Wednesday, November 18, 2009
WTF Wednesday 3: A Heartwarming Rant, for once?
I spent most of today, as befits a WTF Wednesday, discussing politics, rhetoric, and social issues. (As you can see by this week's Silent Top Five, I have had lots of these on my mind lately.) I had a very amiable discussion about labor practices and the pros and cons of unionization with my supervisor, which was the most refreshing of these. The most exhausting was probably the shouting match with the first mate about politically charged terms and the way they polarize issues. (He and I even fight like nerds-- we have civil, caring, and productive discussions about our actual problems, but we can work ourselves into argumentative fits over things like political issues or whether Transformers has any merit beyond product placement.)
The upshot of all this is that I don't have the energy to rage at the world this Wednesday. Instead, I'm going to talk about the finest citizen our country has to offer. And he's only ten years old.
Will Phillips may be a fifth grader, but he knows when shit be freaky. He's refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, on the grounds that a nation where gays cannot marry cannot be said to provide liberty and justice for all. He's doing it respectfully and unrelentingly, and most impressively for a ten-year-old, he's standing up to incredible pressure from his peers. By fifth grade logic, only a total gaywad stands up for gay rights. (If only people actually outgrew fifth grade logic after fifth grade!) Yet, in the face of teasing, bullying, and the disapproval of authority, he stands up for what he has decided, independently, is right. When asked what it means to be an American, he says “The freedom to disagree. That's what I think pretty much being an American represents.”
This is the legacy we were meant to take from generations of civil disobedience, protest, and organization-- a country where even a ten-year-old knows better than to be silent in the face of injustice. Will Phillips, I support you with all my heart, and I hope that my children are just like you.
P.S. First Mate Andy is going out of town for a conference, so I will be out my computer access until Sunday. As such, Thursday's entry may be brief and Friday's entry will likely either be a sentence long or not happen at all. If that's the case, I'll post two on Saturday, because I love you anonymous internet people.
P.P.S. Scott Adams, what do you want for Christmas?
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