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These days, it's hard to convince anyone of anything. With a turbulent stock market that sends our heads spinning, a housing crisis that makes our hearts sink, and a nation filled with a level of intolerance that makes even the most spiritual of people question their beliefs in humanity, it's hard to sit down and have a conversation about the ethical compass of the country. In lots of ways, it seems like we are at the edge of a whirlpool. Our heads bowed down by the force of the economic crisis we find ourselves in, we are starting to see an abyss that lies in front of us for many issues, including that of human rights in this country. Through the haze of all of these crises, I heard a saying that stuck with me, it went something like: "All we can do is try to be on the right side of history." A lot of people can jump at the word 'right'. Who are we to say what's right and what's wrong, right? I can think of a plentitude of issues where there are grey areas. Where there are no direct rights or wrongs, no black and whites, no obvious answers. But when it comes to basic human rights, the picture becomes much clearer. The only way I can explain the issue of legitimizing gay marriage as having a clear "right" side is to examine what small portions of historical injustice I know of for comparison as well as discussing some things about my own experience of viewing the rights of my neighbors, my friends, my family, and my community being limited. So even though it is hard to listen in a time where we are all frazzled and where seeking and listening for hope through hopeless times has become the backdrop of our presidential election, I suggest that instead of convincing ourselves of one side or the other of this issue, that we instead take a moment to think about what we can control and to think about what we know. I will first discuss what we know based on our country's history and current experiences and then conclude with what we can control: our choice and more importantly our vote.

Let's think about what we know about gay rights. The civil rights movement jumpstarted lots of other movements including that of gay rights. If you look back to the 1960s civil rights movement, you can find plenty of literature written by individuals who opposed integration and supported segregation. They would cite all kinds of issues to legitimize their intolerance. Years later, we cannot deny that racism plays a role in this country but what we can say is that many more people look

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