Today marks an important milestone in American history. While watching President Barack Obama being sworn into office today, it was all I could do to hold back tears of joy.
This year will mark 233 years since Thomas Jefferson wrote "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Today we've moved closer to the idea that all people are equal.
When Jefferson put pen to paper and drafted the Declaration of Independence there was a thriving slave trade, and the indigenous people of North America were treated as savages. Equality was only offered to white Christian men. Not even women were treated equally.
A lot has changed. Thanks to the courage of a few, a civil rights movement was founded. We now have a President that is far from what has been considered normal for the office. His father is a black man that immigrated here from Kenya. He has a funny name. And I am proud to call him my President.
We are, however, still in the middle of a civil rights struggle. We have not yet reached a point in time were all people are treated equal. Many GLBT citizens are treated in a manner that is far from equal to other citizens of this nation. Many GLBT citizens face the threat of losing their home or job because they have no protection under the law. Many GLBT citizens are denied the right to be in hospital rooms to be with the person they love.
Sure there's a lot of serious issues ahead of us. We have troops on the ground in two wars, and the economy is tanking. If ever there was a time for full equality for every citizen now would be it.
Look at it this way, if the discriminatory policy of "don't ask, don't tell" was overturned that would allow the military to recruit and retain more individuals to help protect us and our Constitution. If ENDA is passed it will help prevent some jobs from being lost.
There's still more that needs to be done even after that for us to live up to the idea that "all men are created equal," and eventually we'll get there. We just can't be lulled into thinking that everything that needs to be done, has been done to achieve equality.
We should take time to enjoy the historical significance of today. Once everything is said and done, we must, however, hold Pres. Obama accountable in his pledge to provide equality for GLBT citizens. By making sure he works towards getting his agenda passed will we come close to achieving what Thomas Jefferson said about mankind.




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