Last month George Bush renewed his support for the Defense of Marriage Amendment to the Constitution—support that we all know only exists because of his sagging poll numbers and the upcoming midterm elections. Once again gay people are the scapegoat, and frankly, I’m sick of it. Isn’t it about time for another revolution?

The word "revolution" implies a complete or radical change. It also refers to cyclical movement. Back in the 60s there was much talk of revolution—as there frequently is among the young—but then life kicked in and the baby boomers get caught up in the same things that always seem to capture the human attention: comfort, money, security, family, fear of ridicule and failure, the desire to win, power. In our desire for the good life—which is not a bad thing in itself—we grew, like generations before us, more rigid, more afraid of change, more conservative. We grew up.

The passage of life and time are often represented as a circle. I think we can see it as series of circles—like a spring or a slinky—a continuous line of parallel circles. That would imply, it seems, that in the end (of our lives and of our generation) that we would return to a place not far from where we began. I think that means that real change—generational change—is much slower than most of us would like to see. Maybe that means that the revolution we talked about as young people really takes the course of our whole lives and its real result will not be visible until long after we have come and gone. Maybe that means that the real revolutionary work of our lives and our generation is not behind us, but still ahead.

Our generation—and I use that word very broadly—is the first one to really come out of the closet. In the past, gay people created artificial lives to hide their real ones. Some people still do. Some people still live partially out of the closet—keeping one foot in the door so it will not close behind them. Most of us, I think, believe that the occasional coming out, the occasional gay pride march, the occasional protest is enough. But is it?

Most of my adult life I have believed that change was coming. I still do, I suppose. But change will only come if we don’t give up, if we refuse to allow ourselves to be the scapegoat for all the ills in the world. Sometimes all I think I want is to retire quietly with Steve and our dog Pete to a quiet little place where no one will bother us. Yet somehow, in the back of my mind I know that I can’t give up and that our quiet retirement will also have to be a defiant one. Our country does not want to acknowledge the importance of our relationship. It does not want to treat us as equal citizens. It is so afraid of our relationship that some of our leaders want to write discrimination and bias into the very fabric of our Constitution. I know that wherever we go and whatever we do in our lives, we will have to fight for equality, we will have to stand up to those who want us to remain hidden and unrecognized. I know that from nursing home to hospital, from insurance claims to social security and retirement benefits we will be treated differently.

Most importantly, I believe with all my heart that the revolution is far more than merely a gay/straight one. All over the world clashing cultures, rival religions, and opposing viewpoints pit human against human. Our leaders play upon the deep fears of their people as a means of control. Only when we all rise above our differences and truly celebrate human diversity will we be capable of transforming the world and our relationship to it.

At the bottom of the my 2006 Sundance painting, a spectrum of color contains a line of symbols—male, female, Christian, Islamic, Jewish, gay and others—that represent our differences and recognizes that they are indeed what make up the colors in the human rainbow. The painting is full of flower-like shapes composed of many heart shaped petals. Change will come when we humans stop being afraid of one another, when we learn to share our hearts with one another, and when we learn to respect and honor the differences that make us who we are.

Revolution is a constant and ongoing part of life, but we cannot assume that someone else will take care of it for us. We still have work to do.

Viva la Revolution!

Murray Archibald is an artist and President of the Board of Directors of CAMP Rehoboth.

Call For Volunteers
CAMP Rehoboth is looking for volunteers willing to be trained for recurring and specific jobs, including grounds upkeep (courtyard sweeping, watering flowers, and light maintenance) and office assistants—especially for after hours and weekends. 302-227-5620.

Thank You to the following CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Volunteers for the period June 17-June 30
Bill Alldredge
Jane Blue
Tony Burns
Frankie Chan
Charlie Lee
Bonnie Quesenberry
Diana Layfield
Chris Sampson
Kim Schoenle
Harvey Sharpe
Guillermo Silveiro
Evie Simmons
Sandra Skidmore
Barb Thompson
Louisa Watrel
Gary Webb
Marc Anthony Worosilo