A reader writes:
The beauty of the video you posted showing the WW2 vet calling for marriage equality in Maine lies in the paradox it reveals. This father may never have had the opportunity of standing up so beautifully for his four children were it not for the ignorance and fear that surrounds us at this moment in time. It is a painful reality that we must have the dark in order to reveal the light. The two sides of the coin, the opacity of ignorance and the translucence of truth, can only be revealed in the presence of each other. For every moment of exasperation I feel in hearing Carrie Prejean chatter or the sycophants at FOX News yammer on, is the knowledge that in their darkness they enable the light of truth to shine ever brighter.
This is, indeed, the dynamic of civil rights movements. By standing up for real equality, we actually provoke more and more vocal hostility among some. What matters is the response to this hostility. Do we return it in kind - as we can often do? Or do we respond with the truth of our lives?
Sometimes, you have to bring the fear out in the open to dispel it. And that demands courage.