Over the past few days, among the many posts regarding the RNC, there has been a lot of stuff said about not just the speakers coming out in support of the sanctity of heterosexual marriage, but the issue of gay Republicans.
Surely logic dictates that it is pretty silly and pointless to support a party that doesn't just deny you and your partner the right to marry, but is generally quite disgusted by the very thought of your sexuality?
I mean, who wouldn't feel a bit stupid if you've travelled all the way to Tampa, wearing your gay clothes, driving your gay car, listening to gay music,talking like a gay does, doing all things a gay likes to do, namely being, and doing, gay, when you sit down (like a gay) and hear the party you vote for, and trust to run your country, not even accept the idea of marriage equality between heterosexuals and homosexuals.
It's not as if theres more to life than being gay is there?
The thing is, i've been thinking about it, and aren't we being a bit unfair on homosexuals when we think that being gay should determine their whole political ideology? Is it not a bit patronising to even assume this should be the one issue which outranks every other when choosing your political party?
Wouldn't it be even more silly to think that every homosexual is a wide-eyed idealist, with progressive values, you know, like, progressive taxation, socailzed healthcare (I think that is what you call it in America!), ending wars, coummunism, raping the constitution, ya know, so on and so forth, maybe even equal marriage rights.
Isn't there more pressing issues in the the US? like recovering from the worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression, cutting employment, fighting the 'war on terror', the 'war on drugs', (putting war on the front of something really does make it more pressing).
I don't want to sound ignorant, I probably will do, but isn't there more important things in the world than gay marriage, even to gay people?
Does being a Republican make you a bad gay (and to think you all thought being a bad gay is liking Metallica instead of George Michael)? of course not.
What if you're gay, fiscally conservative and consider yourself quite right-wing on most issues? Now i'm no Einstein, but you'd probably vote Republican.
Would voting Democrat make more sense? To be honest, that is personal preference, but for me, no.
Now now, I hear you stting there thinking, "how stupid, what sort of a view is that, would you say the same thing to a black man or woman in the south during the early 20th century, that their race shouldn't define their politics". Yeah yeah mate, cool, I get that, but wasn't that a bit different? Eqaulity for black people, or any other form of oppression, was more an issue of fundamental, universal human rights that was being denied. Surely an argument along those lines should have ended when homosexuality was legalised?
Yes, I think there are still serious problems in the cultural attitudes to homosexuality, that is an unfortunate truism I wish we could have banished in the 21st century, but this post isn't so much about homosexuality itself as it is the effect being gay can have on your political character.
In fact, I think the reason there is such a big emphasis in the present day on value politics, is because it is such a red herring and so contentious that it is quite a nice little distraction from real pressing issues, such as the distribution of wealth, the elitist nature of party politics, the power of corporations and that sort of thing (alright, this could get #awkward now, you might have realised i'm quite left-wing).
Who cares what Romney and Ryan think on the increasing influence of corporate donations in elections, surely all that matters is knowing they are the sort of guys I could have a beer with (well, a cranberry juice for Mitt).
Let me just make this clear for the last time, this post isn't about a view on gay marriage, but it is more about our view of what it means to be 'gay' when viewed alongside politics.
Be Gay, be Republican, do and think whatever you want, but come on guys, the idea that you can't be both gay and Republican is pretty laughable, even if being the latter by itself is.
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