Freedom in South Africa Stronger Than In America

Not many people were surprised when our northern neighbors voted to allow same sex couples to marry. Face it, Canada has always been thought of as a rather liberal nation. For whatever reasons, they never faced the racial problems we have struggled with here in the United States. South Africa, on the other hand, is quite a different story.

Say the words South Africa and one immediately thinks about the abject bigotry that apartheid brought to that English nation. For years it was a cesspool of inequality as the white ruling class lorded itself over the black citizenry. For many years, homosexuals felt that same damning repression as well. Especially black lesbians, who were constantly raped by men who believed that this would "cure" these women of their "problem."

So when I read in the paper that last Thursday, South Africa's highest court ruled that gays and lesbians had a right to marry and it gave the national parliament a year to change the wording of its marriage laws - well, I was tongue tied to say the least. Who'd a thunk it?

So here I sit in Arizona, a state that only accepted Martin Luther King Day when it had its arm twisted by the National Football League who refused to offer Arizona the Super Bowl unless they complied with the celebration, which they immediately did, of course. The good citizens of Arizona are now reveling in the fact that a measure to amend the State Constitution to outlaw gay marriage will be on the ballot come November. One could say that they are simply following the lead of other states that have already taken this step to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry.

You know, it's one thing when America side steps the liberal Canadians to show the world that liberty and equality don't really mean much in this country. But when we fall behind a nation like South Africa, what does it say about bigotry in this country? Imagine, America offers it's people less equality and liberty than South Africa.

Aren't you just proud to be American?!

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