I’ve always been a political junkie. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it was my love of history, the long journey that got us to where we are today.
Perhaps it was the process of democracy, the debate of it all. Two sides of the same coin working simultaneously against and with each other for the common good. Or maybe it was simply the idea that we were working toward something better.
Maybe I’m glorifying the past, but it felt that way earlier on. Now I wonder if it was really such an open forum of discussion attempting to improve the world or I was just naïve to the fact that what really matters to me wasn’t even up for debate back then.
I was a mouthy yet petrified gay kid growing up in the 80s. I debated how tax dollars should be used to help the underprivileged, while equality wasn’t even part of the discussion. Heaven forbid my rights as a human become part of the conversation.
Minus the three years I lived in New York City, my life has been spent in purple and blue pockets of predominantly red states. I was born in Ohio, moved to Florida, then Texas and back to Florida. I spent my college career in North Carolina and then moved back to Florida again. After the unique experience of NYC, back to Florida.
I mention this to illustrate that politics have always been a little right of center, even in the good times.
I’m not sure when I noticed the swing from politics being fun and feeling productive to it being a constant struggle. Perhaps it was my gay awakening. Maybe it was after so much ground had been made that the pendulum swung in the opposite direction.
One thing I know for sure, the battle is not the same as it was before. When I was young, we didn’t say “gay” in school. It wasn’t because it was against the law, it was just against the times. The only time it was okay to say “gay” was if you were derogatorily describing something or someone.
Little by little the closet doors swung open for the LGBTQ+ community and suddenly we were holding hands in public, celebrating our diversity and to my amazement — getting married.
Then, like a light switch, it all changed. The old ways were coming back, but this time as laws.
Words were under attack. Speaking the words “gay” and “trans” were outlawed in school. Words like diversity, equity and inclusion became toxic. Companies that embraced them, that thrived honoring them began to retreat back into the closet for fear of governmental crackdowns.
How did this become the new norm after such a wonderful renaissance of cultural acceptance?
It was no longer the politics I fell in love with. Instead of debating how we could improve lives, we had to pivot to prove our lives held value. Truth became opinion and opinions became facts.
Now here we sit, another election year and another year the rights of the LGBTQ+ community are on the ballot. The Florida Senate passed a law attacking diversity, equity and inclusion as if those are dirty words.
I have a friend who often asks those opposed to DEI initiatives, “Which is it that you are against? Diversity, equity or inclusion?” I do wish they would answer.
The Florida House also passed this anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, sending it to the governor. I expect we’ll take our battle to the courts.
I long for the day where our politics isn’t about a demeaning culture war that divides communities, but instead a system for making the human experience better for the masses. I wish for a world where we care less about which bathroom a person uses and more about the healthcare that keeps them from getting sick, or the affordability of the food that keeps them alive.
Let’s debate how to lower prescriptions and help people make something of their lives rather than legislate whether a city can honor its citizens by supporting their parades. Let’s understand that by lifting up others, you are not being torn down.
Imagine the good we could do.
In this issue of Watermark Out News we honor those who stand out in our community, as voted by our readers. Last year we rebranded these awards to celebrate diversity and equity and the resilience of those fighting the good fight.
Stay visible, stay strong and support each other.
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