Within These Walls

For some, there's solace within the walls of a church. For others, there is angst. Still, there are those who find a heightened sense of spirituality. But what some take from the church into the world outside can equate to weapons of mass destruction.

I was an avid churchgoer in my younger days, when I attended Baptist church just south of downtown Dallas twice a week. I remember getting all dressed up for the children's usher board on every 3rd Sunday... riding shotgun in my grandmother's car... listening to His word for nearly 3 hours. Afterward, my grandmother would take us to a friend's house where she always had boxes of snacks and candy to sooth my sweet tooth.

I admit, the absence of fire & brimstone in my pastor's sermons captivated me... moved my soul... instilled me with a sense of security, faith, hope, and a dizzying array of other soul-shaking things. There was no talk of "homosexuality is wrong"... only phrases like "We are all His children"... "Jesus loves all"... etc. When the Reverend did talk about sins, he'd speak in a way that didn't ostracize anyone's core identity. He would provide examples like buying scratch-off lottery tickets or adultery.

As life became more complicated for me, I slowly drifted away from church. Mortal issues such as an abusive stepfather and a growing sense of my sexuality forced me to look at the world in a much broader perspective, with a little less naivety.

Life in a "Bible-Belt" state, especially Texas, proved to be brutal for me. As I grew older, the church establishment became more and more like a storehouse for weapons of mass destruction. Not the church I was attending, but rather, a multitude of locations dotting the Texas landscape. In many ways, I identified with my fellow homosexuals who were angered at things such as messages on billboards pictured to the right.

However, in some ways, I felt pragmatism flow into my veins. Why? Because when I hear some gays and lesbians talk about how bad churches are, especially Baptist churches, I can always point to my home church as an example to the contrary. Even so, the fact is, people have a right to hate homosexuals. They have a right to be racist. They have the right to religious freedoms.

The church that posted the message in the billboard pictured above was subsequently greeted by protesters. You would not find the Black Man Next Door amongst them. In a way, I simply don't agree with our ranks picketing and protesting in front of churches that preach a message that "we" don't agree with. Again, they have the right to religious freedom of expression -- and to encroach upon that makes us no better than them.

Nowadays, this church is posting billboard ads right in the heart of Dallas' gay neighborhood... and I struggle to understand their need to shove their beliefs into our ears. Why can't they live and let live? Why dump their toxic, nuclear wastes into the gardens of people who are different than they are?

There seems to be no shortage of these types of churches, churchgoers, and messages here in Texas. When we encroach upon their rights to live the way they want, and say what they want to say, they recoil into defense mechanisms... a safeguard to defend territory that they feel is threatened by homosexual "invasion". When they encroach upon our rights to live the way we want, and screw who we want to screw, we recoil into our defense mechanisms. A rift in mankind that is steadily ripping open into a gaping chasm.... but after reading many articles and blogs related to our war against our intolerant counterparts, our tongues can be just as toxic and hateful.

In my opinion, if we are to coexist in light of better understanding, it's not just about them getting to know the real "us". It's about us getting to know the real "them", too. They aren't necessarily encroaching our space out of hatred -- but out of simple misunderstanding due to existing stereotypes and beliefs about our culture. As long as we continue to feed those stereotypes and beliefs with Manhunt, Condoms-to-Go, and Gay Phone Sex billboard ads -- they will see the shallow end of the rainbow pool.

We must be pragmatists that are willing to seal the rift... not tear it apart even further. Rather than focusing on differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals, we should focus on our similarities as one human race.

Compromise, as all pragmatists ultimately do at some point.