I regret to inform my readers that the Athenaeum under its two Ath Fellows has decided more to engage in activism, at the expense of informed, reason dialogue. Such activism on behalf of a partisan agenda has no place at the Athenaeum where frank discussion ought to be encouraged. Instead, in an email from the Ath fellows, I'm told of a speakers series titled, "Marching toward Equality."
So shame on the Ath for only inviting one side of a "divisive" issue to the table. The Ath is, after all, a public good and it only succeeds at its mission when it brings all people to the table. Such was its mission and I wonder if it can long survive such a mission under its current trajectory. That it brought three speakers to speak on so-called on only one side of gay issues is troubling indeed. And while homosexual equality may be a divisive topic in the nation as a whole, it is certainly not one at the Claremont Colleges where I would estimate that most Claremont students voted against Proposition 8.
There were many speaker series it could have offered if it were seeking to mark historic events and the Stonewill Inn episode -- which occurred in 1969, not 1979 as the letter claims -- does not strike me as the most pressing one for conversation and reflection. How about instead a conversation about Chinese human rights twenty years after the massacre of Chinese students at Tienanmen Square? Or, say, a conversation about the agitation and recognition of Solidarity in Poland twenty years later? Or a frank conversation about the would be rainbow republic fifteen years after the end of apartheid? Surely these events warrant at least a speaker.
Of course there are many that think that being opposed to what is currently known as the gay liberation movement is tantamount to bigotry -- a charge and an accusation I fully reject.
Indeed, I have made the case here and elsewhere that in order for the Republican party to be a pro-life party, it needs to be the party of gay adoption and, so as not to discriminate against the children of those gay couples by taxing their parents as individuals, eventually of some kind of tax benefit for any two people living together. I strongly support homosexuals serving openly in the U.S. military, especially in this time of war. I tend to take the Chris Rock view on that and I find it absolutely a stain on this country's honor that we allow Israeli, Brits, and others, who allow
The Ath has brought many, many speakers in favor of supposed homosexual equality, including a CMCer military man who opposed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." It has brought noted gay activist, Andrew Sullivan, to the Athenaeum twice in the past four years.
And certainly we can do better than the gays we are bringing to the Athenaeum, Cleve Jones is a member of the group, UNITE HERE!, which seeks to align the gay community with organized labor. Mr. Jones will be speaking on homosexual marriage, a cause he believes in and will be leading a march on Washington to effect that end. Of course, if you wanted to encourage the Ath to bring someone who orchestrated that massive protest against Obama, you won't get a receptive response.
And don't get me started on RuPaul Charles.
I will be there to challenge politely, but firmly, those speakers and I'll have something on Mr. Daniel Choi later.
