Last year, Dan Savage got the special award for this video, and Rob Tisinai takes the lead, this year, with his! (noticed here and here, as well)
I'm increasingly of the opinion, however, that what may be required of us is to walk nongay marriage advocates every step. of. the. way. down. the. isle. with. us.
We need more than just advocacy. (Although, getting your Gandhi on is a new high for Western Civilization).
Quite apart from lobby groups, perhaps something like a gay-straight alliance for families and couples suits an unmet need. Supporting that from behind, ways to institutionalize these bits of knowledge, these videos, in new ways, ways that can be accessed by those of goodwill who might yet have an open heart. In short, something other than individuals' advocacy that can propagate understanding and norms.
And some part of 'activism' ought to shift focus. The above example is fine, complete. By way of illustration, here is an exercise in practical wisdom.
- Q: My daughter says her scoutmaster is a lesbian. Should I send her on an overnight with this scoutleader or not?
- Q: Statistics say that there are pedophiles and ephebophiles. As a nongay parent, I admit that gay molestation freaks me out doubly. Anyway, assuming that I want to act fairly and rationally, what should I do, when I send my kid off to camp for the summer?
- Q: I saw a todler holding a sign that said, "Two boys can marry". Is that what I want to teach my kids? I'm a Christian parent of four kids. I'd like to think I'd love a gay son or lesbian daughter. But, at the same time, I'm not sure what I want to teach them, until I find out; and, it seems un-Christian to me to telegraph a message that everything is okay for everybody. What should I say, in advance of knowing if my kid is gay or not?
I think a book of wisdom on that score, built the right way, could cut like butter through the highbrow "battle" that is going on way above the Endor moon, right now. Not just a book, perhaps. The "our stories" campaign can be broadened to the social context of our lives, especially of the gay kids, i.e. the foundations of gay-friendly "social institutions".
Antigay marriage advocates seem so insular, they are unable to reconstruct these things for themselves. The few that capable of blocking out from blind religious doctrines want statements and attitudes that are potentially normative that they can latch onto, they are unaware of the breadth and depth of the LGBT community, it seems.
Btw, one suspects this need abides, whether the Supremes rule favorably or not.
