The Scene staff
2014 has begun, and it promises to be a year of changes.
Among them are changes for me, personally. I’m managing editor of The Scene this semester, and I’m looking forward to working with new and veteran staff members at the paper.
If all goes to plan, I’ll graduate from Forest Park this summer with my associate’s degree, and I’ll start at a four-year school this fall.
I’ll enter my second year of marriage, and if it’s anything like the first, it will be great.
But those changes are pretty insignificant when compared with what’s happening in the social climate of our country.
Over the last few years, we have become more progressive in leaps and bounds. The clearest example is the issue of gay marriage, which affects millions of Americans.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. It was a huge win for the gay community and an important step in civil rights.
Now, 17 states have legalized gay marriage, including our neighbor, Illinois. Its law takes effect June 1.
Who would have thought, 10 or 20 years ago, that people in our country would make such a dramatic swing toward acceptance of a formerly condemned culture?
Legalization of gay marriage isn’t just about giving couples the right to join legally; it’s the symbolic acceptance (or at least tolerance) of people who were born with preferences others may not understand.
The gay rights movement is similar to other movements, such as women’s suffrage or the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Things don’t change unless the majority of people are willing to let go of preconceived notions.
When people start to change their ways of thinking, when they begin to realize that not all of the beliefs held by their parents and grandparents were fair and just, the world can follow along.
Another societal shift is reflected in the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Washington and Colorado. Laws for medical use have passed or are pending in other states.
With the wave of new legislation over the past decade, it may not be long before marijuana bans are repealed at the federal level.
A poll published by NBC in January found that 55 percent of Americans support legalization. That’s a little more than half the population, but it’s a huge figure when you consider all the efforts in the 20th century to make people fear marijuana.
I speak of the film “Reefer Madness,” the War on Drugs and those commercials (which many of you are perhaps too young to remember) implying that marijuana leads to terrorism or accidental suicide.
Changes in our ways of thinking have led to an America that is more accepting, less bigoted and increasingly forward thinking.
Much of this movement didn’t even start until the turn of the 21st century. Just think where we’ll be in another 10, 20 or 30 years.
I’m looking forward to seeing what each year brings for our country and its people.