Proposition 8
I went to another volunteer session today for the No on Proposition 8 campaign. I'm working the morning of election day in Venice, helping to hand out palm cards and answer the questions of any undecided voters. While I haven't been able to devote the time that a lot of other "super-volunteers" have been contributing, I've put a lot of energy into the campaign over the last few weeks. I'm using this posting to explain why I've done this.
People have commented on the amount of money that has gone into the No on 8 campaign as well as the fact that marriage may not be a good institution and a "right." I agree that the amount of money spent is unfortunate, and that the limitations of marriage as an institution are certainly notable (we've been thinking about this in my grad course, where we're reading entries from late Victorian New Woman writers). The money could be used for other causes (other kinds of social justice) and maybe marriage doesn't need to be an institution sanctioned by the state.
At this point, though, these arguments seem ill-timed. Regardless of how someone feels about the expenditure of the money, the flaws of the institution, or the exact terminology of the debate, let's be pragmatic. We didn't decide we wanted to fight this battle; it was imposed on us. If we wake up on Wednesday and the constitution of California has been amended through the pro-Prop 8 people, it will be a loss for 16000 couples who've already gotten married. Certain kinds of futures--whether you like them or not--will no longer be viable for a whole part of the population. Discrimination will be part of the constitution. In short, gay people will be worse off than they are today.
I know I'm a person who concerns himself with terms, with language, with discourse, and with abstract ideals on a day to day basis, but I'm not waffling here. Right now, it's about motivating voters. On Wednesday morning, once Proposition 8 has been voted down, then we can return to our worries about spending our money more effectively and working on making the US the utopia we want.