  READER'S REPLIES: [Reply #1] [Reply #2] [Reply #3] Tell me what YOU think! Back to Philosophy page |
 In today's "politically-correct" world, nobody has "weird habits" or "perversions", nobody "behaves anti-socially" or "rebels", and, most certainly, nobody could ever "do anything wrong". Today, everybody makes "lifestyle choices". There's a certain
romanticism that has often been associated with those who blaze their own trails
or who take the road less travelled. Almost everybody, to some degree, likes to
see themselves as "independent". In most cases, being "different" is neither
good nor bad -- it's just "different". We even have specific terms that are
used to characterize such individuals. If their actions are different, but
generally acceptable, they are called "eccentrics" or "rogues" (usually based
on how rich the individual might be). If their actions are somewhat less
acceptable, they are called "weirdos" or "freaks".It would seem,
however, that there is a growing segment of the population who are attempting to
"express themselves" in ways that are very hard to justify as being anything
other than detrimental -- both to themselves and to society, in general. In and
of itself, this would be unfortunate, but not problematic. However, it is
becoming popular for such individuals (or the groups who support them) to target
the general public as being "bigoted", "prejudiced", "discriminatory",
"prudish", "stuffy", or just plain "wrong" for not completely condoning whatever
they choose to do. In the language of political correctness, what they promote
is called "sensitivity".The most well-known
and most highly organized effort on behalf of any current "lifestyle choice" is
undoubtedly that of the various lobby groups and organizations which promote
homosexuality. This can't help but be a volatile issue -- especially since
America is a country with its own particular hangups about sex-related issues in
the first place.Homosexuality has, of
course, been around since before the beginnings of recorded history. Until the
latter portion of this century, however, it has generally been regarded as
somewhat of a perversion. Those who practiced it were often shunned or looked
upon as being one of "them". While that is still largely the prevailing opinion
among the silent majority, constant spin-doctoring has begun to shift the
perceptions towards the positive -- at least among the media and vote-grubbing
politicians. An activity that had always been kept in strictest privacy has now
become the beneficiary of a phenomenon sometimes referred to as "coming out of
the closet" - a person's often-triumphal proclamation that "I am gay".An argument often
advanced in support of homosexuality is the claim that it is genetically-based.
This means that one doesn't choose to be gay, one is born that way. The search
is still continuing for the so-called "gay gene". In my humble opinion, finding
such a gene would seem to be rather unlikely -- at least in frequencies that
would account for the numbers of homosexual individuals. Since Man produces
offspring by male-female sexual reproduction, any gene that would tend to
reduce or eliminate a given individual's chances to reproduce would be
detrimental. Since two homosexual individuals are extremely unlikely to mate
and produce offspring, there is very little chance for their genes to be passed
along to future generations. Even a cursory understanding of biology and
evolution should point out that this is not something which would tend to ensure
that genetic homosexuality would be what might be characterized as "normal". At
best, any homosexual gene would seem to be a mutation or a deformity that would
lower that individual's chances for survival and reproduction. Natural
selection should, by now, have all but weeded out such a gene.So, if homosexuality
is most likely not genetic, then it must be a voluntary decision. In other
words, it must be a "lifestyle choice". If this is so, then homosexuality must
fall into the same category as any other "lifestyle choice" and those who choose
to engage in it must be subject to the same scrutiny and criticism as those who
willingly do anything else that falls outside the range of generally-acceptable
activities and behaviors. Those who engage in it must be prepared to suffer
the consequences, if any, of their actions -- just as we all do concerning
anything that we do in our lives. Those who attempt to promote their activities
in the general public must be prepared to weather a storm of protest from those
who aren't so favorably inclined towards them. Now, just because something is
"alternative" doesn't make it "wrong". However, the way to make it "right" is
through positive demonstration of benefits, not through confrontation or by
insulting the majority.Personally, I'm a
believer in allowing people to do what they please so long as their actions
don't adversely affect others. I also prefer that individuals or groups don't
try to proselytize their behaviors to those who don't wish to join them. As far
as I'm concerned, neither homosexuality nor any other "lifestyle choice"
should be promoted in schools until they are a generally-acceptable behavior in
society or until their benefits can be substantiated by medicine and/or
science. If you want to indulge, more power to you. Just don't expect or
demand that I will join you or approve of what you are doing. That's *my*
"lifestyle choice".E-mail: mlbakke1@earthlink.net Earthlink Network Home Page |