What Does it Mean to be an American?

 Reading Malcolm X’s The Ballot or The Bullet got me thinking about what it means to be an American, and what does it mean to be denied the right to be American symbolically and literally. By law, if a person is born in the United States, they are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. This means that no matter your ethnicity, or religion, your education level or annual income, your parent’s native language or their relationship status, if you are born in the United States, you are, by law, a  U.S. citizen. However Malcolm X would disagree. In his speech The Ballot or the Bullet,

in Cleveland, Ohio (April 3, 1964) he states; “Being here in America doesn't make you an American. Being born here in America doesn't make you an American. Why, if birth made you American, you wouldn't need any legislation; you wouldn't need any amendments to the Constitution; you wouldn't be faced with civil-rights filibustering in Washington, D.C., right now.” (http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/speeches/malcolm_x_ballot.html)

And Malcolm X has a point. In the Declaration of independence, it 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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;”

However, this statement and the amendments that would become the foundation of our government would not include the majority of the citizens (men and woMEN) until the 1920’s, when women were given the right to vote.

So why is it that after over 200 years, we are still denying a population of the American people these unalienable rights?

Recently, there has been a lot of debate about the constitutionality of same-sex-marriage and I find that denying couple to marry, no matter what their gender an absolute violation of moral and civil rights. And is denying a portion of the American people their rights as Americans. 9 states as of today allow gay marriage: Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia. And 5 legalized civil unions: Civil unions Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island (http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/human-services/same-sex-marriage-overview.aspx)

Lets start at the most basic problem that politicians have with same-sex marriage, its definition. Many people believe that marriage must be between a man and a woman. In the Merriam-Webster dictionary marriage is defined as a “Legally and socially sanctioned union, usually between a man and a woman, that is regulated by laws, rules, customs, beliefs, and attitudes that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners and accords status to their offspring (if any)...”( http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marriage). It goes on to talk about the historic purpose of marriage and explains that until modern times, marriage was rarely a matter of “free choice, and it was rarely motivated by romantic love.” And that in the majority of societies (and until a relatively recent time), acceptable marriage partners were carefully regulated by the extended family, an many times, the marriage was arranged. Now, no where in this definition is marriage defined strictly between a man and woman, in fact, the definition is completely correct, considering only 9 states out of 50 allow gay marriage, the majority of marriages is between a man and a woman.

But that isn’t the only definition of marriage that includes partners of the same sex. The definition of marriage in dictionary.reference.com is pictured below:

              

Now, although they distinguish between the two, there are two very important things to realize. First, gay marriage is still marriage and should be viewed as such. And second, the antonyms of the definitions are the same as well, separation.

Now historically, Americans had restricted marriage before, but then it was between race. The Jim Crow law in Florida regarding marriage during the 1950’s indicated that “All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of negro descent to the fourth generation inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited." The Law in Wyoming stated, “All marriages of white persons with Negroes, Mulattos, Mongolians, or Malaya hereafter contracted in the State of Wyoming are and shall be illegal and void." (www.yourdictionary.com/examples/examples-of-jim-crow-laws.html)

So  what do we do when Americans aren’t being treated like Americans? It seems to me that we are in a similar situation, where the rights of Americans, and their decision to marry whomever they please is being violated by those who fear anything different than their traditions. We look back at the civil rights movement today, and are discussed with the laws and treatment Africans Americans were battling, and I believe we will look back at same sex rights in 40 years, and be disgusted with the behavior of our culture as well.


And if we dont allow same- sex marriage, well they might just marry our girlfriends...