The idea of universality — the concept that something, whatever it may be, can apply to anyone, at one time or another, regardless of who they are, what they believe and what they stand for — is awe-inspiring.
Laughter is one of those things. So is fear. The embrace of a mother is also universal. But the most powerful of those variables, the most profound power that anyone can experience, is the phenomenon known as love. Because no matter what corner of the planet you hail from, you can experience the majesty of love. You can experience gripping a hand so tight until all your worries fade away. You can experience looking into that special person's eyes and feeling a blanket of safety cover you from head to toe.
So when a government takes a step to make this love accessible for those who have been deprived from it, I can’t help but smile.
On Wednesday morning, the U.S supreme court over-turned the state’s ban on same-sex marriages under Proposition 8 and ruled that the Defense Against Marriage Act, a law that prevented the acknowledgment of benefits for same-sex couples, was unconstitutional. This means that those millions of human beings who happen to be in love with someone of their same sex can finally have the opportunity to partake in something that should be a right to every American. The right to express their love in the same way as everyone else.
Proponents of traditional marriage will be very upset. They will spew varying levels of hate-filled rhetoric. Some will blatantly claim that this decision is disgusting. Some will cite pseudoscience, or wield their religious dogma; and some will even say that this is an issue of states' rights, not personal opinion. Yet, what these people don't understand is that every argument they're making now is the same language that was used by those who opposed interracial marriage.
However, with time and passing generations these arguments became more and more ludicrous. The same is happening now with gay marriage.
Earlier this year, a Pew Research poll found that over 70 percent of those belonging to the millennial generation (born after 1980) supported same-sex marriage. As a member of that generation, I can attest to the fact that this is not an issue that is widely discussed amongst my peers. We’ve understood that this is not an issue.
In no way is the marriage of two members of the same sex detrimental to the moral fiber of this country. One’s morality is not defined by boiling their blood over the legal union of two people, but instead defined by allowing those people to love each other, granting them the right to be happy and partaking in what they’ve been promised by the Constitution.
Love is universal. It will not change. However, what is changing is the number of people who choose to accept that love.
To all those couples who will be hearing wedding bells in the next few weeks, I would like to congratulate you. This is a victory for America. A victory for civil rights. But most importantly, a victory for the universality of love.
