Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura can be called a lot of things but boring isn’t one of them.
His most recent controversy centers around an announcement that he would proclaim June as “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Month,” even though it’s a safe bet that most citizens of Minnesota are heterosexuals who live in and support a “traditional” mom-pop two-parent family structure.
“Members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community have made significant contributions towards the enhancement of our quality of life through active involvement in the economic and political activities of the community,” Ventura said in making his announcement.
Few people doubt that.
The proclamation reaffirms his administration’s commitment to “support, preserve and advance the civil rights guaranteed for all Americans.”
That’s good.
“The strength of a democratic society must be based upon equal participation without prejudice of all people in the social, economic and political activities of the community,” Ventura added.
That’s right.
OK, so we know it’s easy to agree with most of what the governor says. Who can argue with equality, reduced prejudice and the “enhancement of our quality of life”?
But good propaganda is not the same as good policy.
As such, why is it so darned important to celebrate the kind of sexual behavior that the vast majority of Americans consider aberrant? Furthermore, how come politicians never proclaim a day, week or month as “Traditional American Values Day” to celebrate what most of us consider “normal” sexual behavior?
Then again, why does there have to be any official political recognition for sexual behavior of any sort?
Don’t get me wrong – I like sex as much as the next person. Being intimate with my wife is one of my favorite things. But it’s also no one else’s business.
Which brings me back to this Ventura proclamation. How many times have we heard gays, lesbians and transsexuals gripe that “what two (or more?) people do behind closed doors is nobody’s business”?
They’re right; it isn’t anyone’s business. But then why push for public recognition and celebration of their kind of sexual behavior?
If it’s to gain legitimacy to “the cause,” forget it. Straight people will almost always be straight and almost always frown upon aberrant sexual behavior, even if they couldn’t care less who’s practicing it.
If it’s to stick that kind of lifestyle “in our faces,” forget it. You never win converts with “in-your-face” tactics; in fact, you usually create more enemies, even of folks who might have supported you.
If it’s to prove that such people “are just like everyone else,” forget it; they’re not. If they were, they’d be in the majority.
The point is, there is more to life than just sex. Consequently, there is more to life than aberrant sex. It would be nice if our politicians concentrated more on celebrating those things instead.
