It’s inexcusable for a member of the LGBT community to be uninformed about the issues that legally define us
EMERSON COLLINS | Contributing Writer
“I hate politics” is a knee-jerk exclamation from at least one person in a group when elections, politicians or even related topics come up in a discussion. It’s proclaimed loudly and proudly. End of discussion.
I understand the sentiment and the impulse to express disdain for the entire process and current system. The problem is, when you scratch past the surface of this statement, in many cases the unspoken completion of the thought is “…and so I don’t pay any attention to it.”
Especially in the younger demographic of the gay community, there seems to be entirely too many willing to wear their ignorance of politics as a badge of pride under the delusion that being disgusted with politics based on a studied understanding and being disinterested and uniformed and framing that as disgust by acting above it all are the same thing. They are not.
You should care about politics. Period. However, if that sweeping, and possibly patronizing, generalization isn’t enough, consider this instead. As a member of the gay community at a time when we are using the political machine to move our community forward and permanently enshrine our equality in the governmental structure of our cities, states and nation, you should care because it is directly about you.
There is a basic reality that we all have lives, and we do not have time to follow the ins and outs of daily political activity. After all, being a politician is a full-time job, and that’s why we elect them. (Even if it seems an inordinate amount of time is spent campaigning, cutting ribbons and posing for photos with perfect attendance winners or whatever.) However, if you live a life that includes enough leisure time for you to have any kind of social media account or to have read this far in this article, you have time to be informed at the very least on the state of politics that directly affect you.
It’s absolutely acceptable to find politics disgusting. Even junkies like myself will readily admit that the more you pay attention, the worse
it seems. But is it an excuse to tune out? Nope. You should know what you think, what you stand for, and what your representatives and our government are doing on the issues. At the very least, you should know a general summary on germane subjects.
It’s not enough to say, “Well, I’m a Democrat,” because you know they address LGBT equality issues better than Republicans. That doesn’t absolve you from the need to think any further.
Sidebar for a moment. If you are a gay Republican (taking a deep breath here and reminding myself that I do truly believe that it takes the full range of perspectives to reach the right kind of compromises that create a society that best serves the people) you had better have an incredibly specific and informed opinion across a wide breadth of subjects beyond some general PolySci 101 answer of “I like limited government and a free market economy” to explain that unpopular position.
The reality is that we are winning equality through politics. Artists and the arts have done incredible work over the past decades, changing how we are perceived by society in ways that have created a cultural framework that make our current political victories possible. Now that they have, politics is where we close the deal.
The court cases coming up through the legal systems in nearly every state in the country — that’s politics. Leaders who are willing to step up and step out in conservative districts — that’s politics. Whether or not you can be fired for being gay — that’s politics. Rent a house and be gay — that’s politics. Get married — obviously, that’s politics.
Politics, politicians, legislation and court decisions — these are the way we win the war without having to fight a battle with every single person in the country who doesn’t support our community. As frustrating and disgusting as politics can be, it’s actually the shortest route to success.
It’s not particularly fun at times, but one of the duties that comes with a free society determined by the will of the people is being a person with an informed opinion more often than every two years on major national election days.
If you don’t know the names of your senators and representative, you’re not doing enough. If you have no idea who represents you in your state and city, you aren’t doing enough. And, if you haven’t taken the time to decide what you think on taxes, education, immigration, basic foreign policy, health care, well, those are a good start, you aren’t doing enough.
Whether you like it or not, someone is sitting in your city hall, state assembly and in Congress speaking on your behalf. The decisions they make affect nearly every aspect of your life. I don’t know about you, but I’m entirely too controlling to let someone speak for me without knowing what they’re going to say. How can it possibly be OK for politicians to be governing for us and about us without knowing exactly what they’re doing?
If you’re a young member of the gay community, and you’re informed and engaged, that’s awesome! Tell your friends! I’m not talking about you. However, you likely have friends who address political discussions with this kind of righteous dismissal masking as ignorance.
We need them to participate with you.
We’re getting there, but we are by no means finished. Don’t let the growing perception, especially in metropolitan areas with sizeable gay communities, that our eventual victory is inevitable lull you into the feeling that you don’t have to care or be involved.
For any American, being uninformed is disappointing. For a member of the LGBT community to be uninformed when decisions are being made daily, legislation is being enacted from the city level to Capitol Hill and court cases are being fought state by state that will decide how we are defined, treated and codified in all levels of our government? It’s inexcusable.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition May 30, 2014.