Saluting the Rainbow Flag
Gay acceptance in America is trending up
When President Obama said in a speech last night that the U.S. has seen a "constant progression toward including more and more people in the American dream," his opponents were quick to charge him with pandering to the evening's audience. His campaign stop at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel ballroom was, after all, sponsored by deep-pocketed gay and lesbian donors.
But the results of a CNN poll released just yesterday bear him out: American acceptance of gay lifestyle is on the rise.
Of course, not everyone thinks the country's LGBT contingent is hands-down fabulous. But attitudes are clearly becoming more inclusive. For the first time ever, the poll suggests, a majority of Americans say they have a close friend or family member who is gay. Just 49% said so, or admitted it, two years ago; but in yesterday's poll, 60% replied in the affirmative. The survey also indicated a growing acceptance of same-sex marriage.
Have a look at the complete poll results, which break down results by race, education level, political affiliation, and other factors. To an extent, we're divided along predictable lines: 70% of Dems say same-sex marriages should be recognized by the law as valid, while 72% of Republicans surveyed were opposed. There's an age divide as well, with nearly two thirds under age 50 favoring legal same-sex marriage and almost as many over age 50 opposed. It's striking how gay issues are so polarizing even as acceptance broadens. But don't prejudge your conservative elderly neighbor with the framed picture of Reagan on his mantel. Then you'd be the one guilty of bias. There's still room in those stats for him to be enjoying Will & Grace re-runs behind the shades.
The poll doesn't say why, who, how, or what has changed American attitudes. Could we be getting smarter? Well, let's not jump the gun. But there has been a slow and steady cultural push against ignorance in recent years. Minds aren't easily changed by loud opposition and foot-stomping marches, though soap-box advocates play an important part in swinging the pendulum from right to left. Attitudes settle more comfortably in the middle when great role models -- not good models of gay life, necessarily, but gay people who model a good life -- emerge in America's boardrooms, in houses of worship, on our TV screens, and in our neighborhoods.
America may not yet have made a wholesale change in attitude toward the gay community. But we're evolving.
Photo: Lisa Stokes/Flickr/Getty Images
I AGREE WITH ALL OF YOU ...THIS IS AN ABOMINATION...GOD HATES ****!!! IF WE ALLOW THIS TO CONTINUE THESE PENUS SUCKING BASTERDS ARE GOING TO COME INTO OUR HOMES AND FORNICATE ON OUR KITCHEN TABLES...AMERICAN FAMILIES WILL BE DESTROYED ALL MEN WILL BECOME GAY AND WE WILL HALF TO KNEEL INFRONT OF OUR NEW GAY GOD ...ALA.. THATS RIGHT THIS IS NOT THE CRAZY RANT OF A RETARDED REDNECK JESUS FREAK ...oo yes and we will be sodomized by muslim space alians and and ummm o right.. and america will be destroyed by borack obamas whatever ..you people are idiots and thank god you are soon going to be relics ...becuase people like you are the same who fought for slavery and against civil rights. you guys are two screws away from becoming the uni bomber himself, but your days are numbered history only allows for progression not regression, and people like you people ..will be seen as a dark stain in american history...for homosexuals ...i apologize for the word fag i just wanted to make a point
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