A friend of mine asked me this question via Google chat tonight:
“What is your response to the comment that calling the gay rights movement “the new civil rights movement” makes it seem as if all racial issues have been solved and we have moved on?”
I responded:
“I’ve not heard it put that way before, that “all racial issues have been solved.” Interesting. I would say there are many battles we as a country have to fight at the same time, and taking on one does not mean we have to let go of another.
“Conservatives often think in “zero-sum” terms: If you add one thing, you have to give up another. They don’t understand that the world evolves. The stock market- good or bad -Â is the best example of why the world is not a “zero-sum” game.”
I’ll add now that when we improve things, we add value. Which in turn can improve things even more. Giving people the civil rights they inherently own – just because they’re human – adds value to them, and to society as a whole. It enables them to become more of the persons they are meant to be, and can, therefore, provide greater value to society.
There aren’t a limited number of marriage licenses to hand out. There aren’t a limited number of civil rights to hand out. When even just one person is made better, we as a society are better. When one person is not free or equal, society bears the weight of that injustice too.