ELI FENYES I It's not "all right" Monday, May 23, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com JEFF ZUSCHLAG E-MAIL JEFF AT JEFFDZ@UMICH.EDU naldTruo to No 000 better not dkappeont Longsr Run fooPresident jnmecnst, Sooth A ,yG f I still haven't seen the movie "The Kids Are All Right", which, knowing me, is kind of surprising. I'm involved with the Spectrum Center. I give any vaguely homo- phobic sentence a cold retort. Rainbow is my favorite color. But I can't get excited about this movie - in fact, it kind of frustrates me. This movie makes me react the same way I did with the momen- tous repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" in December 2010 - first: "Great, what took so long?", followed by: "This doesn't change everything." Despite Julianne Moore cud- dling with a woman on screen and Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Led- ger winning MTV's "Best Kiss" award for "Brokeback Mountain", who can actually call Hollywood - let alone America - gay friend- ly? Whenever a movie comes out featuring a gay couple, everyone around me seems to celebrate - "Look! Gays on the big screen! It's the end of homophobia!" Of course, these blockbuster films, along with others such as "A Single Man" and "Milk" are a huge step in the direction of making people more comfortable with homosex- uality. But sometimes these mov- ies seem commercial rather than genuine, with viewers bragging about their tolerance. Hollywood still manufactures gender roles up the wazoo, still ignores bisexual- ity, transsexuality and BDSM, still makes it seem like the only "nor- mal" is heterosexuality. And that's why I'm annoyed with people giv- ing a huge "Hoorah!" when mov- ies like "The Kids Are All Right" come out (pun intended) - we're only at the tip of the iceberg. We're only seeing movies that don't make people too uncomfortable. It's a start. It's not the end. Homosexuality is no longer classified in the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual of Mental Disor- ders as a mental illness, as it used to be. Organizations for LGBTQ teens and students exist, making it 1 1 easier to come out and meet simi- larly identified people, which is a great new resource. Lady Gaga is breaking ground, exploring new frontiers of bringing realistic sex- uality into the media. But what else can be done to make LGBTQ identities as mainstream as het- erosexuality? What new argu- ments can be made? I'm worried that recent films with gay protago- nists only try to be a band-aid for deep problems of intolerance, and that they're only preaching to the choir. Homophobia and prejudice against people identifying as queer has a long history in America and in the rest of the world, and just like racism and sexism, it won't just end with a few movies and songs. We need education, we need conversation and we need it to be okay for people of the same gender to walk down the street holding hands. So cheers, Hollywood, for tak- ing another step towards sexual- ity equality. Keep going. I dare you to eliminate fear and preju- dice and to stop making it seem like women must have long hair to be considered sexy, or that guys have to dress like guys. I dare you to make me less nervous about posting my name on this article. I dare you to make it not "gay" to talk about queer rights. Because seriously, it's time. I promise to see "The Kids Are All Right" if Hollywood makes a movie version of "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugen- ides, or if they feature a rainbow flag in "Transformers 3". I might even promise to see "We Now Pro- nounce You Chuck and Larry" if they make a movie where they at least mention bisexuality, or one where a girl wears a tux to a wed- ding. Hollywood definitely has the power to change minds and opin- ions, to make people more open and accepting. I want to see this in action, and I want to see it soon. Eli Fenyes is an LSA sophomore. Democracy 2.0 2011 has been a year of unri- valed pro-democracy activ- ism around the world. The Arab Spring, chock-full of revolution, governmental change, war and protest ; has altered the dynamics of the region for- JONATHAN ever. Whether AYLWARD its role has been overempha- sized or not, relatively recent developments in technology have played an unde- niable role in aiding organization and communication among activ- ists. The world is craving democ- racy and technology is providing a means of attaining it. So what? This is the U.S. We've already got democracy, right? In the last presidential elec- tion, we had one of the largest voter turnouts in the history of our nation at less than 60%. That means more than a third of the country's eligible voters stayed home. During non-presidential elections, less than 40% of eli- gible voters turn out on aver- age. That leaves a glaringly large portion of the population com- pletely outside of the democratic process that we so cherish. Could it be possible that people are just content with how things are and don't see a need to vote? Accord- ing to a Pew Research Poll from last year, only 29% of Americans are satisfied with the state of the nation. The average American is not happy and by not voting is either apathetic, helpless or pro- testing. These are systemic prob- lems. It is time to reconsider and revamp our democracy. I remember being confused in my high school history class when the topic of the founding fathers and democracy was broached. Democracy was a pillar of Ameri- can freedom and a major rallying point as the colonialists garnered support to break free from the British. When the constitution was drafted, however, the most obvious and pure form of democ- racywas avoided - peopleweren't directly voting on legislation themselves or actually participat- ing directly in the government, but instead were electing officials every two to four years to do it for them. I was told that this was to protect against the tyranny of the majority. I thought then, and still believe, that the whole point of a democracy is to gauge and enact the prevalent opinion of a society; the majority trumps the minority. This is its most endearing trait. Why not let the people decide, instead of officials who by their very nature have personal inter- ests and only partially represent the electorate? Amid an era with public senti- ment ripe with cynicism and apa- thy towards government, there is no better time to turn to a trusted remedy: enhanced democracy. The youth of the Middle East and North Africa have taken the first step in coupling technol- ogy and democracy in the public consciousness. Everyone seems to love investing our technologi- cal prowess towards the creation of the perfect iPod or the most realistic video game. What no one seems to give much attention to is the idea of improving our democ- racy with technology. The poten- tial technological applications toward strengthening democracy are boundless if only desire and ingenuity were present. Here's an idea: every Ameri- can over the age of eighteen is given a polling device. To raise an issue for state vote, a certain amount of signatures on a peti- tion must be reached - these could be entered, searched and signed via the device. The elec- torate of the state would then directly vote on it through their voting devices on a designated day. This proposal is really just a technologically enhanced version of the current citizen-sponsored ballot initiative, nothing too radi- cal, just a simple improvement. People would have more agency over the factors that affect their lives, and the democratic process would undoubtedly be improved. More exciting than anything is the incredible ease with which normal citizens could more easily enact positive change. Our diluted government can be purified. Unless your last name is Mubarak or Gaddafi, you are probably in agreement that democracy is essential to a free society. Surely there are obstacles on the way to achieving a truly democratic state, but technologi- cal pragmatism is no longer one of them. For progress to be made, a willingness to accept the fact that our nation does not possess an inherently perfect form of democ- racy is essential. Yes, our diluted democracy works, but we can always purify it. Our peers in the Middle East started something incredible when they decided to use Facebook for something more than self-obsession. We should take note and consider how we want to use technology to shape our world. To get this issue onto the public radar, discussions need to start now on how we can best use technology to benefit civics in our country. Jonathan Aylward can be reached at jaylward@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu.