Dear Editor:
In the spectacularly obtuse letter regarding Al Gore’s position on gays in the military, the question was asked, “why is it that all those who want to go against God and nature migrate to the Democratic Party?” It’s not that we’re migrating to the Democratic Party, it’s that we’re trying to get as far away as possible from the repressive atavism expressed in the letter. The Democratic Party is hardly ideal, but at least its members take it seriously that all humans have intrinsic rights.
Please save your “gays are responsible for our moral decline” rhetoric for your next call to Rush Limbaugh. Regardless of whether it’s a biological trait or a chosen preference, people have been gay as long as there have been people, and they’re just as good, bad and complex as heterosexuals. Perhaps we would like to return to the good old days when acknowledging your homosexuality meant confinement to second-class status and denial of basic opportunities. While we’re at it, let’s bring back racial segregation and do away with the bothersome idea of allowing women to vote. The rationalization behind all repression is the same: presumed superiority.
The crazy thing about freedom is that once it was wrested away from wealthy white males, everybody started wanting it. Sure, such universality is bound to dilute the privileges that accompany systematic exclusion, but I choose to continue with the dissemination of the right to the pursuit of happiness all the way down to the last group whose preferences I do not share, regardless of the social discomfort it may cause. We’re not “tearing down” the United States of America, we’re tearing down the barriers that people put up between those they control and their liberty.
Joey Dempster
Provo
