Kentucky Kernel -- April 15, 1997

<BODY BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF LINK=#0066ff ALINK=#0066ff VLINK=#660000> <BLOCKQUOTE>    <CENTER> <FONT SIZE=6> <B>Everyone suffers when Lambda decides not to participate in Speak Out</B><P> </FONT> </CENTER> <FONT SIZE=4><B>Todd Baggarly</B><BR></FONT>Kernel Columnist <HR> Late last week, the final installment in the UK Speaks Out series was canceled.<P> The reason for the cancellation was that UK Lambda, a campus gay-rights group, and others decided they do not wish to be a party to an event that would give Ben Rich, a columnist for this paper who opposes gay rights, a platform to express his views.Their decision will prove to be a loss to this campus. The purpose of the forum was to provide both sides with an opportunity to air their views. The purpose of the college experience is to expose those who partake of it to ideas that are in conflict with their own. <P> This is done so that everyone will be forced to rethink their own views and either be in a better position to defend themselves or conclude that one's original views were not based on sound reasoning and make adjustments accordingly. The forum's cancellation robbed the UK community of this opportunity. <P> I would have welcomed being able to hear an exchange of ideas on this topic. I am sure that a lot of others would, too. <P> Therefore, I am devoting my column today to advocating my own views on the subject and hope that anyone who holds contrary views to let their views be known via the Reader's Forum section. <P> The United States is more than just a nation. It is an idea and an ideal. This ideal was first and best articulated by Jefferson in 1776 when he stated that we, as a people, accept as self-evident the proposition that everyone is created equal. Everyone, no matter their race, class, sex, or sexual orientation possesses infinite moral worth. <P> It is, in part, because of these considerations that anti-discrimination laws on behalf of women and ethnic minorities have been enacted. Those categories of persons have traditionally been limited in the extent to which they have been able to participate in the public life of the nation. Even as we accepted the ideal of the equal worth of all persons, we have not always lived up to this. Anti-discrimination statutes force us to abide by in practice what we know to be a valid ideal. <P> The exclusion of persons from the civic life of the nation robs the individuals who face discrimination of the opportunity to develop their human potential to its fullest. <P> The divine spark which sets mankind apart from the beasts is squelched out before it has even had the chance to become a blaze. This is such a tragic waste. I am fully aware that there are many of you out there who are disgusted by the thought of gay sex - so disgusted that you want to force homosexuals to the margins so you will not even have to think of them. I was raised a Baptist. I understand this aversion. I once subscribed to it. Ultimately, though, one must come to realize that this is an irrational aversion - the product of a socialization process that can only be described as fostered bigotry. Some people feel the same way, even to this day, regarding non-whites. They believe that non-whites should be shuttled off to the periphery of society for no reason other than the fact that they possess a genetic trait which bears no relation to their status as persons. <P> Analogously, those who reject the right of homosexuals to live their lives on an equal basis with the rest of us do so because homosexuals (probably) possess a subtle genetic difference from the rest of us which bears no relation to their status as persons. <P> By using such an analogy, I suspect that I will have brought offense to many of you on the other side. If this is the case, then I apologize for your hurt feelings. It has not been my intention to offend anyone. Rather, I hope that you will see that the principle that excluding homosexual people from public life is no different from excluding black, Hispanic, Asian, or female persons from the public life of the nation. All of these are examples of bigotry and are incompatible with those sacred ideals to which we adhere. If this adherence is sincere, though, we must all bring our actions in line with this ideal. Ultimately, you must answer one simple question: Do you believe that everyone is created equal or do you think that our nation's heritage is one big, pathetic joke? <P> If you are not willing to acknowledge that everyone, including those whom you do not approve of, has a right to fully participate in civic life then you are forced to concede to ideals we claim to accept are, at base, a farce. <P> I have tried to lay out the best argument I can in favor of equal civil rights including homosexuals. I look forward to hearing the other side of the debate continue. <P> <P> <CENTER><i>Kernel Columnist Todd Baggarly is a political science graduate student; his views do not necessarily represent those of the Kentucky Kernel.</i></CENTER> <P>    <HR> <P> <CENTER> <FONT SIZE=5> [ <A HREF="welcome.html">Contents</A> | <A HREF="http://www.kykernel.com/">Home</A> | <A HREF="/archive.html">Archives</A> | <A HREF="/feed.html">Feedback</A> ]<BR> </FONT> <P> <B>© Copyright 1997, Kernel Press Inc. All Rights Reserved</B><BR>  </BLOCKQUOTE> </BODY>