaten, raped, murdered, paid less, and kept out of positions of power. This can't all be blamed on any one thing, but the fact remains that the American people failed to ever stand up and have their legislature do much of anything to protect the rights of women. They did so for racial minorities, particularly African Americans. This is a huge difference. Today, over 50% of violent hate crimes are committed against LGBT people. Court decisions that stand up for the right to marry are welcome, but I fear they will do nothing to change the views of the people. Without that change, real change on the marriage issue -- and real change on hate crimes legislation -- will never happen. We need more Vermonts, desperately. We need to pass ballot measures that support the right of all people to marry, not vice versa. We need municipalities and elected officials of all types to do the right thing here. And that, unfortunately, means the people need to do the work. Yes, that means you need to do the work.

While we are rallying for a few more Vermonts, can we also get a few more Seths?! For more on what you can do to sponsor human rights for all, read next week's post.