Pennsylvania, Same-Sex Marriage, and the Technology that made it happen (maybe)
I was going to put up my post about social media and self worth today, but something important happened.
Today Pennsylvania officially allows same-sex marriage. I was actually surprised by this, as I didn’t think my home state was all that progressive. It makes sense though, and in fact it would have made even less sense for the marriage ban to be struck down, as Pennsylvania is the last of the Northeastern states to begin to allow same-sex marriage.
I wondered if technology might have a place in the progressive measures that many states are taking. I mean, it’s not all that radical to allow two people to marry. But did social media have a part in spreading the message faster? In changing people’s minds faster? After all, just twenty years ago most people opposed allowing same-sex marriage. Today, support for marriage equality is found in a large majority of the population.
What happened in these past twenty years that changed our minds? I want to say that social media did play a part in spreading the message of equality; it got the message to more people more quickly. It spread arguments in favor; it made people think about it. It made people think about it in a way that wasn’t just brought about by seeing protesters on TV or protesters blockading the streets. The message came to people through the internet, where they could read articles and watch videos at their leisure. An intellectual side to the debate was made more accessible than it would have been in years past, when messages spread much more slowly, and different ideas and viewpoints were not as widely available as they are now.
Social change happens when information spreads and new ideas are introduced. It is accelerated when our access to information and ideas is greater and faster. Don’t underestimate the power of technology to instill great change. It instills change not just in the way we communicate, but in the way we see each other. In having greater access to other people, we have greater access to their ideas, their emotions, and their humanity. Maybe people who were opposed to same-sex marriage saw the humanity in people in same-sex relationships. That is a wonderful thing, and I hope it continues happening for other issues as well. In realizing their humanity, we also realized that maybe just because we don’t understand other people’s lives doesn’t give us reason to take away their rights. As the judge who struck down the ban said, “that same-sex marriage causes discomfort in some does not make its prohibition constitutional.”
Technology is making more people aware of the differences in other societies and the differences within their own society. As technology advances, our world gets smaller and maybe we’re forced to understand each other, or remain stagnant.
Tomorrow I will put up my original post on Social Media, but this is breaking news!
Be amazing,
Phaera