In June, we see the blooming of Pride flags on homes, in yards, outside businesses and on various social media platforms. It is for people to celebrate not only who they are now, but to recall a difficult journey to arrive at this place in time.
June also means a surge of resentment ranging from suggesting that people “put your pride to the side,” to far more aggressive and hateful suggestions. Some want to return to an era where this pride goes back into dark shadows of closeted existence.
Taken to an extreme, we’ve seen that hate manifested in murderous violence.
For most, the resentment ranges from being “offended” to displays of hatred.
In life, being offended is a choice. If you spend your life looking for things that will offend you, outrage is easily manufactured.
For those who are so offended, does the expression of another’s sexuality really impact you? Does it change your life? Is it a threat to you?
If those flying the Pride flag could force you to keep your heterosexuality a secret or keep you from living in a certain neighborhood or from getting a mortgage or being allowed to adopt a child, then maybe your fear could be understood.
But none of that has happened to you because of who you have chosen to love.
Patriotic Americans believe that this country was founded on that certain inalienable rights are for all of us. We should not discriminate because of someone’s race, ethnicity, religious beliefs or who they choose to love.
All sides like to preach liberty. Yet when it comes to Pride month, one side chooses to be offended because someone else has asked for the freedom to live their lives in a manner of their own preference.
To be clear, most of the people in this country are supportive of Pride because they believe others are entitled to the basic freedoms agreed upon centuries ago. But that majority is a recent phenomenon in American politics.
In 2008, both the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees campaigned on the idea that marriage was between one man and one woman. It wasn’t until the 2012 campaign when Vice President Joe Biden’s support of marriage equality caused a tectonic and rapid shift before the election. And as with any other rapid change, there was a whipsaw backlash from people who resist change.
But while recent change has happened quickly, attaining the summit was the result of a long climb.
During my coaching career, I once had an alum contact me to share rumors he’d heard about a supposedly gay player. College and pro football at the time was not so accepting, but I failed to see why it would have mattered if the player was gay. The player had never stated that he was gay, and it was none of our business. I talked with Coach Paterno just to let him know about the rumors being spread.
“Is he a good person, a good student? Is he good enough to play?” Coach asked.
“Yes.” I said.
“Then the heck with those rumors. His personal life is his business. Do you believe he would be the first gay player we’ve had? There’s probably been many over the years who have been good people, good students and good players. That’s all that matters.”
To him it was no different than whether a player was Black or white, from this country or born elsewhere or if they were Christian or Jewish or Muslim or atheist. For his college football team, judgment and acceptance to that brotherhood was all based on performance as a human being, as a student and as an athlete.
That recognition of differences forged into common cause is the ideal of the ongoing American Experiment.
Part of our annual observations are history and pride months for various groups. These months mark the difficult trek toward the nation’s summit goal of equality.
But in 2023 some do not see it that way. We stand at a time where men and women who hope to become president can run on platforms to subvert difficult truths in certain chapters of our history.
With human nature being consistent across time, history is a vital roadmap to avoid the mistakes of the past. We should remember that those calling for sanitized history often do so to pave a road returning to the oppression of the past.
So in a month like this, we should recognize those Americans who saw our imperfections and issued a clarion call to march toward a more perfect union. Those taking pride in their history, and celebrating the present are not a threat to liberty.
The real threat to liberty resides in the hateful hearts of those looking to suppress the pride of others.