Make Amend(ment)s

The American Declaration of Independence states: 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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. The history of the United States has been, and continues to be, an ongoing struggle between the forces who seek to counter this ideal, and those who seek to promote it. The US Constitution reads as a long list of victories of the second group. Freedom of expression is protected; warrants are required before search or seizure; slavery is abolished; racial equality is written into law; women have the right to vote. The only amendment that restricts people's liberties, the 18th (the Prohibition), was repealed within 14 years. Now, the last great restriction is challenged, that of legal acknowledgment of homosexuality through marriage. America and its government should scratch their heads and wonder how a country can call itself civilized if, in the 21st century, it blatantly discriminates against a certain group of people without any rational basis. But rather than proposing a liberating amendment, the current President seeks to explicitly criminalize same-sex marriages. When he went to war and dangerously destabilized America's international position, the question of his being Anti-American was open for debate. But with this vile and disgusting proposal, George W. Bush has revealed himself unambiguously to be truly un-American.