Unalienable

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..."

-from the second paragraph of the U.S. Declaration of Independence

unalienable- impossible to take away or give up (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary)


The other day I read the news that Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General of the United States, said that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect transgender citizens from employment discrimination. This comes after The President of the United States signed a declaration effectively banning transgender citizens from serving in our military.

Both of these news pieces are highly disturbing to this angry writer. First, The Declaration of Independence lays out the fact that all human beings are born with rights that no one can take away. It should be noted, that The Declaration does not stipulate that only Americans are born with these rights, rather that all men have them.

The thing that really bothers me, besides the fact that I believe both Sessions and Trump to be fascists, is that I'm aware of just how hard the LGBTQ+ community has fought to gain recognition as human beings.

Recently I had the pleasure of listening to The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle, a wonderful book written by Lillian Faderman. It details in great length how our government systemically denied gay people basic rights. From being fired from government jobs, stripped of military benefits after serving honorably in wars, to being arrested and having their lives ruined, our government spent decades antagonizing gay folks.

Now this is a key point to remember; no minority group has ever been handed equal rights by our government. Every single group has had to demand those equal rights, whether by marching and demonstrating, or by rioting. Read about the Stonewall Riots when you have a few free moments. It's one of the most delightful pieces of American History. A group of drag queens terrorizing the NYPD. What I would have given to have been able to witness that scene!

So now we enter the Summer of 2017, when two wealthy white men, both with ties to racism, decide to dismantle the basic rights of transgender citizens. Unalienable rights? Rights that can't be taken away? Pissing all over the Declaration of Independence is one hell of a way to make America great again.

I recently had a brief conversation with my 13 year old son. I told him that I've always believed that as white, straight men, we have an obligation to help protect the rights of all minorities. As our government inches more towards fascism everyday, that's more important than ever.

No human being, especially an American, should ever be treated as less than, just for being who they are. And not one single one of us should tolerate it. Fascists can go fuck themselves. We are either all created equal, and endowed with these unalienable rights, or we can no longer consider this to be a free country. We must stand together and turn back this evil, and yes, stripping human beings of basic rights is evil.