Our society is experiencing a growth in inequality on many fronts.
The disparity between "haves" and "haves-nots" is on the rise. More and more people find themselves without jobs, or with dead-end jobs that lack a living wage or a sense of meaning.
Fewer young people are receiving an education that will open up a purposeful future.
And, in the midst of these growing disparities in our society, many in the state of Iowa are determined to perpetuate a gross inequality between heterosexuals and the gay and lesbian minority.
In 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled the Iowa Constitution’s liberty and equal protection clauses prevented the state from denying marriage licenses to same sex couples. It was a bold and courageous stand for equality the Constitution is intended to guarantee.
Then, in last November's general election, voters ousted three justices up for a “yes” or “no” retention vote. It was a vote in favor of inequality.
Now some state lawmakers, with the backing of conservatives that campaigned against the supreme court justices up for retention, are pushing to impeach the remaining four justices.
It is disheartening to realize the case for inequality and discrimination has such a strong sentiment in the state, especially when we realize it is such a destructive force for individuals and for society as a whole.
From a religious perspective, we might credit our propensity toward prejudice on the condition of sin. We fall short of truly loving one another because we are incapable of love without the force of forgiving grace in our lives. People of faith, when they take their faith seriously, are inclined toward examining the veracity of their prejudice. Too often, though, people who consider themselves to be faithful focus on the “speck in the neighbor’s eye” and ignore “the log in their own eye.”
From a psychological/sociological perspective, our prejudices arise out of our own insecurities and fears. If we have someone different than us to dislike, if not hate, we can scapegoat our feelings of inadequacy on those who are different. Our racism, sexism, dislike of the foreigner, fear of the Jew or Muslim, and in this case, our homophobia, arises out of our desire to imagine ourselves better than the other.
In a nation in which fewer and fewer people regard marriage as a significant institution, why is it so many are opposed to a group that values marriage? It would seem those who find marriage to be meaningful and foundationally important for civilization would celebrate the fact there are others, whether they be gay, lesbian or straight, who also find marriage to be important for their lives.
The determination of so many Iowans to set aside the 2009 supreme court decision is to make inequality foundational in our society and state.
The more we make inequality a part of the mortar of our social structure, the less secure and stable we'll be. Inequality makes us fragile, and the more fragile we become the more we become fearful. Fear leads us to foster further inequalities. It is a destructive cycle we are plotting out for ourselves.
Equality or inequality, this is the question. How we answer the question will decide just what kind of people we will become.
