This past Friday, as you already know, SSM passed the NYS Senate and was signed into law by Governor Cuomo. This was an issue that I was (and continue to be) passionate about, and it is not over in the least. (Read some of the "Religious" Carve outs and if any of them are declared to be discriminatory by a court, the law is nullified as well as things like the Federal DoMA and the majority of states that have discrimination written into their State Constitutions.) I worked on this issue, attending lobby days, writing letters, holding signs at protests and compelling people to look at this rationally as opposed to passionately. I am not saying that I did anything that a large number of people failed to do. One of the reasons this bill passed was because a lot of people were passionate about the issue and worked hard.
That being said...
There were a lot of people who are celebrating who did nothing. They supported the idea of marriage equality but they were not willing to let their voices be heard, and this is one of the issues that I have with the totality of the body politic.
Too many people are content to accept the labor of the few in order to celebrate the victory of the many. Too many people are either disconnected from the process or "too busy" to care, to have their voice heard.
Nixon had his "Silent Majority" and in this case the Silent Majority ruled the day again, but...it is a different time now. The mechanisms for having your voice heard are much easier. Become involved in your issue, if it is hydrofracking (and there are a lot of issues related to that), global climate change (Got Flooding?), immigration reform (Are your fields unharvested?) or whatever gets your dander yup.
No longer stay silent. Fight for what you believe in.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead
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