Good morning everyone, and congratulations.
Most of us worked very hard for this well-deserved victory for the world. If there's one thing I learned in light of volunteering for my local Obama office, it's that I can push myself much harder and use my time much more wisely than I had ever known. I now have evidence of three things:
- If I can put 230 hours per month--in addition to my day job--into the Obama campaign, then I can put 100-200 extra hours into anything.
- There's plenty of folks around with a similar passion for progressive policies.
- I have a talent for organizing and managing people. Maybe even inspiring them.
So what do I do with that now, after the campaign that could? I think I've decided, and I need your help to do it.
Tuesday night, Obama told us:
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.
And
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
I am passionate about several social issues--educational equality chief among them--but I feel that one issue of immediate concern; of unparalleled gravity; of continued stress and strife for an entire group of people; and deserving of our urgency and talents as individuals seeking to improve as many people's lives as possible...one of the preeminent social justice issues of our generation is that of equal rights for gay Americans.
Yes, Prop 8 passed. And 3 states banned same-sex marriage on Tuesday.
Let me tell you something. I live in the reddest state in the country, with a (very organized and tightly-knit) politically and socially conservative religious base. I live in Utah, and I am about to embark on a journey to help secure equal rights for same-sex couples, because if we succeed here...we will succeed everywhere.
In a nutshell, this is my worldview, my vision for a brighter future: Strong families. Safe and nurturing communities. Period. I have yet to meet anyone that disagrees with this, even if they disagree with the definition of terms. This makes for an encouraging starting point for dialogue.
Here's an expanded view of my ideological nutshell: people should be able to build strong families. They should be able to secure the means to provide a safe, healthy environment for their children. Communities should have the supports--in the form of excellent schools, caring leadership, and infrastructural resources--that reinforce bright futures for our youth.
I believe these things should be rights, not privileges. No one should have the latitude to deny communities and families these tools, because doing so hits society where it hurts the most: our children.
Denying equal rights to same-sex couples violates my worldview. It delays the large-scale, long-term progress of our communities and, by extension, our nation and world. Fifty years from now, people may still disagree about the moral standing of homosexuality, but surely we can must agree--now--that equality under the law must be extended to all law-abiding citizens. Period.
My long-term vision is, of course, nothing less than decisive and inclusive legislation. But to get to that end, I am going to read a Grassroots Campaign Training manual. I am going to read kos's Taking On the System. I am going to reach out to local GLBT organizations and gifted volunteers in the gay and straight Utah community, and found an organization or a campaign that will unify people--gay and straight, Mormon and not--around the cause that protecting the rights of all Utahns builds stronger communities for all of us, and that even if we disagree with the lifestyle choices or sexual orientation of others, we cannot, on that basis, deny them any of the political fruits of living in the United States of America.
And if we can do this here--if we pull this off--we will be able to do the same in every other state in the nation.
So here's to opening my dialogue to the wisdom of the crowds: what suggestions do you have? What steps should I take to build a coalition of volunteers, activists, and advocates for this? Who do I need to speak with; what tools do I need in order to build an organization as well-executed and disciplined as Obama's ground campaign? What questions am I not asking.
Please spread far, and spread wide. I know I am not the only one with this dream.