What a Supreme Court victory says about us.

This week's Supreme court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a victory.  That said, it's sad commentary on the state of humanity.

That societal norms in the United States are so backward as to allow a  government to tell a woman what she can do with her body while in the same breath proclaiming individual liberty is laughable.  That we have legislative debate on the proper parties to a committed relationship is embarrassing. 

That it's official state policy to condemn other cultures for similar beliefs is nothing short of hypocritical.  Is it any wonder then that the United States is so hated.  "Do as I say not as I do" has never been good policy.  We need to lead more by example than sound bite.

I've had a sort of epiphany lately or perhaps just more able to express what I see.

I've always been very open minded but admit that when it comes to topics dear to the Rainbow coalition I've been a bit annoyed by their medium. 

I find it distasteful for an entire community to define itself by whom it chooses to share their intimate moments with.  I could care less what gender you find arousing to be honest.  As a straight man I've resigned myself to additional criteria before approaching an interesting member of the opposite sex.  That being, "You like guys, right?"

I'm the first to admit that I wouldn't be caught dead marching in a parade with a banner reading, "We're here, we're NOT queer, get used to it."  

So much for the "You don't see me marching in any heterosexual parades" argument.

But I get it now...

Polite society is so caught up in advancing its imperfect vision of normality that you literally have to be outrageous just to be heard. 

It's not just the concerns of the LGBT community either, it's a concern for the rest of us too.  To disenfranchise anyone contrary to our better selves diminishes us all.

Look, if you believe that a loving couple of the same sex is going to bring down civilization any more than the sexual escapades of your favorite televangelist you're just not being honest with yourself.

Please don't hold up biblical references as proof either.  The text has been corrupted by human ambition for eons and if we really chose to take it as literally as some would have you believe, we'd all be hanging from crosses on some Roman hill.

Our greatest cultural influences, providing us with the foundations for our literature, government and conduct didn't concern themselves with the specifics of our most carnal nature.  Shakespeare's most impassioned sonnets were focused on a young man.  Roman culture didn't even bother to subdivide acceptable physical relationships based on gender but rather on acceptable conduct.

It's not that I advocate anarchy or debauchery, I'm just tired of humanity spending more time on their genitalia than advancing the species.  By the way, the act of procreation isn't enough to advance the species.  If it were cats and rabbits would be ruling the world from their flying cities.

Even as a straight man, the fact that I choose not to prioritize procreation above all other pursuits can have a debilitating effect on my societal position.  I've never been an advocate for doing anything for its own sake and the traditional family construct is one of those tenets for me. 

The concept is simple if not self-evident.  If you don't endeavor to improve the world you walk through then what chance can your offspring have?

The simple state of being is not enough to correct the inadequacies of a narrow minded progenitor.  I see far too many lost souls imprisoned by the limitations of their procreators.   For the few that escape,  freedom comes only after unbearable pain and isolation.

For the others, the "normal" ones, the same disdain and disrespect handed down from parent to child  only advances an imperfect world view through yet another generation . 

And humanity stands still.

Until we can rise above concerns of our lowest desires humanity will never reach its full promise.  Love, sex and relationships regardless of the participant's gender should be as accepted as breathing but they're not. 

That's why this week's legal victory is so critical yet so reflective of our own immaturity.