Declaration of Independence

I was in DC with my parents for (American) Thanksgiving this year. And though I had been to the city several times before, I had never made it to a monument save that presidential phallus that sits between the National Mall and the Reflecting Pool. It was my mom's idea to take one of the tour buses that ran around to all the memorials at night.

One of the first stops was the monument dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, the president credited with the creation of the Declaration of Independence. I was standing there peering up at the text beside my mom and said without thinking, "It's funny, how this statement is still being discussed today."

"How so?" she asked. I realised it was too late to take those last words back. I knew that not long ago, my parents' church had a petition speaking against gay marriage. I didn't know whether they had signed it, but I did know my parents were firm believers in the faith.

"Well right now it's the discussion of gay marriage here in the States, you know, with Proposition 8," I admitted. I cringed inside.

A moment of silence. Then, co-opting a poignant quote from Animal Farm, she said, "I guess here, some men are considered more equal than others."

CONSUMED: Thomas Jefferson Memorial; Washington, DC