Culture Warriors
Do you wake up every morning worried about the Gay Agenda?
Do you find yourself fixated on what other people might be doing in their bedroom?
Do you want other people not to say “gay,” but you say it all the time?
Or are you one of those people who go through life not really concerned about other people’s sex lives?
I don’t suppose we ought to generalize from individual cases. So gay-bashing evangelical ministers have been revealed to be having sex with gay prostitutes—it doesn’t mean all gay-bashers are self-loathing closet homosexuals does it?
Most people are more concerned about their kids, their jobs, and just living life. I suppose the culture warriors among us have appointed themselves to do battle on our behalf. They fight the gay menace so you don’t have to.
This is at a time when there is a cultural shift in America. Polls show most Americans are more liberal in their attitude toward gays. Especially the younger generation. Ellen DeGeneres, who makes no secret or apology for her lifestyle, is the most popular day time talk show host in post-Oprah America. Even in Knoxville. The right-wing women who are trying to organize a boycott of a department store that uses Ellen as a spokesperson just seem silly and out of step.
It appeared for a while that this Republican primary season, as bad as it is, would at least focus on jobs and the economy and not get bogged down in social issues. The state of the economy seemed to make President Obama vulnerable and it was widely believed the Republicans would sweep into office.
The Tea Party changed the political dialogue in 2010 and kept political campaigns focused on taxes and the budget deficit. The failure of the Congress to make any progress on that agenda has no doubt dulled enthusiasm.
But it remains an important issue and one that will resonate in the general election. But the Republican presidential primary seems to be headed down the road toward again trying to pick the leader of the free world based on social issues best left to the states.
At this juncture in our history and given the state of our economy, it is just stupid.