America was founded off of two diametrically opposed ideas, freedom and repression. People came to America to free themselves of restrictions and express their different beliefs and thoughts in a way that they wanted. At the same time, these views and beliefs would be used to put down other groups in the name of promoting their own.

We are at a crossroads in America. Theoretically, if things were to shift within the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade could be overturned, not to mention President Bush wants to re-appoint Dr. David Hager to the FDA’s Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee.

According to Planned Parenthood, “Dr. Hager co-authored a book that recommends scriptural passages and prayers for problems like headaches and premenstrual syndrome, and he is widely known to be opposed to prescribing contraceptives for unmarried women.” How can we let these restrictive ideas send America back to the dark ages? I thought that science had grown out of needing holy water, incense, and rosary beads.

We are supposed to have a separation of church and state. Is this gray area growing? We have a society that has made a lot of advances in freedom, yet is still putting down marginalized groups.

In a recent op-ed published in this newspaper, the author described San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom as, “a rogue, criminal mayor” because of his stance on legalizing gay marriage. Newsom is definitely a rogue, but not a criminal. Eventually the world needs to grow up and realize that love should not be restricted to one archetype.

Just because someone is homosexual, polyamorous, or whatever else the “silent majority” would consider a bunch of freaks, it doesn’t mean that those people are any less human or American than anyone else. Love is something that transcends gender and the archaic archetypes within our society. So, what’s next? A flashback to Hitler where Americans who aren’t “normal” have to wear pink triangles? Have we forgotten the teachings of Martin Luther King? Or how about the Bible quote of, “Love your neighbor as yourself?”

America is a diverse nation, and the nation needs to rally and preserve its diversity, not return to a world where women and marginalized groups are in danger of being run back underground or run out of the country because of fear. Just because some people choose to color outside the box, doesn’t mean that they aren’t being safe, sane and consensual in their activities. They deserve respect.