Cassandra's Corner - My Mission

Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing”. The sole purpose of Cassandra's Corner is to speak up where there is silence. I seek to educate not only our community, but those outside it as well. To show what mainstream media will not. That we are, in our diversity, more like themselves than we are not. I seek to inform our community on various topics that affect their lives and we have seen a common ground that exists between all people. The desire to live our lives in peace and security, the desire to provide a good education for our children free from the threats of violence, the desire to stand among you as equals, not only in the eyes of the law, but in the spirit of humanity as fellow human beings.

I speak up because the root of prejudice and intolerance is fear; a fear of the unknown, a fear of those that are perceived to be different, a fear of change. I hope that I will help you to get to know the GLBT community a little better so we are not the “unknown” but rather your sons and daughters, your bosses and co-workers, your neighbors and perhaps even your friends. We are different, but our differences are minor. We are all unique individuals and it is this very diversity that gives us our strength. Through our differences, we learn a little more about ourselves and what it means to be human. These differences are something to be treasured, not feared, as a country’s commitment to freedom is defined by its tolerance for diversity and its openness to new ideas.

Change may be frightening, but when all people are not equal in the eyes of the law, it is necessary. While our elected representatives should be mindful of the needs of the majority that elected them to office, they should also remember that their duty is to all the people and sometimes that means protecting the minority from the will and prejudices of the majority. When the will of the majority seeks to oppress certain segments of society, then people of good conscience must question the morality of the majority. Many of the most shameful moments in our country’s history have been the results of the majority imposing their will to create a second-class status that was used to imprison, enslave, dehumanize and even annihilate whole groups of people, based merely on their differences in skin color, religion, sex and sexual orientation. While I focused mainly on the GLBT community and their struggle for equality, I also keep in mind that this is not merely an issue of gay rights, but rather an issue of human rights and as long as any segment of the population bears the status of second-class citizen, our work remains unfinished.

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” While there are a few organizations committed to fighting for our equality and working to educate, there are many more individuals who remain silent, who remain passive and refuse to take responsibility for securing their own rights and freedoms. Perhaps many believe that their one small voice cannot possibly make a difference, or that one person cannot change the views of a society, and so they choose to suffer in silence. We wanted to show you that many small voices can become one enormous voice that will not go unheard. When we sit back and say nothing, when we do nothing to prevent injustice and inequality, then we tell those who would rob us of our right to equality, “I will submit”. Our greatest threat comes not from those that would suppress our rights, but from those who would sit idly by and allow this to happen. If our rights are taken from us by force, we can take them back. If we give them up voluntarily and without a struggle, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

I hope my blog not only entertains and informs my audience, but that it will also encourage and motive the many small voices to join in the chorus and tell the world the we will no longer be second-class citizens. We will make a difference and change is coming. This change can be embraced in the spirit of humanity and tolerance, or it can become another shameful chapter in our country’s history. Stand up and let your voice be heard. In the words of the renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”.