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Oh Brave New World...
Jun. 1st, 2008 08:02 pmWARNING: Prolonged babble, proceed at your own risk
"Oh brave new world that hath such people in it" Shakespeare/The Tempest
That quotation came to mind as I was chatting with a gay friend of mine. He was regaling me with the story of his latest 'date' with a good friend who happens to be a straight man. It was evident that they almost completely lack the classic gay/straight friction that often exists between men. In fact, my gay friend has voiced his attraction to his straight buddy (but has never tried to 'get to second base') and again there appears to be little or no friction between them as a result. On the same day another recent acquaintance was relating his joy at the ease with which his 3 young sons accepted his partner and their gay friends. And with the acceptance as normal that a gay couple should be proud parents.
All of which drove me to ruminate on the slow but seemingly steady march of our society at the grassroots level towards a normalization of relations between gay and straight factions. Will there be nary a gasp in our near future when The New NEW Dick Van Dyke Show will have Rob greet Larry with a big smooch as their son Richie runs around screaming 'Daddies! Daddies!'? Will the resurrection (and you know there will be one) of Will and Grace finally reveal with a collective societal yawn that Will and Jack and Karen and Grace have always been same sex couples? And what fallout will ripple through US society as a result? We tend to think in the short term, gay marriage, secure partner benefits, and the rest that defines true equality. Of course there are countries that are well ahead of these States United, but the dynamic here will be no doubt different. Our puritan roots are not so deeply buried that they will not surface. But what of the long view?
Will we become a divided nation? Some states legalizing gay coupling while others staunchly holding to (suppressing my rising bile) traditional values? Will there be red states, blue states, and pink states as gays gravitate towards the more liberal corners of our nation? Will gay politics become a force for and against change much like organizations like the NRA and the Religious Right?
Is today's gay community ready to take on a role akin to this nation's founding fathers (ooooh Daddy!)? Or are we too busy chasing the musclebear that's just wandered past our gaze? Our individual participation in the direction that our nation's future pursues should be on our minds. Interesting, no?
But for me, I'm off to watch the latest Simpsons and learn if this once brilliant show is continuing its steady decline.
"Oh brave new world that hath such people in it" Shakespeare/The Tempest
That quotation came to mind as I was chatting with a gay friend of mine. He was regaling me with the story of his latest 'date' with a good friend who happens to be a straight man. It was evident that they almost completely lack the classic gay/straight friction that often exists between men. In fact, my gay friend has voiced his attraction to his straight buddy (but has never tried to 'get to second base') and again there appears to be little or no friction between them as a result. On the same day another recent acquaintance was relating his joy at the ease with which his 3 young sons accepted his partner and their gay friends. And with the acceptance as normal that a gay couple should be proud parents.
All of which drove me to ruminate on the slow but seemingly steady march of our society at the grassroots level towards a normalization of relations between gay and straight factions. Will there be nary a gasp in our near future when The New NEW Dick Van Dyke Show will have Rob greet Larry with a big smooch as their son Richie runs around screaming 'Daddies! Daddies!'? Will the resurrection (and you know there will be one) of Will and Grace finally reveal with a collective societal yawn that Will and Jack and Karen and Grace have always been same sex couples? And what fallout will ripple through US society as a result? We tend to think in the short term, gay marriage, secure partner benefits, and the rest that defines true equality. Of course there are countries that are well ahead of these States United, but the dynamic here will be no doubt different. Our puritan roots are not so deeply buried that they will not surface. But what of the long view?
Will we become a divided nation? Some states legalizing gay coupling while others staunchly holding to (suppressing my rising bile) traditional values? Will there be red states, blue states, and pink states as gays gravitate towards the more liberal corners of our nation? Will gay politics become a force for and against change much like organizations like the NRA and the Religious Right?
Is today's gay community ready to take on a role akin to this nation's founding fathers (ooooh Daddy!)? Or are we too busy chasing the musclebear that's just wandered past our gaze? Our individual participation in the direction that our nation's future pursues should be on our minds. Interesting, no?
But for me, I'm off to watch the latest Simpsons and learn if this once brilliant show is continuing its steady decline.
