The latest cover of the New Yorker magazine on newsstands today. Isn’t this terrific:
Compared to Congress and the judicial branch of government, a president has few actual powers. However, his position does imbue him with the authority to influence and, in time, even to change the course of the social zeitgeist.
That happened last week when President Barack Obama endorsed same-sex marriage:
Now the public conversation about full rights for gays and lesbians is altered.
Among the zillions of words spoken in response to the president’s announcement were some important ones from our own Jan Adams at her blog in a post titled, BHO made me happy.
I should say something about the President having completed his ‘evolution’ to accept and endorse gay marriages (under state laws). The president made me happy. I’m surprised at how happy he made me…
“I’m glad he came out with this the day after North Carolina again voted my kind off the island. If it hasn’t happened to you, you have no idea what it feels like to have your fellow citizens declare by popular vote that there is something so wrong with you that you shouldn’t be allowed full rights. It stinks and it hurts.”
If you are straight and are having any trouble understanding that, imagine your life if you had been barred from marrying your wife or husband. Many gay and lesbian couples have lived decades in that second-class condition. Please go read the rest of Jan’s post.
At The Elder Storytelling Place today, Lyn Burnstine: Love’s Memories
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