Tess Griman Ms.

Ingram Exploratory Essay 11 February 2014 No Freedom Till Were Equal, Damn Right I Support It When I think of passion, I think of an overwhelming emotion rooted within someone where they are all consumed by something until they act upon it. I think of passion and associate the word with a cause worth fighting for. Someone once told me, If you cant find a reason worth living for, find one worth dying for. When I prompted myself to think harder about something that Id give all my time and devotion to if I could, I found my answer: Human Rights. I am passionate about equality of all persons, but Id like the focus of this paper to be on the controversy of same sex marriage and why I feel so strongly about it. How I Found My Soul Mate in a Gay Man: Why this matters Through some mutual friends, I was first introduced to my now best friend Christopher my sophomore year of high school. It wasnt until my senior year of high school though, that we realized we belonged/needed each other in our lives. We led two freshmen retreats together our senior year, so it was over all the planning time we grew more familiar and fonder of one another. Christopher is the epitome of perfection, or as close as you can get as a human being: hes uncommonly smart, the amount of useful and un-useful facts he has stored in his mind is astounding; loyal, hes had my back so many times that he may as well be my conjoined twin; musically gifted, oh boy does that boy know how to play a violin; comical, hes the kind of joke teller that makes you wonder how he could of possibly thought of that; thoughtful, the conversations we sometimes have

about life remind me of the conversations that you have with your best friend at 3am; knower of great music, there have been quite a few jam sessions in our friendship; and kindest of the kind. Christopher has added so greatly to my happiness over the years, that to imagine him unhappy one day in the future would break my heart. Christopher and I went to a Catholic high school in Raleigh, where for the most part, they encouraged their students to grow into honest, independent individuals. However, the extent of how true one could be to themselves was limited due to the confines of the religious teachings that were bestowed upon us. Like me, he was raised on the teachings of Jesus, even those that spoke of how a man shall love a woman. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Genesis 2: 22-24 Conflicted by his strict religious upbringing, Christopher had a difficult time growing up knowing that who he truly was and loved, contradicted what his parents had taught him. For fear of disappointing his parents and losing their love, his adolescence was filled with denial, lies, and shame for who he was. Shortly before we graduated high school, he came to the realization that he could no longer live life half-assed; time had helped him to accept whom he truly was, and now it was time for his parents to do the same. Sometime over that summer he gathered up the courage to have that talk with them, and Im happy to report that his parents have come to accept him and love him regardless of what he thought they might of said or done.

I think that going off to college has afforded him this clarity to realize that the only person who can truly destroy his happiness, is himself. Maybe its the maturity factor, or finally having his parents blessing, but he no longer lives in fear of what others think about him. Out of all the people I have come to know in my lifetime, I admire Christopher the most, because he has never stopped fighting for himself and his happiness. The Media and Growing Support In 2012, a white rapper from Seattle named Ben Haggerty, but going by the name of Macklemore, debuted a song called, Same Love. In this song, he voiced his concerns about stereotypes associated with being gay. Same Love also marked the first time a male mainstream hip-hop artist had rapped positively about homosexuality. When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay, 'Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight. I told my mom, tears rushing down my face She's like "Ben you've loved girls since before pre-k, trippin' " Yeah, I guess she had a point, didn't she? Bunch of stereotypes all in my head. I remember doing the math like, "Yeah, I'm good at little league" A preconceived idea of what it all meant For those that liked the same sex Had the characteristics The right wing conservatives think it's a decision And you can be cured with some treatment and religion Man-made rewiring of a predisposition Playing God, aw nah here we go America the brave still fears what we don't know And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago I was first introduced to Macklemore through my best friend Olivia when she played his song, Thrift Shop, for me. I have to admit, after listening to that one song, I expected all his other songs to have the same playful nature about them. So I was quite pleasantly surprised when I first heard, Same Love. I was blown away by the raw honesty of his

words and the way in which he had captivated me and allowed me to see the harsh reality from another perspective. I listened to the song about a dozen times before I called Chris to let him know of my great discovery, feeling that it was relevant to him in the time. When kids are walking 'round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference! Live on and be yourself

Not too long after that, the song began to rapidly gain popularity and it seemed as if all matters having to do with the dilemma of same sex marriage were being brought to light. When Macklemore was interviewed by a Dutch magazine about his reason for writing the song, he explained that, Same Love was a song that I wanted to write for a long time but I didnt know exactly how to address the issue, I knew I wanted to write a song about gay rights and homophobia within the hip-hop community and the world. If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me Have you read the YouTube comments lately? "Man, that's gay" gets dropped on the daily We become so numb to what we're saying A culture founded from oppression Yet we don't have acceptance for 'em Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it Gay is synonymous with the lesser Macklemore, whose own uncle is gay, said it wasnt just the issue of marriage equality that fueled the song, but also the frequent use of the word gay as a derogative term in the hip-hop industry, and the world. I write songs that challenge myself, they challenge listeners, they might be controversial to some people, songs that push the

boundaries of what a rap song sounds like or the subject matter that might be in a rap song.

We press play, don't press pause Progress, march on With the veil over our eyes We turn our back on the cause Till the day that my uncles can be united by law

It seems that one of Macklemores most profound qualities is his ability to leave people speechless and amazed. His recent performance at the 56th Grammys is a great example of this because it is sure to be one no one will ever forget. Macklemore, along with his partner Ryan Lewis, Queen Latifa, and Madonna took part in quite the grand celebration. Same-sex couples and heterosexual couples of all ethnicities and ages were married before an audience of 28.5 million people on live television proving that Macklemore will not rest until there is worldwide acceptance of everyone.

Progress and Move On

At the moment, 17 states have legalized same-sex marriage. And like Macklemore states in his song:

A certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it all But it's a damn good place to start No law is gonna change us We have to change us Whatever God you believe in We come from the same one Strip away the fear Underneath it's all the same love

The benefits of legalizing same-sex marriage far out weigh the negatives. Gay marriages can bring financial gain to local and state governments. Revenue from gay marriage comes from marriage licenses, higher income taxes (the so-called "marriage penalty"), and decreases in costs for state benefit programs. The Comptroller for New York City found that legalizing gay marriage would bring $142 million to the citys economy and $184 million to the states economy over three years. Gay marriage would also make it easier for same-sex couples to adopt, providing stable homes for children who would otherwise be left in foster care. In the US, 100,000 children are waiting to be adopted. A study published in Pediatrics in June 2010 found that children of lesbian mothers were rated higher than children of heterosexual parents in social and academic competence and had fewer social problems. Another study done in July 2010, found that children of gay fathers were "as well-adjusted as those adopted by heterosexual parents." Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness I endeavor to remain optimistic about the future and what it holds. It is also my greatest hope that in the not too distant future, Chris and other same-sex couples will be able to publicly celebrate their commitment to each other in the same way heterosexual couples can, anywhere they please. After all, this very country was founded on the principles of equality for all men.

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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just

powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Theres still quite the battle to be fought, but it is most definitely a cause worth fighting for. And the U.S. isnt the only battleground: other countries around the world, like Nigeria for example, have taken a most unjust stance on homosexuality. Any person found guilty of homosexual acts in Nigeria, is subject to fines and even jail time. Its unfathomable to me that anyone would fight so hard to destroy the happiness of another person, so until the day equality for all persons is recognized, I will continue to fight for the rights of those who have none.
When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen I might not be the same, but that's not important No freedom till we're equal, damn right I support it

Bibliography http://www.samesame.com.au/features/9365/Macklemore-Why-I-wrote-Same-Love http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/macklemore/samelove.html http://gaymarriage.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004857 http://gaymarriage.procon.org http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html