The civil rights movement was a trying time for our country.  During the turbulent decades from the ’50s through the ’80s (with some aftershock, of course) our country went through sociological changes involving sex, religion and race.
Although my time on this earth allows me to only speak from secondary evidence on this movement, I have no doubt in my heart we, as Americans, recognized the hand dealt to us.
And much like Andy Dufresne, we came out on the other side covered in the muck of injustice but breathing the free, equal air that was meant for our country. 
My tears go with those who suffered the misfortunes and atrocities during and before these times, but these tears of empathy are replaced with tears of pride for my nation. 
The feminist movement has seen much success recently but still faces hardships, as females are forced with work place discrimination. If the twice election of Barack Obama (or the release of “Django”) hasn’t shown the tremendous strides we have made on the racial front, I don’t know what further evidence is needed to show success.
However, racism still lives in pockets of this country.  Even with these successes, the civil rights train hasn’t stopped; it is a continuous movement in our country that makes stops at race and sex, but its destination is undetermined by the present and fueled by new frontiers. The frontier we face now is one of orientation.
Although the LGBT Social Movement (known informally as Gay Rights) has been on public scene since the ’70s, there are still injustices and discriminations in our country and, more importantly, our minds and morals toward gays. 
In a time when we can send rovers to Mars, contemplate mining asteroids for raw materials, and spend billions on a 10-year goal to map the human brain, I find it hard to believe there are many places in our country where freedom is still stifled and two people who are inextricably in love cannot be together by law. 
Just as individuals’ rights and laws should be equitable, so should it between couples. Thankfully there have been recent health care initiatives to equalize these differences. 
Notice that this is law we are talking about; that is only the first hurdle. Law is a small first hurdle compared to the societal ones that the oppressed must overcome to gain respect. It is hard enough as it takes years of effort, suffering and massive amounts of positive influence to sway a vote.
However, just because there is a law does not mean the job is done. The 13th Amendment was passed in 1865, but equality of race didn’t take off until a century later.  The next change comes in the minds of everyday humans. We have to change the way we see people if our way is skewed. Even though adoption is legal for same sex-couples, it is no doubt much harder for them to be approved.  This shows that even though one thing is legal it isn’t yet equal. 
Some of my great friends are of another orientation and the only thing I can say of them is they are just as human, just as perfect and just as flawed as I am. I care for them the same way as I would any other person I would come in contact. 
I’m sad that I know people who don’t see all of our different shades as coming from the same source.
I am not advocating you seek out the nearest Gay-Straight Alliance but that you see the good in someone before you see the perceivably bad.
Before I leave this article I want you to ask yourself this, “What is it about the way North Korea operates as a country that makes me uncomfortable?” I don’t doubt that civil injustice and oppression are going to answer this.
That is because you are American and within all of us (I wish it were the world but that is simply not the case) is an indelible truth of equality.  It is what makes us American. That is a huge tenet our county was founded on and even written in our Declaration of Independence.
We must continue to foster this sense of equality with those we encounter and influence in our lives through our actions. 
As the racial civil rights movement testified that you cannot stop an idea from changing the world, we must take the same approach to our current issues and push for further equality.