Do Tell

Don’t ask don’t tell is a policy that has been in the military to ensure that gays and lesbians can still serve their country and not be slandered against or singled out and given harsh treatment. In some cases gays and lesbians are even beaten and killed. Though the military has the don’t ask don’t tell policy to ensure the safety of the people serving in the military specifically those who may be gay or lesbian I still find it alarming that a person who is willing to go to war and lay down their life for a country that supports freedom has to keep a major part of their identity a secret form everyone. This is not a good thing for that person. On top of the normal Post Traumatic Syndrome that solders are coming back with from war zones some are also coming back with more mental stress due to the fact that they not only have to hide a fact that they are gay or lesbian but have to put on a front that they are straight. This can lead to more stress and strain on the solder. Many would say that would be the perfect reason to not allow them into the military but just like with women and minorities being in the military and that being look down upon because of the mindset that these people would be and are inferior to white males when the fact of the matter is they are equal. The US military fights for freedom around the world and help to ensure that all people in the world have the right for freedom yet it can’t even secure that for its own people. This is something that needs to change. America cannot be a fighting to ensure freedom for all people from all countries when the very people that are fighting for that freedom for someone else are not free. Gays and lesbians should be able to enter the military openly and FREELY without having to face criticism. This again goes back to my last post about how kids need to be taught change to help ensure change that that our country continues to move toward equality of all people. It is time for America to start to fight for the freedom of all the people that call themselves Americans and then we can truly begin to fight for the freedom of all peoples in all areas of the world.

Make Up

Time for Change

What are major ways to help to ensure that society is moving in the right direction when it comes to gay and lesbian rights? There are a few ways that many people have already started working toward. One way is by promoting gay and lesbian rights in the media, and marketing new forms of media toward the mass public. A second way is to start organizations and create websites where people can go to learn the facts about gay and lesbian rights. But most importantly gay and lesbian rights needs to be taught in schools to ensure that future generations are not growing up with the wrong mindset. By teaching not just about gay and lesbian rights but by teaching about gender studies and equal rights as a whole people would be helping to ensure that youth are not growing up with the wrong or backwards way of thinking. It is important that kids are taught to be mindful and not judgmental. It is though our schools that society will be able to promote real change. It may not be immediate and it still may take some time but it is something worth fighting for. America is look to as a forward thinking company and due to that people need to ensure that we continue to teach our children what it is that we want for the future of our country otherwise we will not be accomplishing the goals that we set out to accomplish and people will look back in history and wonder why it was that our society did not change. The same way that we look back 40 year plus and think about how horrible the injustices were on blacks and all minorities. We need to learn form that mistake and not let history repeat itself. I often hear people say that history will repeat itself because that’s what it has always done. Well I have a question for them. If we know that history repeats itself why don’t we then see the change that is coming and prevent it and not let history repeat. Instead of resisting change because we are scared of it as a society why don’t we then not let history repeat itself and embrace it and more in the right directions which is towards equality and not division and repression. America was founded on diversity and for many people that meant race and religion but why can’t it also mean sexual orientation or sexual preference. The same way that many people have come to see the good that this Great Nation has done to help change the world let this be another moment for the United States of America to stand up for equality in all people and not run away form change but embrace it.

 Make Up

It Gets Better

There has been a heartbreaking amount of suicides in gay youth due to bullying. It has been present in the news very frequently over the past couple of years. Although this is a tragedy, a positive movement came out of it. The Trevor Project used this time to educate others about their organization and joined in the It Gets Better Project which asked celebrities and peers to record videos of encouragement to provide hope to the LGBT community. Here is an example of one created by The Trevor Project.

Obama Addresses Bullying

Bullying of gay youth specifically has lead to a number of suicides. This is a big problem righ now. Most of the time, adults never intervene and brush off the affects of bullying because they view it as a "right of passage" or a way to "build character." Bullying is much more intense than it used to be with the use of the internet giving way to cyber bullying. Before the use of the internet, children used to just deal with being bullied and harassed at school, when they got home it was safe. But now with cyberbullying, it never stops and they cannot even escape the harassment once they are home. Many kids are tormented so immensely that they feel the only way it will get better is if they take their life. We have all seen countless headlines about a parent coming home to find their child has taken their life because the bullying they endured. We are seeing more frequently that the reason these children are being bullied by their peers is because they are gay or their peers believe they are. We have to really be more aware of what is going on and stop making excuses for the act of bullying. It is not okay to let it happen and it is not okay for any child to go through that. For some reason we expect these young children to be able to be strong enough to handle being attacked every day and trust that things will get better. President Obama addressed the issue of gay youth suicides and school bullying in a Politics Daily article and said that there is a law against this kind of harassment that we should make children aware of to understand how serious this is and also that there is a values component, we need to treat others as we would like to be treated and this belief is taught at home. Parents need to take more of a responsibility for teaching their children respect and how to treat others. Most learned behaviors especially in young children reflect what is modeled and learned at home. Obama even reflected on his own experience being bullied as a child, "I do know what it's like to grow up feeling like sometimes you don't belong. It's tough." He offered a message of hope to those being bullied: "You are not alone. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't do anything to deserve being bullied. And there is a whole world waiting for you, full of possibilities... There are people out there who love you and care about you, just the way you are. . . . You've got to reach out to people you trust." I think the biggest determining factor in a child choosing to fight or attempt taking their life is whether or not they have that support system and feel loved and connected to someone in their life. Here is a video of Obama addressing this important issue.

President Obama's New Stance

With the reelection of president Obama people supporting gay rights and specifically gay marriage are happy with the outcome of the reelection of President Obama. President Obama is a supporter of gay marriage and with his reelection to office all those who support now have a strong advocate for gay marriage to help try and ensure that a law is passed to allow gays and lesbians the right to marriage. This will be a huge step in the move toward equality. Many people feel that this is the next big step in move in society toward creating a world with no discrimination. Yahoo news talks about how President Obama is open on his stance on gay marriage. He feels that it is an “evolution” that let him to this new stance on gay marriage. Here is a clip of President Obama talking about his stance on his new view on gay marriage. It is something that might have help to lead him to a second term so let’s hope that he is really for and willing to support gay marriage and it wasn’t just another political move.

The New Normal Follow up and Second Weekly Feature

Hello Readers, Last week we began our first weekly feature. We introduced the above clip and asked you to give your input and opinions on what you thought this clip was about. We appreciate the participation dearly. This clip really dived into different aspects. First there is the fear of being gay fathers, and it hindering the lives of their children. Secondly, there is the idea that there is a new normal. The world is much more open to the unconventional now being conventional. The truth is many gays go through this fear which is stemmed by the world accepting certain norms. The fear that being a father will make a child turn out bad, is elevated by the world's view of normal. Well, thank goodness things are changing. Anyone who has the yearn and passion to be a parent should be able to, regardless of their sexual preferences. I hope your conclusions were along those lines. If not, here is another clip for this week try again!

 

Okay, this weekly feature is highly loaded. I hope you have a blast figuring it out. In this clip Bryan goes into the catholic church to confess his sins to the priest and in a way gain clarity. Do you think you can figure out the message in this one? Good Luck!!!

 

Moving to "The New Normal"

Do to the new weekly feature that my team as added to our blog I decided to talk more about the show that we are featuring for our weekly blog. The New Normal is a show that depicts the change taking place in society. This is a show that addresses more than just one issue. Though two of the main characters are gay and many gay issues are addressed in the show there are many other issues that the show also addresses but the overall them that they show is addressing is equality. This is a show that does a great job at not bring light and exposure to issues but shows how those issues affect people. This is important because for many people they will feel a certain way about people and their beliefs and they will also make sure to let everyone know how they feel. What they often do not see is the fallout of their remarks and how it affected the people they were discriminating. The grandmother in the show is someone that is stuck in her ways and is extremely raises and prejudice. I feel that this is essential for the show because it shows that there are still many people in the world that feel the same way as she does. However the show also shows how when people are strong and stand up for what they believe in then people can begin to have a change of heart. The fact that she is older is also important because it shows that even after spending most to all of one’s life viewing something in a certain way there is still the ability to change after becoming aware of the facts and truth. Here is a quick extended version of the trailer about the show.

 

 

As you can see from the trailer it does a good job of addressing many issues that are still very relevant in our society. It is also showing the change that is taking place in our society. It brings to light the need and importance of equality among all people. I feel that this show is a perfect show to be featured on our blog. This is what our blog is about. It is about equality. Growing up in California I feel that I have been exposed to many cultures and views. I have also been blessed to go to a high school and college that is very diverse and I feel that seeing how people can accomplish so much when differences are put aside further made me want to fight for equality of all people. The greatest way to prevent success is trough division. It speaks to the notion of divide and concern. This show does a great job at showing how when we come together we can all help to ensure that we are all successful and we can all accomplish our dreams and then in turn help to ensure that others are able to accomplish their dreams.