Tuesday, 5/27/97 Preachy politics only strengthen queers’
resolve RESPECT: Religious argument twisted to serve right wing’s
campaign of intolerance
By Megan Hall Kudos to David Bain for a well-written article on
religion and homosexuality ("Religion and Politics," Thursday). It
is reassuring to read a piece supportive of my lifestyle in the
face of the oppression I deal with on a daily basis. I am not a
religious person. That is not to say that I would deny anyone else
their right to believe what they so choose, and I expect the same
from others. Unfortunately, sometimes this seemingly simple
expectation is a bit too high. Often I find myself engaged in
discussions with people who hold right-wing religious beliefs,
believe that I am going to hell and feel the need to impose their
religious and "moral" ideals upon me. Quick to deem my lifestyle
and the lifestyle of millions of others immoral and "wrong," these
people are contradicting the same religions that they so strongly
believe in. I could swear that somewhere in big book it says
something along the lines of "judge not lest ye shall be judged." I
find it funny how a little bit of selective reading can make a
whole religion fit anyone’s personal beliefs. And if I really am
going to burn in hell, assuming there is a hell in the first place,
then I’ll just meet you there. Immorality is a relative term
anyway. I would like to know, and please enlighten me if anyone
knows the answer to this, who gets to define morality? Do I define
morality? Does President Clinton? Does Christianity or Judaism or
Islam? Different religious groups, different families, and
different political parties all have different definitions of
morality, as do different lesbians, gays, bisexuals and
transgenders. No two people are alike, and stereotyping in this
manner is a sure sign of ignorance. What you choose to believe is
your own business, and it is your own personal responsibility to
live by those guidelines that you so chose. Being a lesbian was not
a choice for me, and it is something that I would never change. It
in no way means that I live a life of excess or laziness or
slovenliness, or that I am a drug user or addicted to sex or a
pedophile, or that I hurt other people or that I hurt you. It
doesn’t interfere with my ability to work, to vote, to raise
children, to love or to think. On the contrary, my personal moral
code is as rigorous as anyone’s, and that should be enough. How I
treat people, how I treat myself, how good I am to my girlfriend,
how I interact with my family, how I will raise my children –
that’s what counts. I lead a pretty mundane day-to-day lifestyle,
and I try to do as much as I can to help other people, whether that
means volunteering for the Red Cross or giving a friend a ride to
the airport. I gave blood, and my blood is probably flowing in
someone’s veins right this second. Maybe even a straight person.
Maybe even yours. Aren’t these the things that define a person? I
can’t believe that someone would have the gall to tell me that I
will burn in a hypothetical hell or try to prevent me from
receiving the same – not extra or special – benefits and rights
that heterosexuals do for simply loving another person. It would
save everyone a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of tears if
we could agree to disagree. I do not agree with organized religion
on the whole, especially the right-wing extremist views, but I do
not try to stop it. I believe that there are good points and bad
points, but it is not something I choose to embrace. Maybe part of
that has something to do with the fact that it has shunned and
condemned me and my lifestyle for so many years. Why would I want
to join and believe in something that causes me so much trouble?
Why would I want to revert to the (unnatural) heterosexual
lifestyle that I used to lead and that left me angry and bitter and
confused for so many years? Why would I embrace something that so
openly discriminates? Why would I do that to myself or anyone like
me? My beliefs are just that – mine. Just as yours are yours. I am
tired of preaching, of judging, of discrimination and of hate. I
understand that there will never be a consensus on morality,
religion, normalcy or lifestyles. And I accept that. Just like some
people like the taste of some foods and some people don’t (which is
genetically determined), some women like women better than men and
some men like men better than women. People need to realize that
their attempts to "convert" and to "change" only evoke anger and
frustration, and sometimes, often from me, even pity. I don’t think
I will ever be accosted by a pamphlet-bearing right-wing extremist
and exclaim, while smacking my forehead with the heel of my hand,
"Well gosh, why didn’t you tell me earlier?" Respecting another’s
freedom to believe what they want is a basic tenet of this country.
I think it was Voltaire who said, "I may not agree with what you
say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." We are
all human, and that is the most important classification. Hall is a
first-year ACCESS student. (ACCESS is an interdisciplinary graduate
program in biochemistry and molecular biology.)