Musing About Serendipidity, Circumstance, And Coincidence, With A Look Back At A Movie, A Martyr, And A Movement
Today, the Washington, D.C. City Council voted 11-2 to extend marriage equality to all its citizens. That’s pretty awesome.
A few days ago, in “No To The Notion Of Irresponsibility. Yes To Embracing Our Past And Our Future,” I wrote,
“Even as this troubled year draws to a close, let us all look fondly upon the past, and warmly welcome our future, knowing each of us contributes to history as best we can, and knowing that the attitudes we share today about who we are, as individuals and as a community, may be equally out-of-date if we don’t embrace the very change we ourselves are creating.”
Those eleven council members who voted in favor of marriage equality will be forever remembered as standing on the right side of history. They will be forever remembered as embracing the very change they themselves created. The two who voted against the bill will – if they have not already – find themselves n the wrong side of history.
Oral Roberts died today. While I believe in having respect for the dead, I also believe in speaking the truth. And I also believe that we dig our own graves. Roberts leaves a legacy of hatred and homophobia that scarred millions in this country. Many will condemn me for saying that, but I believe he would be proud of my condemnation.
Today also marks the seventieth anniversary of the premiere of “Gone With The Wind,” a film that for twenty years held the record for having won the most Academy Awards (ten.) While its portrayal of slavery in the deep south is wildly inaccurate, it is nevertheless without question an important part of our American history.
So was Oral Roberts.
So is today’s vote for marriage equality.
I can’t help but feel that with the passing of Oral Roberts, a man who worked so hard to portray homosexuals as evil, on the same day that D.C. ushers in same-sex marriage, and on the anniversary of “Gone With The Wind,” somehow, it’s a sign that bigotry, like Mr. Roberts, is, if just for today, if just a little bit, gone with the wind.