The Real Meaning of Pride on July Fourth

I planned to submit this to the Advocate, but they don't print more than two pieces every two weeks from any single author. Which is too bad, because this was by the most fun of the three opinion pieces I've written. I sent it to a couple of other news outlets, but no one picked it up in time for July Fourth. So I'm putting it out there myself.

Happy Independence Day!

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Barely one week after I cheered on the parade at the Heritage of Pride in New York, I’m getting ready for a different kind of pride march. At this march, however, there won’t be any sequined jumpsuits or outrageous wigs. Nor will there be a thumping beat or a catchy dance mix for me to hum along to. Instead, the marchers will wear dangerously out-of-date tri-corner hats and gaiters, and the fife-and-drum corps that toots and pounds its way across the historic town common in Lexington will just have to do. These sins against fashion and the goddess Madonna are understandable, I suppose. It is, after all, July 4, and it is the real meaning of this American holiday that gives me the reason, the right and, some might even say, the obligation to celebrate my pride as a gay American.

Each year on July 4, we Americans take special time to regale each other with the story of the founding of our country. The Boston Tea Party. The midnight ride of Paul Revere. The shot heard ‘round the world. Thomas Jefferson’s marathon writing of the Declaration of Independence. The miserable winter at Valley Forge. And, finally, the surrender at Yorktown that made the United States of America a reality. These were the stories that I learned by heart long before I even became a naturalized citizen of the United States; something about the boldness, self-sacrifice, and passion of the history makes it riveting and powerful. Sometimes, however, the fundamental philosophies and events of American history gets twisted just a little bit beyond the facts, with disastrous results.

“Traditional American values” – and its multiple variations – has become one of the most commonly used slogans to attack the GLBTQ community. Take, for example, the press release recently issued by Representative Steve King (R-IA) after the House passed his amendment gutting H.R. 5576 of funding for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. According to the LAGLC, its mission is to provide “free and low-cost health, mental health, HIV/AIDS medical care and HIV/STD testing and prevention,” as well as “legal, social, cultural, and educational services, with unique programs for seniors, families and youth, including a 24-bed transitional living program for homeless youth.” According to Representative King’s office, however, this mission constituted an offense “radically opposed to traditional values the overwhelming majority of Americans hold dear.”

What is so horribly un-American about the LAGLC? Several words from the Center’s mission statement jump out at first glance: “testing and prevention,” “educational services,” “transitional living.” By any measure, then, patrons of the LAGLC seem to be trying to lead conscientious, safe, enlightened, and self-sufficient lives. It is, no doubt, a difficult struggle for these brave souls to face down their worst demons. But the same bold spirit and passion that drove the American colonists in 1776 drive these gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans today to make their own personal revolutions to become active members of society. I know of no endeavor more traditional, more moral, and more American than that. To Representative King, I say this: Find me a more worthwhile cause than aiding and celebrating those who are working hard for the American Dream of a brighter future, and you can have your money back. And take your bigotry, too.

The problem with the misappropriation of what is and what is not traditionally “American” goes beyond a question of morality. Dare I say it: despite the best efforts throughout history of delusional, self-proclaimed prophets like “Lemonade Lucy” Hayes, America has never been about moral values. Fortunately, the Founding Fathers were smart enough to realize that morality is a flimsy concept malleable to the corrupted touch of the powerful. So, instead of creating a nation around “who we are” or “what we believe in,” the Founding Fathers made America about how it is that we go about expressing our identities and our beliefs. You want to be an American? Then participate in republican democracy. Support equal protection under the law. Fight hard for equal opportunity, and take personal responsibility if you are lucky enough to have one (or even two). Respect your own and others’ life, liberty, and pursuits of happiness. Their aim was to create a set of guidelines that would enable everyone to contribute to the public good: whether singing in a church choir or in a drag show; whether wearing leather chaps for calf roping or for a night out; whether a family has one father or two or none at all. For one group to tell another that it is not and cannot be American is not only one of the most repetitive tragedies in the history of the United States, but also, not coincidentally, one of the most unpatriotic things an American can do.

When my mother took the immigrant naturalization test in 2001 to bring herself and me into the American family, she did not have to answer any questions about the proper name of the Christian god or the right number of people that constitute a family. The test checked that she was familiar with our political process and our shared history, and then it asked her to take an oath to the effect “that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…” My political pride in being an American, in supporting and defending the Constitution, and in bearing true faith and allegiance to the United States is the same pride that tells me that I am valuable as a social and sexual being. Opposition to progressive GLBTQ rights and equality in the name of traditional American values is just one more in a long and historic list of misguided fits of moral self-righteousness. I have faith that this, too, shall pass, like the many failed reactionary campaigns before it. In the mean time, I’ll add to my red, white, and blue some extra touches of orange, yellow, green, and purple. And I’ll wave my flag high, proud to be gay because I am proud to be an American.