After watching Rent and wrestling with the "right way to deal with a homosexual" issue yet another time in my life, I posted the long example of circular thinking below. I was hoping for a little more wrestling than I got, but thank you for those who posted. But, I think I finally came to a conclusion that confirms that I am really quite reasonable about this.
It would be impossible for me to expect anyone to totally agree with every decision I have ever made and will make. It would be impossible for me to expect anyone to agree with every view I have and will have. Even my closest friends don't agree with much of what I am doing right now. I know that some would consider the time I spend in bars an expression of me participating in abhorence. I can live with that because I know that I love my friends and they love me and that love and camaraderie we have is far more important than if I have a beer or express myself in some questionable ways on the blog.
Just like the person who decides or discovers that they are gay, I have weighed all aspects of what I know and believe at the moment in order to carry out what I do in my daily life whether people like it or not. They have done the same thing whether I like it or not. But, I hope the homosexuals I meet in the future can be as gracious as those I have met in the past and are able to agree to disagree, to share their tears with me as well as a drink or dinner and my tears with them as I have been able to do. But, knowing what I know today as an expression of who I am in this part of my journey, I can't see how I can change my mind. I still don't think that it is the way God intended. But, the response of most people who subscribe to the "Judeo Christian" ethic is most often equally not as God intended. But, I could not sacrifice a relationship with one if given the opportunity, by harping on their choice or condition in life. Because I truly believe that the differences we share with others challenge and refine us and make us better if we have enough concern for the person and not just the label we have on them. But really, we cannot help in this life do anything but wrestle with the labels when we are confronted with them.
As far as the movie goes, it did make me think and remember. As mentioned above, I have cried with those who believe they are homosexuals, with my arm around their shoulder. But, this movie is something different. While the premise is admirable and the movie was full of good music and talent, there is something that is unsaid amidst the emotional backdrop. Though not all people with AIDS are suffering the consequences of their decisions, the people in this movie (both gay and straight) who had AIDs were in the midst of enduring the consequences of unwise decisions made in their life.
This movie, though I must say again I liked it as far as musicals go, fails to point that out and provides an outlet for people's denial to grow. Even the main song is a great example. "525,600 minutes...." poses the theorem to us, as sung by dying people who created their own circumstances, that it does not matter how long you live, but how much love you give during the time you are here. Hence, "it is okay that I am dying so young because I had a lot of love to give." But, the sad part is that if these people have a lot of love to give, they should have made better decisions because when they die, the world would have to live without their life and there would be a lot less love if you follow the theory to its logical and unemotional conclusion.
Love is a great thing, but promoting love without the wisdom to prevent such dire situations is useless and emotional. It is not true love and leads to self destruction. But, when you consider what happened in the life of the person who wrote the musical, it is a beutiful expression of a person who was probably trying to cope with and make some sense of the situation he was in. He was able, for a time find his answer to the question of existence.
These issues are important for us to wrestle and think about. Someday, we need to tell our kids (those of us who have them), who will ask questions about those two guys or girls kissing on TV, what we believe about being right and wrong and how we should properly treat those and can still befriend and love those we disagree with or agree with for that matter (no matter which way you feel about this, you will be teaching your kids). That is my statement for today... after some wrestling.... again.
