Is America Ready for a gay president? That is the question circulating among Independents, Democrats, and Republicans. Surprisingly, it is not getting the media coverage in 2020 one would have expected in 2016 or indeed 2012.
‘Controversies,’ if indeed this is a controversy, are typically out in the open and vigorously dissected from every quarter. The ‘talking heads’ rattle on attempting to ramp up the dialogue, hoping for the sake of media rating, that another proverbial ‘bombshell’ will explode in nuclear proportions across the airwaves and internet.
We sure don’t hear anything from the current candidates. Well, maybe we do, just one. Peter Buttigieg. Hum, that’s interesting. He’s the only one we know of that is gay, much less openly gay. One or two other candidates were suspect, but they have exited the foray and have returned to the venial peanut gallery. Whew!
Yes, Mayor Pete is brandishing his homosexuality as a badge of honor. It is one thing being openly gay, and entirely another thrusting yourself center-stage in a national election. That takes grande gonads! Kudos Pete!
But what is going on beneath the surface? I don’t think there is really any way of knowing for sure. Have you noticed that not many care to voice their opinion one way or another? When asked, Is America ready for a gay president: the most common response is: “having a gay person running for president is really great.’ Not much more is said, very rarely is there any elaboration.
I’d venture to speculate we are not getting the full story.
When the pollsters were brandishing their numbers at the close of the 2016 election, only one predicted Donald Trump would be victorious. Most of the others forecasted a landslide in favor of his Democrat opponent.
What happened? It couldn’t be more obvious. When asked, those planning on voting for the future president declined to either answer or reveal that they were considering an unpopular candidate.
Therein lies the obfuscation. People have been increasingly intimidated by the press, social media, family, and friends. When 90% of the media and the internet think one way, it can be dangerous to share one’s thoughts when in opposition to the popular but not necessarily majority consensus. There is a stunningly large number of people not afraid to shame those holding different views. Shaming administered verbally and physically is more common than not. Think ANTIFA.
Ridicule and physical danger lie in wait for those that differ with the popular sentiment. So why take the risk? Keep your own counsel. Voting is, for the time being, secret. It is safe and allows everyone to answer the question, is America ready for a gay president?
We can only hope and pray that America is ready to accept a gay president. Not only accept, but actively consider voting for someone regardless of their sexual orientation. We’ve done it with race. The popular vote favored a woman for president in 2016. We can only hope that the vast majority of our countrymen are willing to allow all citizens the rights for which our forefathers sacrificed their lives and fortunes outlined in the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Yes, there are those in America that are ready for a gay president. Let’s claim in good faith that what appears on the surface is in fact acceptance. That this acceptance is the reality that runs deep within the souls of the people that make up this great nation. A country founded on equality and justice for all.