www.ac4lt.org Harmonious Raspberry

Leonard Pitts writes an insightful piece about claimed morality that is definitely worth reading. In it he makes the claim that the "being gay is wrong because it's wrong"argument is a sham. What is really happening is a visceral reaction masquerading as morality.

I think he's on to something that I had never quite been able to express. How many times have you experienced a gut reaction of fear or disgust or dislike to something that, if you took the time to honestly analyze your reaction would boil down an emotional reaction that wasn't based on facts. The reaction is real, there's no doubt about that. Yet how often to we look for reasons to justify that reaction so we feel better about it?

We all do it. Sometimes because we're taught to and sometimes for indefinable reasons.

How many people react with fear to seeing a middle eastern man on an airplane? There are plenty of cases that escalated to the point of getting media coverage, but has it happened to you? Even if it was only a momentary discomfort that you chided yourself over?

How many people hate Jews, Catholics, Moslems, or Mormons and react with anger to them?

How many white women in the 1950's had a fear of being alone with a black man?

Many, perhaps most, people react with fear to things that aren't familiar. When we don't understand something we tend to be afraid of it and our imaginations ascribe fearsome consequences to allowing that unfamiliar thing into our lives. But, the truth is, those fears are irrational and groundless.

General Pace, if you really want to be a leader then face your fears. Stop hiding behind false claims of morality and help lead America's military to a future where all Americans can serve openly and honestly.