A Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name

There is an article in the Chicago Tribune today that should be required reading for every parent who doesn’t want to damn their child to the life of deep self-hatred and shame that people like Larry Craig and Ted Haggard have lived. It is titled A Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name. Here are a few snippets:

Imagine growing up knowing that the gut-turning, joy-giving longing you feel for another person automatically marginalizes you. Imagine that look on your pastor's face, your mom's, your friends' -- that look that is reserved for bad smells and perverts. Only it's you they're looking at.

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Gay men and lesbians, on the other hand, are told every day that every person they will ever love is a mark of their lesser humanity. That, indeed, the love they feel -- the love -- is repulsive.

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But if we really want to stop dignified older gentlemen from approaching potential sex partners in hidden places, we need to start teaching impressionable young kids that they are OK no matter who they love.

It's not whom you love, it's how you love. And God knows that, even if we don't yet.

We’ve got to defend our gay and lesbian children against those people who demonize them in the name of God. They not only destroy our children’s chance for a happy healthy life, but they also make a mockery of the loving God they use as their cover for hate.