Cynical Nation

With all the focus on the presidency and the senate, I haven't even discussed some of the smaller issues at stake this year.

I regret that there were all those gay marriage initiatives on the ballot. I can't help but think their defeat will set the cause back, just at a time when I thought some progress was being made. I have come to learn that there is something very loaded about the term "marriage," for some reason. A liberal friend of mine was surprised that I, as a conservative, supported gay marriage, which she said was "anathema" to her. She's an atheist, so I knew her objection couldn't be based in religion. Well, I gave her my little gay marriage speech, and then she said yes, yes, yes, I agree with every word. They need and deserve all those rights, but must call it something different. "Marriage" is already taken. I am confident that she's not alone in this view. Some may this is an issue of mere semantics, but whatever the case, that one word makes a lot of difference. Call them "civil unions," and most people support them, even President Bush, according to the New York Times. Call it "marriage," and people are overwhelmingly opposed. I confess that I don't fully understand this "nuance", but I think we need to be aware of it going forward, if we are to fight this fight effectively.

One bright spot for libertarians was Montana, where residents overwhelmingly passed a marijuana decriminalization initiative. An even more sweeping legalization measure failed in Alaska, however. I think it failed because it was too wide-open. It basically said, "Smoke up!" from what I understood. I personally don't have a problem with that, but I think the good people of Alaska may well have endorsed it had it been worded a little more cautiously.

Baby steps.