This gave me the piece of the puzzle I’m solving.

Steve

I don’t see why same sex marriage is even an issue. People oppose it on the basis of religion, or personal queasiness, or both, and it’s arguable whether there’s even a difference between those reasons. Neither, however, should be relevant when determining public policy. Church and state, right?

This issue highlights the great dark side to democracy: determining public policy based on the “will of the people” allows for drafting laws based far more on confused personal prejudice than actual sense or fairness. I don’t think there’s been a groundbreaking social change in this country that was widely supported at the time it was instituted. That’s the nature of the game: social progress has to be fought for because lots and lots of people don’t want it. I’d say the historical events you’ve described here are even more reason to be hopeful, as those changes came at a time when vicious social conservatism was a lot more accepted than it is now.

I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes of all time:

Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, and in the third it is regarded as self-evident. – Schopenhauer

When we moved to America 18 years ago, my parents bought us a Nintendo system. It was very new to us, and my sisters and I just spent HOURS playing Super Mario 3. We loved it. We played 1 and 2 also, but 3 was our absolute favourite. The kids played that same Nintendo game at my parents house for years until finally this summer, my Dad decided that my children could live without a gaming system no more and gave them the original Nintendo and all the games. (After all, the old man has a Wii, so what does he need with the old system?).

The kids and I have spent HOURS over the past month or so playing Mario 3. I even play it when the kids are in bed. And it makes me a little sad to know that the old Nintendo may not hold as much joy when the Wii is opened and Super Mario Galaxy is put into play. But 18 years of loving a game, that’s something. And if Galaxy is half as good as Mario 3 is to us, then I know my money will be well spent.