This new understanding has seemingly been inspired by two major factors, the ever growing faith in science and the overwhelming insight of the internet, and maybe the third factor would be the receptiveness of this new generation.
By Blaise Francis
It would be presumptuous to say that the United States has finally reclaimed the glory of the socially evolved 1960’s. However, if there is any comparison that can be made between our country now and the illustrious 60’s, it would be the amount of significant social changes on the verge of taking place.
There are six immensely important shifts happening right now. One: homosexuals in certain states are now being allowed to marry, essentially breaking down the restrictions of what constitutes a traditional marriage. Two: Latinos, because of their new found political power, are starting to become fully integrated into the political mainstream. Three: prohibition on marijuana is on its way out, everyday a new state or city is either decriminalizing the substance down to the same level of alcohol and cigarettes or permitting folks to purchase medical marijuana for medical use. Four: the Affordable Health Care Act is now in effect, changing the way this country has traditionally handled healthcare. Five: women out number men in the workplace, a notion that was previously inconceivable. Six: the Republican party has started to crumble, and although it may be a bit speculative to say, if the Grand Old Party does go down, the entire political structure could change.
So here we are at the forefront of a demographic shift, as the old and conservative traditionalists die off, the young and liberated take their place and insert a new understanding of human nature.
This new understanding has seemingly been inspired by two major factors, the ever growing faith in science and the overwhelming insight of the internet, and maybe the third factor would be the receptiveness of this new generation. While before it was religion and tradition that helped guide our country in making social legislation, now it is the factual information that science provides and the informative power of the internet that seems to hold the most influential power on younger generations. And as younger generations become older and even younger generations emerge, the traditionalist’s point of view is being boxed out and for good reason.
Sexual minorities rights
For example, the decision to make gay and lesbian marriages legal, comes to us not only by the efforts of gay and lesbian activists but also with the ever widening understanding that sexual preference is not a choice and that homosexuals are the way they are because of biology. Some folks who may have been on the fence about homosexuality before, can now turn to science on the subject. For example, a New York Times study found that 52 percent of all identical twin brothers of homosexuals are in fact homosexuals themselves, supporting the point that there is a biological connection. This study and many others like it, may have been swept under the rug by a more traditionalist or fundamentally religious culture but not this new generation, we have a better, more widely available and updated outlet for information other than our T.V’s, books, and priests; it’s called the internet.
Legalization of cannabis
It seems we have a new process of deciding what we want legal and illegal. Since Obama has been in office, the White House has released its “Scientific Integrity” memorandum which states that the scientific process must inform and guide him in making his decisions. Take marijuana for example, the age-old argument, comparing the effects of marijuana vs the effects of tobacco and alcohol is finally being addressed. Maybe it’s because the information regarding the subject is so readily available and maybe because taboos surrounding the substance are starting to fade. Whatever it may be, the fact that 400,000 deaths a year are caused by tobacco in the U.S and 75,000 deaths a year caused by alcohol vs 0 deaths a year caused by marijuana is an concept that is not lost on this generation.
Latinos more influential
A concept that is actually loosing power is the idea that Mexican-Americans are less deserving to live in this country than European-Americans. In a democracy, the numbers hold the power, which is why the Latino community’s power is rising everyday, reminding the rest of us that much of this country was originally inhabited by Mexicans. In the last presidential election, the Latino vote was huge and proved that Latinos are deserving of a legitimate voice and place in the political scene. Obama won 71 percent of the Latino vote and is now giving immigration reform the proper attention it requires. If a pathway to citizenship is granted, and a new immigration bill passed, the American world of politics will look much more diverse.
GOP crisis
That’s what this new culture is all about: diversity. It’s not as if America is a land completely inhabited by old white men holding on to traditional values and yet, up until Obama, old white men have been the only people allowed to run it. This is the central problem with the Grand Old Party, it represents the old way of doing things that just don’t fly anymore.The creationist theory? Homosexuality is a sin? Woman shouldn’t be allowed to decide what to do with their own bodies? No, no, no. We as a culture are saying no to these ideas and if the Republican Party doesn’t recognize this, they run the risk of alienating themselves and if persistent with these ridiculous notions, they may very well perish. Add on the way the Republicans and the Tea-Party faction handled the government shutdown, and you’ve got yourself a very unstable political party.
It is true that Obama’s political victory over the Republicans in the whole government shutdown debacle has been tainted by recent malfunctions in the Obama-care website and in the bill itself. However, what this bill has accomplished if nothing else, is to illuminate the sentiment, that we as a country need to restructure our healthcare system. A sentiment that has been around for a long time and will continue to thrive until everybody, rich or poor, has access to good health care. Denying folks health care based on their ability to pay for it is like denying a black person a seat in the front of the bus, or women the right to vote; these are ideas that just don’t fly anymore and shouldn’t be tolerated. How about the idea that women, because they are less capable than men, should be paid less? 2010 marked the first year that woman outnumbered men in the workforce. What? There are more woman employed than men? Yes, this is fact, and it’s not as if they have stopped having babies, women are fulfilling both the role of mother and breadwinner these days, proving they are just as capable as men. Traditionalist beware, this is not the America you envisioned.
We are living now in a non-traditional time where, through the process of evolution, silly notions that once prevailed are dying off. Are we as evolved as the baby-boomer sixties generation? Maybe, maybe not. Some would argue that the youth of today, so dependent on new technology, are actually in a state of de-evolution. However, if this generation is doing anything right, it’s throwing out the old, outdated ideas and letting the underlying truth of our human nature be revealed. How long will Republicans and congress resist the wave? Where once we were blinded, now we can see. These humongous changes are either already here or are on their way; embrace the change or step aside or get voted out.
«No army can stop an idea whose time has come» (Victor Hugo, french writer)
