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A More Refined Diversity Openness and Tolerance in Both Sexuality AND Politics
A More Refined Diversity
Openness and Tolerance in Both Sexuality AND Politics
By: James Murphy
I am a gay man. That is my assertion, based on one fact from which only one assumption can be made: I am a man who loves and has sex with other men.
It does not mean I am overly sensitive or artistic. It does not mean I’m afraid of women, promiscuous, hate sports, have AIDS or an affinity for Madonna. As a child I wasn’t over-mothered or under-fathered. I am a gay man. It is a statement that offers no further insight to any facet of my life or dimension of my personality. Nor does it influence or predict my political affiliation.
I am a gay man. I am a Republican. Many of you may find this statement not only oxymoronic, but simply moronic. Some of you are thinking that I must be internally homophobic and self-hating, that I am somehow less-gay. These are the most common assumptions I encounter from other gay people when they find out I’m not a liberal Democrat. It is frustrating that these condemnations come from members of a group that claims it is primarily concerned with freedom of choice and self-expression.
Why can’t I be gay and Republican? Am I and other gay Republicans really doing ourselves a disservice or unwittingly sabotaging the gay rights movement? I believe that the answer is an emphatic no. There is no doubt that the strongly encamped politics of activists and civil liberty groups have played a major roll in pushing the gay rights movement to where it is today. We are now at a point, however, where such a limited and singular strategy makes less and less sense.
Culturally, the awareness and acceptance of gay men and women in everyday society has changed dramatically over the past decade or so. This is due to the visibility of gay activists, from positive and incident free pride events on both sides of the border to solidarity and unified outrage over tragedies like the murder of Mathew Sheppard. The progressive entertainment media such as MTV, Showtime, HBO and Bravo have also played a role. We as a minority are no longer the only group looking out for us. We now have supporters among our families and friends, our co-workers and neighbors-not to mention a new generation of voters who, in growing-up with The Real World and gay/straight alliances, see the right to gay civil unions as common sense.
The Democratic Party, trying to be everything to everyone, has traditionally catered to minorities and groups of voters such as African-Americans, the elderly, labor unions, and the gay vote. And while the Republican Party appeals to voter groups with social issues as well, the Republican platform appeals to the individual on issues of national security and economics often emphasizing a rational rather than emotional approach to issues. Most Republicans-minus the minority faction of the Christian far right-are not necessarily part of any discernable group.
Further progress in gay rights will only come with a combination of the group and the individual emphasis. A real and varied debate is needed, one that involves both Republicans and Democrats.
The role of activism in any political movement is to bring awareness to the relevant issues, but it is often too boisterous and demanding to bring about meaningful results. Discussion is the mechanism necessary to effect lasting and significant change in any issue. Unfortunately, the distinctly partisan nature of prominent gay issues doesn’t allow for much more than rhetoric from both gay rights groups and the anti-gay far right. We see our desire for equal rights as the obvious moral conclusion, but from the point of view of the Christian Right the moral position is their own. Although I believe our goal is the just and inevitable one, with both camps being defensive there is too much noise. We react to them, they react to us, and with the shouting match that ensues the issues become clouded and very little progress is made. A better approach is needed to reach beyond useless banter with the anti-gay minority and instead engage in discussion with the millions of sane individuals who vote both Republican and Democratic.
There is no longer a need to vote strictly along the Democratic Party line in order to safeguard our agenda. In fact, the emerging need is for our votes to be based on more than one or two gay issues or which candidate is more gay-friendly. Should gay voters jump the Democratic ship en mass? No, of course not. What we should aim for is awareness that the collective gay vote should be much more evenly distributed among both parties. With substantial representation in both parties, neither party can dismiss or take our vote for granted. As a true segment of society rather than a voting bloc for a specific party, we can take those final and definitive steps towards equal rights.
Will gays be met with open arms by the Republican Party? Not necessarily, but with the changing dynamics of societies acceptance of homosexuality we certainly wont be handed our hats. I am a Republican because I believe in the Republican platform. Gay Republicans can enrich this platform and bring more diversity to the party. I always admit that the Democratic Party has catered to us fairly well as a group, but I am more than a group. I want to bring my conservative views and my progressive lifestyle into agreement in a single political identity. Perhaps I am just a gay activist of a different sort.
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