Everything but love

In class we’ve been talking about slavery in the United States and I am learning how much I don’t know about slavery. I have learned about slavery many times in the past years and still I have been surprised by different facts and figures. But nevertheless I still thought that racism and segregation is behind us. Until I read an article I found on my homepage, Kentucky church bans interracial marriage. This article was talking about how a church in Kentucky banned mixed-race marriages and how people in America still have racist feelings and do not believe in equality.

            A more broadcasted issue is the debate about same sex marriages. The similarity between these two subjects is the prejudices people hold towards these couplings and people’s need to intervene with the love between two people. Americans like to control everything including other people’s lives. They feel that others should be just like them. But most importantly, same sex couplings and mixed-race marriages interfered with what was the typical idea of the perfect American family. The idea of radical change towards an unknown frightens people and they feel the need to fix it. Mixed-race couples and homosexual marriages was not the accepted norm and went against the idea of a perfect family. Americans feel the need to uphold this image and let this image destroy the happiness of others.

            In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s mixed-race marriages slowly became legal, one state at a time. Until the Loving v. Virginia case which ruled that miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, states are slowly legalizing same sex marriages and even allowing citizens of other states to be legally married in those states and granting state-level spousal rights to these homosexual couples. Just like the mixed-race couples America is gradually becoming more accepting of homosexual couples and little by little the “ideal American family” is being altered to fit the large range of diversity within America.

            Although Americans are controlling and they feel the need to control the lives of others in order for them to fit the norm, they eventually accept differences. The acceptance of these differences is really what makes America, America. Yes there have been mistakes made but slowly they are being corrected so that all may be welcome and can enjoy the freedom that each human being is entitled to. Wrongs are corrected and differences are accepted and the diversity and eventual acceptance of it is what makes Americans unique.