Editor's Notes: Change We Need
By David Ethridge
On the verge of this new year and this new presidential administration, I find myself cautiously optimistic. In much the same way Bill Clinton was a light at the end of 12 long years of Reagan-Bush, President-elect Barack Obama is a shining beacon announcing the end of another eight years of Republican rule. Those eight years saw the decline of America’s prominence and its prosperity. Those eight years saw the gay community not once, but twice, burned by an electorate which yearns to put down our relationships as inferior to theirs. Those eight years saw more than 150,000 Americans die from AIDS. Eight long years.
Looking forward toward the future, I hope that our new president will indeed help restore America to the peace and prosperity we enjoyed in the past. I hope that our president and his economic leaders will dig us out of the hole left by the previous administration. I hope that Obama will do what no other president has yet had the courage to do and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in our military.
I also hope that the sense of stinging indignation felt by most of our community after the passage of Proposition 8 in November’s election will continue to drive us toward action. Far too many of us had grown complacent as gay rights seemed to be slowly but surely inching forward. However, Prop. 8 – and more specifically the support it received from out-of-state religious and political organizations – should spur us all into continued action. More than half of the voters in California would gladly strip away our rights, without any guilt of conscience or remorse whatsoever. More than half of our neighbors feel that our relationships are inferior to their own. They would probably not admit it, but I believe they also feel that we as people are inferior.
I will not be made to feel inferior by anyone, especially by those who would use their vote to put others down. In the past, I’ve never been much of a proponent of gay marriage. My argument was based on whether modeling our relationships after traditional heterosexual roles was appropriate. I resolve in this new year though to claim the word marriage, in defiance of those who would deny us this right. My “marriage” may not fit the legal definition that currently stands as law in our state, but my relationship is just as valid as any heterosexual coupling. I’ve come to realize that even if my marriage isn’t a marriage by someone’s narrow definition, it’s still a marriage to me – and to my husband.
In addition to the new beginning for our community and our country, 2009 represents a new beginning for me as well. Fifteen years ago, I came to the Blade for the first time as a young journalist, brimming with enthusiasm and drive. For two years I worked here at the magazine, putting my touch on a publication that I knew to be of vital importance to our community. More than a decade has passed since I left the , and we have both grown up quite a bit over those years. I am truly honored and excited to have been asked to return to my former position as editor of this newsmagazine.
I hope all of our readers will join me this year in remembering and recognizing that were it not for the contributions of our advertisers and organizations we would not have this important voice for the community. During times of hardship, both generally and economically, we must not forget that our gay businesses and non-profit groups are the heart and soul of our community. Join me in boycotting those individuals and businesses who would support stripping us of our rights; and join me as well in supporting those individuals and businesses who support our community.