For some people change happens in the blink of an eye. For others, it can’t happen quickly enough. That is doubly true for people on both sides of the marriage equality fight.
Opponents think we’ve already gone way too far in devaluing traditional marriage, while proponents want full marriage parity and they want it yesterday.
Every change that affects societal mores seems radical at first. But by the time the next generation comes up, it seems like only old fogies continue to cling to the outdated sentiments.
When the bikini was first introduced at a European fashion show in 1946 it was extremely controversial, being the first modern garment to expose the navel. Named after Bikini Island, where nuclear testing had recently been done, it was expected to have the same impact as a nuclear bomb. And it did.
It quickly became popular on the beaches of southern France, but was outlawed on most beaches in the U.S. until 1963 when a Mouseketeer named Annette Funicello wore a pink bikini in her first Disney produced movie called “Beach Party.” That summer, it seemed like every girl in America had to have a bikini. It took exactly one generation for the bikini to become a staple of American fashion, and there’s been no looking back ever since.
The same is happening with same sex marriage. For the last 2,000 years western societies have defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Those who want to defend that definition have made the argument that if you can redefine marriage to suit the desires of one group for same sex marriage, that it can then be redefined in any way consenting adults can conceive. In other words, it sets the precedent for multiple partner marriages.
That may be true, but today’s younger generations are not nearly as driven by the mores of those of the past. They poll overwhelmingly in favor of gay marriage, and those attitudes will define the future, as their children will feel likewise, and probably more so, being totally detached from a society where it was controversial.
So, whichever side of this debate you find yourself on, just realize that the trend is in favor of same sex marriage. It is inevitable. People fighting to preserve traditional marriage are like people fighting to preserve vinyl records in a digital music world. The clock is ticking, and as the next generation grows up with married gay couples the norm, they won’t even understand why this was ever controversial.
Robert Hornak is a Queens-based political consultant, blogger, and an active member of the Queens Republican Party.
