It's the little things......

Wedding bells are chiming!

"We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
-MLK Jr.

Jonathan Chapman / Columnist

I met him at school. We had coffee, then lunch. Things got more serious. Soon he had graduated. So had I. It was time for me to move on to seminary. That's when we decided to take the plunge. That's when we decided to get married.

After months of planning and excitement, the big day came. It was autumn. We had decided to have it in the mountains. A soft breeze spread the sun and its joy-warmth around all those who had gathered for the service. The leaves that painted the mountains flooded together, surging in vibrant hues of color.

The white, clapboard church with its sweet steeple was nestled in the side of a mountain called Hallelujah Acres. The church was decorated with boughs of the jewel-toned colors as golden mums, burgundy roses and violet blooms lined the aisles, marking each pew and crowning the alter.

A long-time friend of the family was there to marry us as relatives and dear friends from childhood and college looked on.

We stood at the back of the church, clasping hands and looking at one another. Our eyes met. Through the simple look at one another, we were filled with the sense that "you are the one." We took the first step down the aisle.

That's where I normally wake up. I'm not exactly sure why I can never get beyond that point. Perhaps it is because I seem to remind myself (even in sleep) that right now, marriage recognized by the state is something I don't have the pleasure of participating in.

This week, Elon students participated in the Day of Silencea national day in which students take vows of silence to remember those who have been silenced or who are being silenced because of who they are.

The reaches of silence stretch far beyond its immediate implications.

The silence that people forcibly comply with is the silence that legitimizes unequal rights under the law. It is the silence that legitimizes hatred. It is the silence that legitimizes inferiority.

I'm hardly ever silent (as I'm sure many of you know), but right now, my love is being silenced by the government.

Think of all the people in your life who are being silenced. What will you do to end their hurt, their pain, their inferiority? What will you do to end their silence?

Contact Jonathan Chapman at opinions@elon.edu or 278-7247.