The Homosexual Agenda

What has brought me back to this blog in which I voice my thoughts on the goings-on in the world in regards to politics, civil rights, and such, has been the rise of organized religion as political entities, whether they claim to be or not. While most religions advocate for a particular way of living one's life, most times their views are contained within the walls of their institutions. But as of late, especially gaining extreme motion during the Prop 8 campaign, more religions, religious leaders and their followers have taken it upon themselves to join in political debates and try to steer political issues to mirror their own agendas.



Homosexuals have been accused for years by the religious-right of "having an agenda." Well, I say: Of course, we do! Every person has his or her agenda. Is ours an organized agenda? No, unfortunately it is not. One of the major failings of the homosexual movement is our inability to form a cohesive community. The main reason for that lies in the fact that we are mostly joined together because of our sexual orientation: not the most sturdy of glues, if you ask me, especially in a rather puritanical society such as America. What most religious-minded folks can't conceive is that homosexuals are not as sex-centric as they think we are. Sure, in our teens and twenties, we might be pretty sexual, but who isn't? And also contrary to belief, we have other interests besides sex. Hell, some of us don't even have interest in that. We have lives that we have to live, work that needs to be done in order for us to pay our bills, families that need to be attended to, friends with which to gather (and, no, not to have sex with. We can sustain platonic relationships.). We exist just as heterosexuals exist. So our "agenda" is about living day-to-day for the most part. It's that simple.



As a community, though, our agenda is equal civil rights, which is all too often labeled by the opposing factions as: "special rights." Granted, they may look as if they are "special rights" given that laws and amendments have to be written up, submitted to legislative bodies, and voted on so that we are included, but that's only because our inherent constitutional rights have been voted out in the past. Before 1970, only Illinois had repealed their anti-sodomy laws (fancy term for anti-homosexual laws, though many heterosexuals practice sodomy: oral sex anyone?). It wasn't until Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, that the sodomy laws in all 50 states were invalidated (including for heterosexual sex so you kids go on an try anal sex without fear of prosecution). With sodomy laws on the books in all 50 states, homosexual discrimination was, for all intents and purposes, legal. A homosexual could be fired for his or her job with no recourse for appeal, and many were (see the Lavender Scare for proof) . Evicted for the same reason. Jailed for being in a gay bar. Beaten and mistreated, not only by other citizens but also law enforcement, and they often were, again without recourse.



it wasn't until after the Stonewall Riots, that homosexuals started banding together to change their lives (not yours, theirs). It was high time that we received our due rights as American citizens, all that was granted to us via the constitution: "certain unalienable rights."



Ah, but there in lies the sticky wicket, no? From the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." They had to bring "God" into it in the form of "their Creator."

Creator=God? Possibly. Supposedly. I understand that our forefathers were religious men. They often spoke of God in their speeches and in their personal lives, but I also know that they made a pointed effort to make sure, when referring to "God", that it was an universal God: not a Christian God, or Muslim, or Protestant, etc. He was universal, much like the God in the Serenity Prayer at your local AA meeting: A Higher Being, a Creator, to which one prays or believes.

But this doesn't have to be a sticky situation. I, as well as all homosexuals and heterosexuals and asexuals, bisexuals, and so on, were created in the same way. Simple as that. Be it God or evolution (which ever turns out to be the correct answer), we all came about life the same way. So, we all have the same unalienable rights afforded to us via our creation.



Well, it seems simple to me. Being on the outside always helps to see situations much more clearly. So many religious-minded people live in bubbles. That's the beauty and the detriment of religions: your entire existence is contained within this fabricated realm so you don't have to think for yourself, which can be a beautiful thing. It's literally all spelled out for you. But, you also don't understand life outside that bubble. And there in lies the detriment of living a solely religious existence. You live in fear of the outside world. You've been taught to fear that which doesn't not "fit" into your bubble. You're taught to strike out before they, the outsiders, can burst your bubble. But I'm here to tell you: we're don't want to burst your bubbles. We understand your bubbles more than you think we do. We are trying to create our own bubbles in which we can live security and harmony. That might actually be the truest definition of the so-called "homosexual agenda."



Everyone thinks that our opposing factions have different goals for our lives, but the truth is our goals are the same, it's our roads to those goals that look different. In this world, there is plenty of space for us all to live and walk our own roads without having to crash into each other. We can all attain our individual goals without having fear of being run off our rails. These days, too much time is spent trying to thwart others from their goals (religion trying to derail homosexuals, homosexuals trying to derail religion), that, at this rate, none of us will "win."



It all comes down to: live and let live. It's about keeping your eyes on your own paper. It's about cleaning up your own backyard. It's about you not trying to make everyone live their lives according to your beliefs: and I state this to homosexuals as well as anyone. Take care of your own agenda because its hard enough hoeing your own row without feeling that you have to attend to everyone elses too.

Jeffrey