Fairness - The Commentary

Heterosexuality seems to be a widespread human condition, and yet science hasn't found its cause. Maybe that's due to an absence of available funding for the research or just plain lack of interest. There have been studies to determine the origins of homosexuality, usually in males, but they've all been small and, frankly, inconclusive. Nevertheless, we're still in the dark about why there are people who are attracted romantically and sexually to a different gender than the one with which they identify as if they have problems loving the very gender they themselves embody. Probably this lack of scientific curiosity has to do with the fact that the majority of people – mostly heterosexuals, but not always – consider unadulterated heterosexuality to be the norm with anything else a deviation. And much medical and psychological science studies abnormalities rather than what's just assumed. Consider the host of studies in the last two centuries of others conside...

It's hardly news anymore that a growing number of Americans are checking the box “none” on surveys of religious belief. According to Pew Research Center  polling , one-fifth of the public and a third of those under thirty are unaffiliated with any religious entity. Among those left who still report being affiliated, the percentage of fundamentalists and other conservatives is increasing. It's the pie that's shrinking and leaving the right-wing to have a bigger share. Relying on figures publicized by denominations or the religious is  problematic . There are convenient ways for memberships to be counted. But even the granddaddy of right-wingers, the Southern Baptist Convention,  reported this year  that it's losing members and baptizing fewer people. Their response, of course, wasn't to question their teachings but to assume they needed better marketing. Those who are religiously addicted never question what they're teaching. They're so invested in ...

The recent episodes of now routine American gun violence have sparked discussions of the role of white male anger in it all. This is hardly a brand new strand of analysis, though. Michael Kimmel, director of the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities at Stony Brook and author of  Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era ,  wrote last November : “Today's Angry White Men look backward, nostalgically at the world they have lost. Some organize politically to restore 'their' country; some descend into madness; others lash out violently at a host of scapegoats. Theirs is a fight to restore, to reclaim more than just what they feel entitled to socially or economically -- it's also to restore their sense of manhood, to reclaim that sense of dominance and power to which they also feel entitled. They don't get mad, they want to get even -- but with whom?” Kimmel admits that: “There are plenty of angry men of color and plenty of angry white wom...

The first openly gay player drafted into the NFL, Michael Sam, kissed his boyfriend, Vito Cammisano, a swimmer for the University of Missouri from 2009-2012,  right there for the world to see on TV . And, yes, that meant America would watch a black man kissing a white man, to top it all off. The couple wasn’t trying to rub it in. They knew they were on TV, and knew there’d be a reaction for sure. They weren’t naïve. But, anyone watching could see that they were expressing human emotions of relief at the conclusion of a series of events that ended happily for two people who love each other. They weren’t in any closet. From that moment on, people all over were talking about “the kiss.” Though some, gay or straight, who are annoyed by public displays of affection expressed discomfort, the media actually invaded what was a private residence. Reporters seeking ratings and sensation were tantalizing viewers to stay tuned. Emotions are emotions, common to all human beings who allow...

We’ve come to the place where the radical right-wing intelligencia know that the old arguments against LGBT people won’t work. And so they’re at the end of their rope. The psychological debate had been settled a half of a century ago. True professionals in the psychological and counseling communities, as a result, embrace the professionally ethical requirement to affirm LGBT people as equal to anyone else. And finally that is catching on popularly to debunk the whole lucrative brain-wash-the-gay-away industry. Meanwhile, many people are tired of the constant drumbeat of picking on LGBT people, and the polls are swinging against discrimination on all the issues. It’s a shrinking but loud minority that continues to push anti-gay propaganda. And the old religious arguments using the Bible, tradition, and whatever other religious excuses have been recited to support discrimination, have been thoroughly answered for decades by scholars and clergy of numerous denominations. Even with...

On June 3rd, voters in California’s 33 rd  Congressional District will have the chance to vote in their state primary for an independent candidate known internationally for her writing and speaking on spirituality, not her politics. Her work is so influential that six of her ten books were  New York Times  bestsellers and  Time  magazine included her with yoga and cabala as three things that “have been taken up by those seeking a relationship with God that is not strictly tethered to Christianity." Marianne Williamson, a life-long progressive Democrat running as an independent, will hear the usual complaints from true believer Democrats, saying it will ruin their chances to do whatever Democrats swear they will do while giving their usual excuses for not doing it. Running makes spiritual sense to her: “While many seekers have turned away from politics, viewing spiritual and political pursuits as mutually exclusive, I agree with Mahatma Gandhi that ‘An...

This past month an All-American defensive lineman named by the Associated Press as the Southeast Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year   told an interviewer from ESPN  that he’s gay. Michael Sam from the University of Missouri announced to the world what teammates and coaches already knew: “I am an openly, proud gay man.” Media speculation began as to how this would affect his chances in the upcoming National Football League draft. But his University of Missouri coach expressed unambiguous pride. "We're really happy for Michael that he's made the decision to announce this, and we're proud of him and how he represents Mizzou," Gary Pinkel said. "Michael is a great example of just how important it is to be respectful of others, he's taught a lot of people here first-hand that it doesn't matter what your background is, or your personal orientation, we're all on the same team and we all support each other." The NFL also release...

As of this writing, 17 states have legal marriage equality. Six got there by a court’s decision, eight by legislative action, and three by popular vote. It’s fun to say “as of this writing” because the political landscape is changing more quickly than most of us who’ve been working for human rights would ever have expected. It’s exciting. The excitement also includes pleasant surprises along the way. Just this past month a federal judge in Utah, Robert Shelby - a registered Republican endorsed by Utah’s Tea Party Senator, Mike Lee, as an “outstanding judge” - ruled that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. This so shocked a state beholden to one dominant militantly anti-gay religious empire that its acting attorney general was unprepared to request a stay of same-sex marriages – and that judge didn’t order one! Last December Utah’s actual, duly elected Mormon attorney general had resigned over numerous charges of misconduct and unethical behavior. The Utah p...

The New Year can safely be forecasted to bring more of the same. Actually, it’s likely to be an exaggeration of the political craziness of 2013. There are those who dream of sanity and bipartisan cooperation. I hope they had the pristine white Christmas they fantasized, too. 2014 actually is an election year, though it seems as if we’re always in one anymore. There are 33 US Senate seats being contested in addition to all 435 House seats. So, the pressure to do whatever it takes to raise money and buy votes is now in full swing. The media circus will continue to predict whatever about the outcome, finding polls to keep cable channels’ viewers on edge. Political advertising money will flow more freely as corporatists target local and national races. 2013 ended with outsiders loving the schisms among Republicans. “Falling in line” was collapsing, but it’s easy to make too much of this as wishful thinking. Certainly, the ideologues representing remnants of Tea Partyism will co...