An acquaintance of mine once told me she was attending a gay pride parade. I was aghast at the thought and remarked that I wouldn’t be caught dead at such a rally. Erroneously, she branded me a bigot. Like many activists of many causes, she focused only on the action and not the justification for it. If I presented the story of a shopkeeper throwing out a black customer, many would automatically find him guilty of racial discrimination even before I explained that the patron was stumbling drunk.
It’s been a few years since her invitation, but my mindset remains steadfast. Even with numerous gay friends and family members whom I loved dearly, I remain unequivocally opposed to the radical gay agenda, as I would any movement that regards the group as superior to the individual. The ethical inappropriateness of this agenda stems not from the homosexuality but from the decision to equivocate homosexuality with identity. Similarly, I would find a heterosexual pride parade equally as offensive, since no one should be proud of any biological factor to the extent that he’s willing to march down a street for it. People should derive pride from their individuality the product of their mind, not their genes. But I would have been hard-pressed to find many individuals at that parade. By refusing to acknowledge that their beings were decided by themselves and themselves only, they had reduced themselves to mere animals.
There are notable elements of the gay agenda that should be actively pursued, but they are not indigenous to their cause. Any American who harbors reverence for our individual rights and equal protection under the law should campaign for the end of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell policy’ and legal roadblocks to same-sex marriage and gay adoption, as well as lobby for the adoption of domestic partnership benefits. These Americans don’t have to be homosexual or willing to march in a gay pride parade to believe in these causes. Any rational being who understands the philosophical basis of our country sees that government-sponsored, irrational discrimination must be fought tooth and nail and ultimately defeated. But somehow, those Americans who groan as the parades move on by are lumped into the same pile as those bigots who originally penned the laws.
There is nothing more disturbing than the notion that private lives are irrelevant. Men should live for their own sake and not feel compelled to gain approval from another being. There is a marked difference between being ashamed of one’s sexual preference and merely not wanting to proclaim it to the entire world; however, this seems to be lost on those eager to ‘out’ the ‘ins.’ Individuals have no control over their biological nature and should not feel embarrassed because it. But just as someone who identifies himself as a ‘blondie’ because of his blond hair is ridiculous, so is trotting around as if his sexuality is his middle name. It’s only a matter of time before the days of brutal repression of all minorities are over. But an equally disturbing, new era where one’s personal life is the public’s business looms on the horizon to replace it.
I cannot fathom how anyone could be proud of the fact that he is aroused by members of the same sex. I am attracted to members of the opposite sex but do not place a crown atop my ahead every time I witness an attractive female. If a white pride club is morally despicable, the same holds true for any organization that glorifies biological traits. I am not proud of being straight, nor of being white, nor of my height, however damn tall I may be. I am proud that I am Jacob Cote and that I am unleashing my creative and intellectual potential in generating this column. I am proud of the existence of my sovereign mind and the human being the identity for which I am solely responsible.
Accounts of students ‘coming out’ are becoming increasingly more common. If the youth of this nation is to make anything of itself, it must start by ‘coming out’ with its individuality, its purpose for living and breathing. The future of the greatest country on earth does not depend on ‘tolerance,’ sensitivity training or gay-straight alliances. The future has always been in the hands of individuals willing to lead and actually produce something. And the moment biological concerns supercede the rational mind’s initiatives, it’s a blast to the past and the return to the rule of the jungle. One’s desire for a man or woman really doesn’t make any damn difference. The simplicity of this thesis needs to be firmly ingrained in society, or the jungle is closer than we think.
[ Jacob Cote, a senior in the College of Communication, is a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press and can be reached at [email protected]. ]
