Gayness: Who cares, anyway?

Just How Gay Is the Right?

By FRANK RICH

This column from the NYTimes caught my eye this morning. It sort of lays bare a lot of the rabid bigotry that's still alive and well in America. This particular batch of vitriol is distilled from the acrid mash of a fine blend of well-cultivated social poisons.

The set of beliefs comes from people who don't like anyone who isn't exactly like themselves. To people like that, something like homosexuality is especially threatening. It's something that can crop up anywhere, even among their own children. What a nightmare to have that motivating your deep-set beliefs. Imagine such a fearful, angry way to live.

These days, there are fears all over the place. Two fears are at work here, among the anti-gay, and the pro-gay alike .

• It's either being afraid of our own co-workers, role models, and loved ones.
  
• Or it's being afraid of all of those people who are afraid, especially when they yell and get aggressive about it.

This anti-gay stuff makes up many of today's hottest topics on TV, radio and at the highest levels of government. There's talk of a constitutional amendment to restrict rights instead of grant them. The senate may undergo a radical overhaul over a fight for the anti-gay's own set of sanctimonious judges. And the president stays wisely mum on the matter.

Anti-gays (for lack of a better word) are isolating themselves on this. They're showing just how radical, ideologically driven, and anti-scientific they really are, no more song and dance. And it's about a lot more than just gay stuff.

Let's call them the anti-American bigots and homophobes that they are. They would show us no quarter, so let's repay the favor. We can't tolerate this brand of tripe and still call ourselves a free, civil society of forward-thinking Americans. There should be no argument, no countenancing these type of thinking.

We also have real debates to be made that are just sitting on the shelf collecting dust. I sure hope that progressives get up and make an agenda. Their whole political machine is starting to squeak, shake and squeal. We need to be there with the solutions now, and damned if we have nothing to lose at this point.