Look back on your weekend to the Fourth of July, a day when we as Americans have such patriotism and pride. We celebrate our ancestors gaining their freedom from oppression. And to honor them, the country as a whole shuts down so we can funnel beers, blow shit up, and generally make poor decisions.
Now imagine you were one of those ancestors and were able to experience the momentous feat at the time… You probably would have drunk a lot more, blew way more shit up, and made some really poor decisions. Now maybe this isn’t the way everyone celebrates and maybe I’m just a degenerate asshole of a UT student, but I think more people's July 4th celebrations are more blurry than clear.
Keeping these feelings about the Fourth in mind, put yourself in the shoes of a 20-something-year-old gay man or woman in America on June 26, 2015. Trade your American flag apparel for some rainbow gear, whip out that banana hammock, and hit the streets.
Like I said, maybe this is the inner dirtbag talking, but if that was me, I would have said, “Fuck work, fuck school, and fuck everything else because this is the biggest day of my life, and I’m going to party and drink until the night gets at least a little hazy."
Let’s pretend that I had a boyfriend at the time of this incredible event. Naturally, he would have been celebrating with me. However, maybe I was just celebrating it as a civil rights victory and not in a “let’s get married today” kind of way. After the parades, drinking, and partying, having a Hangover-esque moment and waking up with a plastic rainbow wedding ring I drunkenly picked up on the way to court wouldn't be so far fetched.
That’s one scenario that I could see happening to me, unfortunately, in my homosexual twilight zone due to my questionable decision-making skills. For the more tame couples out there, though, the legalization could legitimately put pressure on thousands of long-term relationships. Like many things in life, just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean it’s always the best decision. I foresee many awkward conversations and, ultimately, breakups resulting from what truly is a great thing.
With the divorce rate higher than 50 percent for heterosexual couples, federal legalization of same-sex marriage is a considerable victory for civil rights, but I think homosexuals will also find out that the convention of marriage today sadly isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Hopefully this legalization can be rejuvenation for the strength of marriage in addition to the acceptance of homosexuality in America.
