A serious debate about the extremist “homosexual rights” agenda is often hindered by those who can’t handle any discussion about morality. Too many people, as professor and author Gertrude Himmelfarb once said, “are embarrassed even by the idea of passing moral judgments in private affairs” or of “such judgments in public affairs.”
Friends and Family
This is certainly the case when it comes to those who have a friend or family member living the homosexual lifestyle. The fear of offending anyone for any reason becomes especially acute when it hits close to home.
Tammy Bruce, a self-professed pro-choicer, feminist, and lesbian, wrote in her book “The Death of Right and Wrong,” that too many Americans are controlled “by what the media, and left-wing special-interest groups” tell them. They are:
“…struggling in a swamp of groupthink, fearful of offending and refusing to face the devastation wrought by the sexually compulsive.”
It’s time for more people to leave that swamp. Honesty about a disdain for homosexual behavior should be seen as an expression of concern and not as an offense – especially when it comes to friends and family.
All behavior isn’t equal. In a later column I’ll get into what the studies report about the physical and mental health consequences of living the homosexual lifestyle. For now, suffice it to say that disagreements about the appropriateness or efficacy of behaviors will always exist.
For example, some people want to have multiple spouses; others want multiple spouses of both genders. The preference for sexual relations with the same gender is no different – and as such, reasoning grown-ups have the right to make moral judgments about them.
If you prefer not to make such a judgment about homosexuality for fear of offending a friend or family member, you’re free to not do so. But your withholding judgment doesn’t alter the reality that we’re talking about behavior and thus morality.
There are some religious types who will make a judgment about me based on our difference of opinion regarding religious faith. I am not threatened by that judgment nor am I offended.
What I fail to understand is why so many of those who live the homosexual lifestyle are offended by my opinion. Their happiness shouldn’t depend upon my approval, yet they label any negative evaluation on my part as “hatred” or “bigotry” or my personal favorite, “homophobia.”
A phobia is an irrational fear, by the way. Reasoned disagreement and disapproval based on social science research, the negative health consequences, and at times religious belief is not a phobia. I argue that the real phobia is that of moralityphobia.
It’s quite possible for those who disagree about morality to be civil and to actually get along. Serious disagreement doesn’t even have to stand in the way of love and friendship. The easily offended or those fearful of offending should all just get over it.
Children
If you haven’t yet bought Tammy Bruce’s book “The Death of Right and Wrong,” you should. In it, Ms. Bruce wrote:
“I believe this grab for children by sexually confused adults represents the most serious problem facing our culture today.”
Later in the book she wrote:
“For people whose entire identity and reason to live is based in their sexuality, what do they need to do in order to fit comfortably into our society? They must work to sexualize every part of society—and, as every good marketer knows, that effort must begin with children.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) describes itself as ‘the leading national organization fighting to end anti-gay bias in K-12 schools.’ This organization, which cloaks itself in a mantra about ‘tolerance’ and ‘understanding,’ is implementing programs in public schools that are aimed at nothing less than sexualizing your children.”
America’s public schools by and large do a lousy job of educating our young people, but rather than working on improving on their primary task, they launch into the ongoing culture debate. We pay them to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, history and science, not to seek to indoctrinate kids with an extremist social agenda. Yet there are hundreds of “Gay-Straight Alliance” clubs on high school campuses across the country.
GLSEN has even entered the debate over school choice, since vouchers undermine “efforts to ensure the safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students.” (Quote taken by Tammy Bruce from the GLSEN website.)
Ms. Bruce’s reaction says it nicely:
“Please. The only thing it undermines is GLSEN’s ability to infiltrate schools with their propaganda… That’s another fantastic reason to support school vouchers—to get these parasites out of schools and away from children.”
Under a subheading “A Time for Action,” Ms. Bruce includes this:
“Remove your child from any school that allows a sexual message to be presented. It will most likely be presented under the guise of tolerance or preventing the spread of disease. Don’t be fooled.”
GLSEN has, Bruce says, “appointed themselves as your children’s moral tutor.” She also wrote “Freedom demands a constant reassertion of values. The absence of righteous anger can be devastating to our culture.”
Another of Bruce’s action points is:
“Realize that wanting to be your own child’s moral tutor does not make you a homophobe” and that you shouldn’t be “silenced.”
I couldn’t agree more. Silence on the part of too many people for too long has led to the situation we face today. The good news is that more people are waking up and speaking out.