Norm by Norm

Right now in Canada we are in the middle of a federal election campaign. While ignoring the complete inherent silliness of having a campaign over the course of the holidays which makes this eight week long experience a drawn out pain in the ass, the conservative/reform party of Canada has drudged up the issue of same-sex marriage.

A number of years ago, the courts in Canada told the government that they had to allow same-sex marriage as the barriers to this were against our Charter of Rights. The bill passed with a hell of a lot of belly-aching from many corners, but did happen.

Well, the leader of the conservative/reform party, the right-wing party of Canada, has raised the issue during this campaign. What is particularly interesting is that the majority of voters want nothing to do with it. They consider the issue resolved.

And that is just another example of how that which is normal is that which is commonplace. Same-sex marriage has become a normal thing here as it happens. The sky has not fallen, the country has not been smited by the wrath of God and life as most people know it has continued along the same ole paths as before.

It reconfirms my longheld belief that in order to make any true change in society, one has to act in the way that you want the world to be. For example, I don’t hesitate from kissing Bud in public or from holding his hand. When I was younger the thought of doing either would have filled me with dread and actually doing so would have elicited numerous stares or cries of ridicule. But as more and more of us do it, it all becomes commonplace. You don’t even notice it anymore.

It is just like when I first arrived in India, I was shocked by the poverty and the starvation of people around me. About three months later, I had met a newly arrived Brit who grabbed me once saying, as he pointed to an emaciated child, “My God, did you see that little boy – how the hell can he even stand.” The strange, and most disturbing, thing was that I hadn’t even noticed him.

If utter devastation wrecked on the body of a tiny child can become so “normal” that people don’t even notice the anguish when walking by, a kiss between gay men can’t be far behind.