You know what really frustrates me? Ignorance. And this past week, I saw more ignorance than I ever hoped to see.
The Supreme Court of the United States deliberated California’s Proposition 8, which bans the right for same-sex couples to marry, and the national Defense of Marriage Act, which has legally defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman since 1996.
As many people across the Internet did on Tuesday, I changed my Facebook profile picture to that of a pink equal sign on a red background. The icon was promoted by the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group which “seeks to improve the lives of LGBT Americans,” to show support for marriage equality.
I did this because I am personally a strong supporter of the marriage equality movement. I believe that every man and woman should have the right to choose who they marry – whether it be of the same gender or the opposite gender. Who am I to tell you who you are legally allowed to love?
I know that people will have opposing views of mine, and that is perfectly fine. It shows that this is a very important topic to many and should be treated as such. For us, as a whole, to be happy, there is no right or wrong answer; there is compromise. And compromise will come once all of the opinions are voiced.
In between the opinions on both sides of the table are those opinions I despise the most. You have all seen them. They are posted by people who feel they will not be able to make a difference or are unaffected by the topic. And these opinions not just posted for public display, but many times as a mockery of the situation.
As I looked through my social media feeds, a few quotes in particular stuck out to me: “I support marriage equality, but changing my Facebook picture isn’t going to change anything.”
“You’re not changing any minds by making this your Facebook profile picture. Why don’t you get out and do something to make a real difference instead?”
“I was going to change my picture to an equal sign. Then I realized that I really don’t care. Sorry.”
Every person is entitled to their own opinion, and I am not here to argue that. But I am here to leave each of you with a challenge: become aware of all of the facts before creating and voicing your opinion. Make your opinion count by making it relevant to other people. Persuade me to see your point of view.
You are right; by changing my Facebook picture, I will not sway the Supreme Court justices one way or another. I don’t expect to. And I will not be heard through this channel by elected officials. So what good is my action?
The beauty of social media is that every voice will be heard. I have the ability to let all of my friends and followers know how I feel about this. And maybe, this will be support that someone out there who really wants to be comfortable talking about their sexuality, but is not yet. And maybe, this will be the awareness that someone needs to become interested enough in the topic to do some research and form their own opinion. And maybe, this will enlighten voters on a topic that will be raised when local and national congressional elections are held this November. And maybe, through education and awareness, we can get every voter-eligible American to take a look at the issues and form an opinion before choosing to vote or not to vote.
The bottom line is yes, I don’t expect to have a direct impact on the immediate decision when voicing my opinion. But I do know I can make a difference in someone’s life, and that is everything to me. So next time, before voicing an opinion, make sure you know what is going on and give it some thought. Ignorance is bliss.
Andrew McDermott
West Hartford