I read this essay and some of James' other essays. I daresay, I feel we would get along well. I do not pretend to understand homosexuality. It has been with us throughout the history of man. Sometimes it is celebrated. Sometimes it is ostracized. Is there a genetic basis or is it culturally and societally determined? Is it some of both? …
I read this essay and some of James' other essays. I daresay, I feel we would get along well. I do not pretend to understand homosexuality. It has been with us throughout the history of man. Sometimes it is celebrated. Sometimes it is ostracized. Is there a genetic basis or is it culturally and societally determined? Is it some of both? I don't know or particularly care. I was raised to see every individual as a child of God, precious in His eyes (I use the masculine pronoun out of convention), and deserving of respect and fair treatment. I have colleagues, friends, and family members who are gay. All are valued. There is something about being gay that I cannot identify that is profoundly different. The defining characteristic of gayness, same sex attraction, is foreign to me and, frankly, distasteful, such that I cannot comprehend how anyone would feel this attraction and be unable to feel attracted to a woman (or vice versa). I have male friends who I love as brothers and have never felt the slightest sexual attraction toward any of them. Fine. There is room for everyone and, ultimately, God judges us; we are not to be the judges lest we some day be judged according to the standards we used to judge others. That said, I am no fan of an entire month to celebrate pride and especially since it seems most of the celebrating is carried on by the extreme elements of the LGBTQ++++ community. The concept of a cohesive LGBTQ++++ "family" is a logical incoherence. Those who claim to be trans, queer, non-binary, or whatever else is out there are not in lockstep with the gay community. The essence of the argument of gay people, as I understand it, is that this is not a choice. It is built into their nature just as heterosexuality is integral to the nature of 95%+ of humanity. It is also binary. Gay men are men, and gay women are women. None claims to be something else entirely. The others in the LGBTQ++++ make the exact opposite claim- binary sex does not exist in reality; it is a construct and you are whatever you say you are and the rest of the world had darn well better accept that and even celebrate that. This I cannot accept. Why does LGBTQ++++ (the pluses just seem to be increasing to cover more and more aberrations under the same umbrella) have to have an entire month of celebration? This seems excessive overcorrection by any standard. Where does it end? Pride? While I agree with James that there are good reasons for the gay community to be proud of their successes, any good thing can become too much. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins and the saying "pride goeth before a fall" is a caution against elevating pride too high. Enough with a month long bacchanalia celebrating pride at being gay, queer, or whatever. Which brings me to the pride flag. Gilbert Baker's original flag did not represent any racial or sexual orientation/gender (the pink stripe represented sex and love, not gender identity). The progressive pride flag includes new stripes- black, brown, and light blue- representing trans, queers, and races. Rather than a uniting force, has become a divisive force to those who disagree with the aggressive queer/non-binary agenda to overturn traditional binary sex. A little pride goes a long way......................
I read this essay and some of James' other essays. I daresay, I feel we would get along well. I do not pretend to understand homosexuality. It has been with us throughout the history of man. Sometimes it is celebrated. Sometimes it is ostracized. Is there a genetic basis or is it culturally and societally determined? Is it some of both? I don't know or particularly care. I was raised to see every individual as a child of God, precious in His eyes (I use the masculine pronoun out of convention), and deserving of respect and fair treatment. I have colleagues, friends, and family members who are gay. All are valued. There is something about being gay that I cannot identify that is profoundly different. The defining characteristic of gayness, same sex attraction, is foreign to me and, frankly, distasteful, such that I cannot comprehend how anyone would feel this attraction and be unable to feel attracted to a woman (or vice versa). I have male friends who I love as brothers and have never felt the slightest sexual attraction toward any of them. Fine. There is room for everyone and, ultimately, God judges us; we are not to be the judges lest we some day be judged according to the standards we used to judge others. That said, I am no fan of an entire month to celebrate pride and especially since it seems most of the celebrating is carried on by the extreme elements of the LGBTQ++++ community. The concept of a cohesive LGBTQ++++ "family" is a logical incoherence. Those who claim to be trans, queer, non-binary, or whatever else is out there are not in lockstep with the gay community. The essence of the argument of gay people, as I understand it, is that this is not a choice. It is built into their nature just as heterosexuality is integral to the nature of 95%+ of humanity. It is also binary. Gay men are men, and gay women are women. None claims to be something else entirely. The others in the LGBTQ++++ make the exact opposite claim- binary sex does not exist in reality; it is a construct and you are whatever you say you are and the rest of the world had darn well better accept that and even celebrate that. This I cannot accept. Why does LGBTQ++++ (the pluses just seem to be increasing to cover more and more aberrations under the same umbrella) have to have an entire month of celebration? This seems excessive overcorrection by any standard. Where does it end? Pride? While I agree with James that there are good reasons for the gay community to be proud of their successes, any good thing can become too much. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins and the saying "pride goeth before a fall" is a caution against elevating pride too high. Enough with a month long bacchanalia celebrating pride at being gay, queer, or whatever. Which brings me to the pride flag. Gilbert Baker's original flag did not represent any racial or sexual orientation/gender (the pink stripe represented sex and love, not gender identity). The progressive pride flag includes new stripes- black, brown, and light blue- representing trans, queers, and races. Rather than a uniting force, has become a divisive force to those who disagree with the aggressive queer/non-binary agenda to overturn traditional binary sex. A little pride goes a long way......................