by Sondra Deuber

Created on: January 24, 2009

Barack Obama's sweeping victory in his recent run for the presidency demonstrated clearly that, where civil rights and equality are concerned, the United States has come a long way in the last forty or fifty years. It also clearly demonstrated that there are still plenty of bigots out there, anxious to make themselves heard, and unflagging in their desire to transform America into a nation of exclusively white, Christian citizens.

In addition to those of us who have always been colorblind, much of the credit for Obama's election goes to the younger generation: they have grown up in integrated schools, with friends and team mates of every color, ethnic background, and county of origin. And where some discomfort remains, they were able to put it aside in their excitement over a historical generational change, a new kind of government, and the hope for the better future that Obama
offers.

My generation's change happened when John F. Kennedy was elected. Although we lacked the technology to create the kind of campaign we've
seen recently, it was no less of a victory for those of us who were definitely ready to elect someone new and exciting who also promised change for our generation. In Kennedy's time, the big discrimination issue was his religion: he was a Catholic. This country had never elected a Catholic president and there were plenty of people who believed it would be dangerous to do so.

While we have made progress in our acceptance of gays, there are still massive obstacles to electing anyone who is openly gay. A major obstacle, of course, is the message from so many religious organizations: being gay is an abomination; it is a life-style choice that can be "fixed" by anyone who wants to be saved; and other similar unproven theories about the causes of alternate gender preferences.

I spent about seventy-five percent of my time for the first fifty years of my life participating in the performing arts, usually as an amateur, occasionally earning a small stipend for semi-professional participation. Back in those days, all gays were still in the closet. If an employer had even a suspicion that an employee was gay, the employee would probably be terminated immediately. The only place gays felt free to temporarily leave the closet was in the arts.

As a straight female, I was happy to find as many straight males as gay men in theater, dance, and other arts. In time, the gay men in the theaters where I spent most of my time came to trust me, and many of my friends were

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