The Benevolent Thou

On a recent post at SodaHead.com, a contributor opined that “it hurts me to see my country turned into one of those barbaric nations that worship phallus; they have closed down roadside rest areas, beach side bath houses because of homosexual men soliciting young boys for sex; homosexuals having full blown sex in one of those public places; the male prostitution, the pornography, all the foul lewd lascivious behaviors they portray. I don’t want my nation celebrating filth and lasciviousness.”

First, it is not his nation, it is our nation. Why would any of us want to dictate to all other citizens how they should live their lives? This is a major difference, I think, between conservatives and liberals: conservatives think in terms of “me,” but liberals and progressives think in terms of “we.” Thus, it isn’t all about me, it is about us.

As to his points, however, I used to be a long haul professional driver, visiting many rest areas and public rest rooms in almost every contiguous state in the nation. I never once saw what he described, but I know some of it goes on. Republican Senator Larry Craig, for example, was caught soliciting another man not long ago. But it wasn’t Craig’s desire to have sex with another man in a public rest room that bothers me and it is not why I condemn him. I condemn him for his hypocrisy. He was a strong anti-gay advocate in Congress and obviously his marriage was only a front.

From http://www.ontheissues.org/se…

LarryCraig’s record:

Rated 0% by the HRC, indicating an anti-gay-rights stance, Amend Constitution to define traditional marriage,

Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage,

Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation,

Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation,

Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes,

Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.

If homosexuals such as Craig were not often successful soliciting in some rest areas, then they wouldn’t be doing it. Their success likely implies that there are many more men with a homosexual bent than most of us think. And likely there are far more LBGTs out there than we think.

The driving force behind the covert actions of some homosexuals is the religiously based the hatred a declining but significant portion of society has for them. Republican coverts, in particular, feel that the only way they can be successful in politics is to remain closeted and vote against their own conscience, and they are quite correct. Likely it is the same in many professions, especially “manly” sports like football.

I admire the courage of those who come out. They know they will become a lightning rod for bigotry, but at the same time they are making more folks realize just how common homosexuality truly is. Thus, society is beginning to turn another page on religious dogma.

Homosexuality, in and of itself, is not deviant. Some heterosexuals and homosexuals do deviate from their norm. Family values, however, should include love and understanding. Take a look and listen to this clip:

–Max is the author of The Empathy Imperative, an adventurous novel into the meaning of justice, of love, and of benevolence.