The rise of equality

With the Supreme Court's decision to not hear cases regarding gay marriage, it is only a matter of time before regressive state laws are overturned and everyone in America enjoys equal rights to marry the person they love.  It is amazing to me how fast the change has been from a barely whispered longing to full out protest to public weddings.  I would guess the change flows from the fact everyone knows someone or is related to someone who is gay.  It is not a lifestyle choice and people who through no fault of their own are attracted to others of the same sex deserve the same privileges and protections the rest of us take for granted.  Unfortunately, although everyone knows brown and black and yellow people, the same march toward equality is not so obvious.  There is an atavistic terror of the "other" lurking in almost everyone.  This deeply rooted bias was probably once a survival trait, but in a global culture it is distinctly out of step.  The quicker we integrate everyone into society as equals the better off our culture will be.  I hope when my granddaughter is my age we will be measurably closer to that goal.