Too Much Conflict, Too Little Progress

http://www.npr.org/2013/03/28/175580938/martin-recalls-the-supreme-court-34-years-ago
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/us/cold-wet-wait-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases.html

When I typed "Supreme Court" into the search bar of both NPR.org and The New York Times, I found numerous articles, many of them being recent. And, about the same topic: same-sex marriage. That's the hot topic of the Supreme Court recently. I first read this editorial from NPR's Michel Martin, which explains how   seeing photos of people standing outside the Supreme Court in cold March weather brought back memories of when she and her friend did the same thing, but for a different issue: affirmative action. She goes on to explain what the scenario they were taking action against was. Also, she talked about how it relates to the world today, and that there are still issues with affirmative action. But the problem that is being focused on today is same-sex marriage, while there are still race-related issues. The quote that sticks with me most is: "the jury is still out on how to rectify the centuries of exclusion from the basic opportunities to be a part of the American dream", which I believe means that many people are still, as she said, excluded from basic opportunities, in this case, marriage. Opportunities that many people have come here for but have not gotten. Opportunities that many people have been seeking for their whole life, but just keep slipping away from them for whatever reason. One thing's for sure: we, as a country, have A LOT of work to do.

The other article I read, this one on New York Times, was about the advocates for same-sex marriage and the hardships they have to go through to try to get their message to the Supreme Court. Because we're just coming out of winter and into the Spring, temperatures are still cold at night, there is still snow and rain, all of which create a very messy and uncomfortable situation for everyone. But guess what? That's not stopping people from standing by the issues they care about. No, not at all. While it may be difficult to deal with these conditions, it can still be done. The article then goes on to explain some of the details about these protests, such as the fact that all electronic devices are banned from inside the Court, about some of the different groups attending the event, and a lot of other relevant information.

So as you can see, these two articles are quite different from each other in terms of their focus. The first one is more like a story, whereas the second one is more factual but has somewhat of a story element to it as well. But they both focus on the same-sex marriage issue, just in different ways. They both have a sense of bias, however the editorial from Michel has much more bias then the NYT article.

To me, as the title indicates, there is too much conflict in our political world, and not enough progress. I personally believe that all states should allow same-sex marriages. I understand the arguments that people have against it, but my main point is that America is a diverse country, perhaps the most diverse country in the world, in terms of race, religion, and sexual orientation. So, whether people like it or not, we need to accept the fact that times are changing. As President Obama said in his speech: "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law". And I agree with that 100%. We are spending too much time on issues like this, that shouldn't have been issues in the first place. These issues have been going on for far too long, and it's time for something significant to get done.

So what do you think? Is same-sex marriage like modern-day civil rights? Is conflict in the political world natural, or is it excessive at this point? Can anything really be done to speed up the process? Do you believe that gay marriage should be legalized in all states, or should the decision to recognize it be up to each individual state? Do biblical values matter in this changing world?