Another Small Ripple…One Large Tidal Wave

Memory is a fickle device but oh, so glorious. I love how certain random events—riding on the back of a motorcycle, smelling a warm apple pie—conjure up a vast array of snapshots of my past, pleasant or not. Memory over time eliminates the busyness of the event by focusing on a key detail or sensory impression. Beautiful images which always live in sepia tones…ah, memory.

This memory begins as many do…I recall the sunshine, the familiar drive from Wards Road shopping area, in Lynchburg, Virginia. I’m not sure what year it was, but I was married with two kids, three dogs, and a mortgage– typical for the average American woman. That day, mom and I were driving back from shopping ,listening to the music from her childhood— the 1960′s. She remarked off-handedly that I truly missed an exciting time in the 60′s. No further remarks after that…we unloaded whatever we had bought that day, and I tucked her comment back in the recesses of my memory. I never thought much about how I missed such a turbulent social period in America—the boiling point of civil rights, women’s rights—until now.

This summer has brought the overturning of California’s Proposition 8 which should begin giving equal rights to those who have been denied the rights of heterosexual couple. A small ripple in the water.

This summer has brought a proposed Muslim community center or mosque near the hallowed Ground Zero. Still bleeding hearts gather in the streets protesting, supporting, or just trying to ignore the latest building project in NYC. A small ripple in the water.

This summer has brought the anniversary of women’s right to vote in elections. With the passing of the 19th amendment, women could begin gaining entrance and voice in the public sphere. After 90 years, women still struggle for the same rights that men have especially women in developing nations. Those caught in human trafficking, the sex trade. When do they get to speak? A small ripple in the water.

While I am no psychic, I see these small ripples gaining strength and churning up a massive tidal wave of social upheaval. We need it as a kind of mirror. A mirror shows us a reflection of how we are harboring prejudices, fears, all of which need to be purged.

Question: How do you see the overturning of Prop 8, the mosque at Ground Zero, and women’s right to vote relate to each other? Why is it so hard to notice prejudices so that we don’t need major social upheaval?

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