The Oracle: Have We Become Jaded?
This week the Obama administration’s Heath and Human Services Department awarded $900,000 to SAGE, an organization dedicated to LGBT seniors. The grant is for developing a resource center to assist communities across the country in their efforts to provide services and support for older LGBTs. While the LGBT press and blogosphere covered the historic grant, I was struck by the lack of joy within the coverage. Can you imagine a Republican administration issuing such a grant? Hardly.
I have come to the conclusion that our expectations for the Obama administration are so high that they are almost unattainable. Not that Obama will not deliver on his promises, but when he does, it never seems to satisfy many in our community. Granted Obama has made many promises that we expect him to keep, but when something historic like the SAGE grant happens, it is being reported with the joy of an obituary. There is a saying that most sales people understand “under promise, over deliver.” Simply, setting the expectations of the customer at a lower level than the product will deliver, ensures a happy client. For example, if I promised to give you an iPod with 2GBs of storage, but delivered an iPod with 10GBs of storage, you would be overjoyed. Not hard to understand. Unfortuately, our community expectations are so high, I am not sure Obama will be able to deliver anything that will make us happy.
Okay, all of you yelling at the screen “repeal of DADT and DOMA! ENDA! Idiot, that will make us happy.” Well, I happen to believe that we have become so jaded, that even when the President moves our issues, he gets unjustly criticized. Just look at the coverage of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. I had lunch with a San Diego activist who is also a veteran. He said that the difference with the new administration concerning the repeal of DADT is palpapble. This from someone who has been fighting this issue for over a decade. The problem is not what the Obama admisnistration is doing to move LGBT rights forward, it is the artificial timeframe set by our community.
Obama made many promises to our community that he said he would get accomplished during his administration. He did not say they would be done in the first year or even the first three years. Obama said during his term. So, I hope we as a commuity can stop and smell the roses as we move toward equality. Happy Valentine’s Day. Here are a few roses from the Obama administration:
- Passage of the Matthew Shephard Hate Crimes Legislation
- Reversed an inexcusable US position by signing the UN Declaration on Gay Rights
- Extended benefits to some same-sex partners of federal employees
- Hired and appointed a record number of qualified LGBT Americans
- Worked with the State Department to lift the HIV Entry Ban by the end of 2009
- Endorsed the Baldwin-Lieberman bill, The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009, to provide domestic partnership benefits to federal employees
- Called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act
- Hosted the first LGBT Pride Month Celebration in White House history
- Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King
- Appointed six new LGBT DNC Members, including the first transgender DNC member in history
- Eliminated the Census Bureau policy that keeps same-sex marriages from being counted
- Called for end of DADT in 2010
Yes, our community has lost it. It’s sad to see how myopic we have become. The battle for civil right will not be an easy one. We need to be realistic and politically aware.