Rachel Krott Marriage Equality: An American Issue If one follows a rainbow all the way until the end,

a pot of gold is said to be waiting on the other side. As the rainbow symbolizes the gay community, the pot of gold at the end of one of many rainbows signifies the legalization of same-sex marriage. However, the journey is not always easy as leprechauns often block the way. In 2009, Vermont started the journey across the rainbow for same-sex couples as the state legislature overrode the Governors veto and passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. As other states began proposing legislation in order to support same-sex marriage, The Four 2012 started its own campaign in order to help pass these ballots in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington. This campaign was widely publicized through an advertisement starring well-known musician Bruce Springsteen. Same-sex marriage has been categorized as a black-and-white issue for many years with most people decisively on one end of the spectrum or the other. Therefore, the campaign must choose which audience to reach out to. Should the campaign address the opposition and persuade them to join the cause? Or should the campaign stick to its already established supporters of same-sex marriage and urge them to shout louder and be more active? In order to target all audiences, the campaign morphs the black-and-white issue of same-sex marriage into a red, white, and blue issue of patriotism. To be an American is essentially to be linked to the red, white, and blue of the American flag. Through the use of these colors, the advertisement is able to target every American citizen before they even have a chance to read what is on the advertisement. The red, white, and blue act like a rip current hopelessly pulling bystanders in and giving them no opportunity to break loose until they are immersed in the actual content of the advertisement. Regardless of whether the reader supports gay marriage or not, the colors evoke the patriotism and love within Americans

which cannot be denied. Same-sex marriage is slowly transforming from a political issue that separates Americans to a patriotic issue that unites Americans. Where is Uncle Sam to further entice Americans into joining the cause? He may not be dressed in red, white, and blue all the time or have a glistening white beard, but Bruce Springsteen serves as the modern day Uncle Sam for the campaign. Over the past forty years, Springsteen has produced many hits and worked his way up the ladder into the hearts of Americans nationwide. As a citizen of New Jersey, I would be exiled if I did not love Bruce Springsteens music and him as a person; this feeling similarly exists throughout the entire United States. Springsteens breakthrough hit, Born in the USA, explains his role as the symbol of being American. Despite the song being a not-so-subtle attack on the treatment of Vietnam War Veterans, Americans choose to take the title at face value. Furthermore, it is associated with pride in being an American and Springsteen becomes as synonymous with patriotism as the red, white, and blue of the flag. Therefore, using Bruce as the face of the advertisement rather than the relatively unknown campaign name The Four adds ethos to the cause. The Four is not interested in its own credibility; rather, it is interested only in garnering support for and establishing credibility for same-sex marriage. Aside from being a major celebrity, Bruce Springsteen has been a strong, outspoken advocate for the LGBT community for quite a while. He believes in the fight for same-sex marriage and because he has earned a reputation as a respectable, valued celebrity, an audience feels his views are worth listening to. Also, Springsteens title as The Boss commands the eye through its increased size and position at the top of the advertisement. It establishes Springsteen as a tough, male figure, which works to discredit the idea that men who are gay or support the gay movement are weak and feminine. The macho male audience that

would have once ignored the campaign is now able to relate to Springsteen and become involved in the cause without fear of the usual stereotypes. People want to listen to Bruce and he, coupled with the red, white, and blue, serves as The Ties That Bind the audience to the advertisement initially. How does one reverse an ideology, though, that has been decisively black for so many years? Mostly due to religious influences, prevailing ideologies label homosexuality as wrong and unnatural. Religious scriptures such as the Bible describe marriage as the union of a man and woman for the main purpose of reproduction; therefore, under this ideology, same-sex marriage cannot truly be categorized as marriage at all. Comments made by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett emphasize this ideology. Corbett likened same-sex marriage to the marriage of a brother and sister after his lawyers had inappropriately compared it to the marriage of young children. Corbett claimed that his lawyers were out of line in making this analogy, yet he considers comparing gay marriage to incest appropriate. Changing the colors of this ideology to red, white, and blue starts with a document that no American can deny: the Constitution. After fighting against the British in the Revolutionary War and winning independence, our founding fathers established the commonplace that every citizen is treated equally under the law. Taking this phrase from the Constitution, the advertisement utilizes this commonplace to starkly contrast the American ideology and to evoke patriotism within American citizens just as the red, white, and blue originally did. Despite the belief that same-sex marriage is wrong, the Constitution specifically states that all men are created equal under the law. How then could a government rightfully deny same-sex couples the chance to enter into the union of marriage legally? If straight men and women can legally marry, wouldnt equality under the law make same-sex marriage legal as well? Slowly, the arguments

against same-sex marriage are being unraveled by the campaign and same-sex marriage is becoming an issue of Americanism. Further adding onto the commonplace of equality under the law is an allusion to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The battle to legalize same-sex marriage is emphasized as a civil rights issue, which immediately transports the reader back in history to a time of similar intolerance towards African Americans. The struggle for equality was never easy during the Civil Rights Movement; people risked their lives in order to change the moral views of many Americans. Same-sex marriage is a civil rights issue as much as African American equality was, and this advertisement is pushing to help the same-sex marriage campaign reach the same height as the Civil Rights Movement: success. As The Four states, we have never won one of these votes for the people. African Americans barely, if ever, won before they battled in the Civil Rights Movement, and the advertisement is calling upon American citizens to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors to right a wrong in voting to legalize same-sex marriage. If Bruce Springsteen surrounded by red, white, and blue spouting commonplaces about equality under the law and alluding to the Civil Rights Movement did not commit the audience to the cause, the pathos intertwined into the message certainly will. In big, blue letters, lesbians and gays are referred to as our brothers and sisters. Within America, we are all one big family. Every citizen is tied to one another in a sense of kinship through the colors of the flag and the patriotism that runs through our blood. This pathos instills compassion and love in the hearts of Americans as the ties of family are extremely close and should never be broken. With that in mind, who could ever turn their back on a brother or sister in need? One must be completely heartless to leave a family member stranded on the side of the road on an icy December night. Supporters of same-sex marriage are trudging through a blizzard of hurled insults and vetoed

bills, and it is the duty of every citizen to offer a helping hand and possibly a hot cup of cocoa in order to relieve the hardships that are being battled. In offering a helping hand, Americans are called to be active instead of watching from the sidelines. As the campaign works to paint same-sex marriage as an American rather than political issue, this call to action speaks to the patriotism in every Americans heart. However, seeming to understand that ideologies are resistant to change, especially those that have existed for hundreds of years, the last line provides a fallback to ensure that at least one group of people will take action. Instead of calling to every American citizen, Springsteen specifically urges those who already support the cause to let their voices be heard now. All of the rhetoric resonates stronger in the minds of those who already support same-sex marriage and, therefore, they are more likely to act instead of staying silent. It is wishful thinking to believe that an ideology that has survived for hundreds of years can be disintegrated using one advertisement. Sadly, no matter how rhetorically strong the arguments may be, belief preservation is a phenomenon that is a well-trained competitor and will not be knocked out in the first round. Therefore, if one cannot change the minds of others, then one must take up arms alone, backed by the Constitution, Bruce Springsteen, and the American colors to make a difference. Somewhere down the line others will see the errors of their thinking and join the American cause that this campaign portrays same-sex marriage as; when this happens, the leprechauns will be outnumbered and the pot of gold can be acquired once and for all.