Lessons from the Gay Marriage Movement

destructive) mood of the 1960s and 70s eventually gave way to the pro-family and pro-community spirit of the 1990s. While the 1990s were not without its problems, it represents the high watermark of social cohesion in recent decades, and it serves as a recent enough historical beacon that we can be inspired by. If things could turn around like that once, they could turn around like that again. The best days of the Western Enlightenment project are still ahead of us.

But we must also remember what led to the end of that golden period: the events of the 2000s. Where the 1990s was open-minded enough to embrace gradual adaptive change, the 2000s saw Western society become much more closeminded and reactionary, largely as a result of the political mood set by the Bush administration. During the 2000s, if you supported gay marriage you were against family values. If you opposed the Iraq War you were against American values. The building frustration during this reactionary period eventually led to momentum for culturally radical ideas in the following decade. The lesson is that we shouldn't stray into a generally reactionary mood, because it can end up destroying everything.

Lessons from the Gay Marriage Movement

A society that is inclusive, compassionate, open-minded and hopeful about the future should work towards the inclusion of everyone. Of course, the recent critical theory-influenced

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attempts at 'inclusion' are clearly not the way to go. Inflammatory and divisive attitudes, for example calling for the 'cancellation' of straight white men in certain Hollywood roles, as if it is all a zero-sum game, should be rightly condemned. Instead, the general aim should be to integrate minorities into our great existing social institutions, as much as possible. Furthermore, if there is any reform to pursue, it should be done in an inclusive way, that sincerely deals with the concerns of as many people as possible, and aims to bring as many people along as possible during the process.

The movement to legalize gay marriage has been very successful in the past two decades, resulting in the successful legalization of gay marriage in all major Western countries except Italy and Switzerland as of this writing, and with relatively little backlash in most countries. Polls in multiple Western countries have shown that support for gay marriage is now over 60%, a figure that has actually been confirmed by referendum in Ireland and Australia. There are several important reasons for the success of this movement: firstly, it never pit gay people against mainstream society. Instead, it was all about extending a fundamental pillar of society to a previously excluded population. It was all about making mainstream society better, rather than tearing it apart. Secondly, the leaders of the movement generally encouraged rational debate over the issue. There was a sincere attempt to deal with concerns from multiple quarters of society. There was no dismissing concerns by calling people 'privileged'. Finally, it was a constructive movement, rather than a destructive movement. It aimed to build something

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