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Tyson Pankow
Film and Culture Thursday
17 July 2014
What do you feel are the greatest struggles that our culture faces today !ow do our world
changes affect those struggles What are the greatest "enefits that could result from those
struggles What would "e the dangers of not engaging in the struggles going on around us
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# $icked this to$ic "ecause # felt it would "e a %alid use of my time& not "ecause it would
make for an easy $a$er' # ha%e for the last year or so noticed a growing unrest within me' # ha%e
started to notice little things that once went "y unchallenged "ugging me' Things like far right of
center $olitical rants& or swee$ing gestures of $olitical $ower' # ha%e started to "ecome aware of
my $lace as a $roducti%e citi(en of this country' # no longer want to )ust "e lead around
uninformed and "lind to the $ath we take as a nation' *o after careful thought # want to use this
mid term $a$er as a tool of self reflection and disco%ery as to what struggles my country faces
and what # think is actually im$ortant'
# guess # should start off close to home& our %ery $olari(ed local go%ernment makes for a
"reeding ground of hate and "igotry' +n issue directly arising out of this swam$land of religious
intolerance is gay rights' +s a culture $redominantly guided "y a church& ,tah-s legislature takes
firm .moral/ stances on this issue' They rise to the defense of traditional marriage& religious
freedom& and com"at the gay menace with e%erything they ha%e' Fortunately ,tah is a case study
in what ha$$ens when there is a fundamental "reach "etween church and state' # say fortunately
"ecause e%ery action they make will someday "e reflected u$on and used as e0am$les to future
generations' These actions will "e warnings as to the dangers of allowing religion to guide $olicy
as o$$osed to reason and democracy' # can only ho$e that enough small %oices like mine will
chime in so that we can at least show the rest of the nation we are not all unreasona"le'
#n the interest of "eing reasona"le and fair # will "riefly outline what # see as the struggles
"eing re$resented in culture after # "ring each one u$' For instance& #n ,tah the religious
$o$ulation has tried multi$le times to im$lement a statewide "an on gay marriage' For a while
they were successful& "ut to 1uote 2artin 3uther 4ing Jr' .the arc of the moral uni%erse is long&
"ut it "ends toward )ustice'/' The constitutionality of this contro%ersial de"ate is currently
awaiting a su$reme court ruling'
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The 367T community in ,tah is a minority "ut they do their $art to "e res$onsi"le
citi(ens of our re$u"lic' They make their %oices known through $eaceful rallies& $rotests& and the
$olls' ,nfortunately those %otes don-t accom$lish much in a ma)ority rules democracy' The real
$ro"lem isn-t e%en a ma)ority ruling against a minority' #t is actually the ma)ority ignoring the
social res$onsi"ility to $rotect the rights of a minority' This looks to "e an affront to the
$hiloso$hy laid down "y the *o$hists "ack in 8
th
century +thens' 9%ery time a culture treads on
the rights of a minority "ecause of ma)ority outcry& atrocity follows :7urma& the !olocaust& the
#n1uisition& *la%ery''';' When will we learn to )ust "e good to one another
# ha%e outlined a struggle and e%en the dangers $osed "y it& "ut # ha%e as of yet neglected
to mention the $otential "enefit of fighting this good fight' #f gay marriage is to "e acce$ted
culturally and legally across our nation& we would "e the shining "eacon of ho$e and lo%e that all
other religious and cultural $owerhouses could look u$on as an e0am$le for real social $rogress'
#t goes without mention that the indi%iduals that would "e free from the seemingly endless
$ersecution would also "e immeasura"ly ha$$ier $eo$le' This social reform would also create
sta"ility for millions of families& $re%ent many unnecessary suicidal ideations& and e%en allow
for a more culturally free country'
# would like to turn to another $ro"lem that is $erha$s more "road reaching "ut $ossi"ly
more im$ortant than the struggles of one minority grou$' 9ducation& s$ecifically ci%ics
education' We seem to "e a growing silent ma)ority only occasionally stirred to action when
$ressed "y our religious leaders' 9%en then we only act in flare u$s of ci%ic discourse' 2ost
$eo$le )ust seem content to sit "ack and watch loud minority grou$s duke it out for $ower and
control' + shocking statistic that outlines what # mean is %oter turnout at the $olls< the highest
turnout on record for +merica was =1'=> in 1=7?@ Contrast that to modern elections where we
ha%e on a%erage a lower turnout rate than 40 other democratic countries o%er the last 84 years@
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We are lucky to e%en get to ?0> turn out' That means literally 2 out of e%ery 8 $eo$le in our
country today don-t care enough or don-t know enough to s$end 50 minutes e%ery four years to
%ote' Part of the $ro"lem is la(iness& "ut contrary to $o$ular "elief the di%ide is not age "ased
"etween those who %ote and those who don-t& it is actually education "ased' #n 1A==& =4> of $ost
graduates %oted com$ared to only 5=> of the nonBdi$loma holding citi(ens'
These statements are not meant to denigrate our country "ut to show a di%ide& "etween
the direction our country goes and the direction we actually want it to go' +s of now we are like
a raft in the 2ississi$$i& we can steer "ut only little& and the s$eed and course are still out of our
hands' ,ntil we get the motor of ci%ic res$onsi"ility started we are at the mercy of fate'
The grand reward for our efforts of %oting would "e "ecoming what we always say we
are' The greatest country to ha%e e%er e0isted on earth' +s of this moment # don-t "elie%e we are&
# lo%e this country dee$ly "ut freedom is 1uite common in de%elo$ed nations now' 9conomically&
socially& and $olitically we ha%e "een losing ground slowly "ut surely' What must we do to wake
u$ the $o$ulation of this country #-m afraid that one well taught film course at a time wont do
the trick'
# will mo%e on to a third and final di%isi%e issue that # $ersonally feel is at the heart of so
many other struggles in our culture' The o"%ious lack of religious se$aration from the state of our
nation' ,$on founding our country in 177? we decided as a country to esca$e and a%oid the
$itfalls of 9ngland' Things like monarchy and religion "ased $olitics' *o we created a democratic
re$u"lic& where we could all en)oy certain unaliena"le rights and feel safe from go%ernmental
$ersecution "ecause of the $rotections granted "y our "ill of rights' First among them is
/Congress shall make no law res$ecting an esta"lishment of religion& or $rohi"iting the free
e0ercise thereof< or a"ridging the freedom of s$eech& or of the $ress< or the right of the $eo$le
$eacea"ly to assem"le& and to $etition the 6o%ernment for a redress of grie%ances'/' :# $romise #
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did not $ut the full te0t here )ust to take u$ $recious s$ace in my $a$er "ut to hel$ assuage the
grie%ance # had a"out ci%ic duty in my second $oint'; This was listed first "ecause it was not only
most im$ortant "ut also the most agreea"le foundation to start to "uild a democracy around'
9%eryone has a %oice and religion has no $art to $lay in it' Politics are hard enough with out
throwing in god as well'
The current state of our .Christian nation/ is de$ressing to any who do not hold a faith in
6od' #t is $rinted on federal money& socially re1uired to "e a $olitician and worst of all forceBfed
to our children at the start of $u"lic school e%ery day in the form of a $ledge of allegiance to a
re$u"lic .under 6od/' This seems %ery contrary to that "efore listed amendment' 7ut when a
minority who cares cries foul on the go%ernment for not following their own rules& the deafening
outcry is heard from the religious ma)ority of the country' This effecti%ely ends that minority-s
right to freedom of s$eech as well' Freedom isn-t free when it comes at a cost of death threats&
anger& hostility and the social e0ile of all your family and friends' Celigion has found an effecti%e
means of wra$$ing itself in an +merican flag "y integrating itself as a Christian nation' Dou are
effecti%ely unB$atriotic if you would like .under 6od/ remo%ed from the $ledge'
The danger& # would ho$e& is clear< if a religion holds sway o%er a nation we cease to "e a
nation and "ecome instead a $u$$et of the few who .know/ the word of 6od' To "e fair # am
writing this in the frame of reference towards the largest threat :Christianity; "ut # "elie%e all
religion& no matter how $eaceful& has no $lace in a ci%il $olitical system' # am not a militant
+theist though' # do see a need for religion in the li%es of many +mericans' There is nothing
wrong with you lo%ing the word of 6od in your own ways so long as your freedoms ne%er
infringe u$on others' # am a strong $ro$onent that a free society where we could do whate%er we
want so long as it doesn-t infringe u$on others is the only way to make a fair and e1uita"le
society'
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This alone would sol%e this issue and the first issue # "rought u$ a"out gay rights' #f they
are consenting adults what right do we ha%e to tell them what they can or canEt do 9%en using
the Reductio ad absurdum argument that if we let men marry men where will it sto$ Can they
marry two men !ow a"out a tree + cow The answer is yes& it is a ridiculous argument to
make "ecause the answer should always "e yes& they can do whate%er they want so long as their
actions do not infringe u$on your rights' # will ne%er understand the things that crawl u$ out of
the de$ths of religious intolerance'
# want these few statements at least kindle the flames of ci%ic res$onsi"ility and remind
$eo$le of the dangers of limiting our li"erties to gi%e religious e0ce$tion' # feel like # will li%e to
see e1uality gi%en to the 367T community and that does fill me with ho$e for our nation' 7ut as
a shi$ without a sail # don-t know what our ne0t storm shall "e or how rough the seas might get' #
really ho$e our nation can $ull together and float on through to the $romised land' We are not
currently the greatest nation on this earth& "ut fear not& for we can "e'