Birds on the Brain

Words matter. Every action that changes the world started with someone saying or writing words, often lots and lots of words. The President is a moral leader as well as a legal one, and his opinion matters. Not everything in this world is a concrete object to hold on to or a material gain. Symbols matter. Words matter. Obama taking this stance sends the signal that no number of polls could, which is that supporting gay marriage is the mainstream position now. That will help get things moving in a policy way. Not directly, but by helping change the conversation, and making it harder for bigots to plea the moral high ground. In fact, as soon as this was announced, Shep Smith on Fox News straight up said that liberals have the moral high ground on this. Belief precedes policy. Don’t ever forget that, even if doing so makes you feel like a rebel and iconoclast.