It's 2010, why do we have to hide behind closet doors?

Okay, so there was a story posted about Chely Wright finally coming out of the closet, and being the first country music singer to do so. Congratulations to her. (I hope Kenny Chesney pays attention and follows suit. He can tell himself he's straight all he wants, and he can even date that nurse Amy what's-her-name in Nashville, but you can't deny who you are. I'm just sayin'...)

Here's the thing... it's 2010. I don't think that I even like the term "coming out." It makes it seem like something they should be ashamed of. Why should anyone be ashamed of who they love? Trust me, I didn't always fall for the "right" guys in my past, but I was never ashamed of the fact I was with them. That seems sort of counter-intuitive to creating a relationship. I can only imagine how counter-intuitive to hide your choices like that.

Why can't we all just get along? Why can't you love who you want to love without others casting stones?

Yeah, pull out the biblical references from Leviticus. The fact of the matter (and I've alluded to this in earlier posts) - the only real sin is not acknowledging Jesus as your Savior and believing in him. It doesn't say that being gay will keep you out of heaven. Quite frankly, if it will, it's between a man and his maker, and between the two of them only. Period, end of story. (Once again, don't ask who the atheists answer to, I have no idea. Guess they can make up their own rules about everything.)

I just think that in this land of so-called tolerance, we're nowhere near as tolerant as we should be. Gay is a synonym for happy. It seems so wrong that so many homosexual men and women have to live a secret life, live a lie ... that seems the complete opposite of happy. To think about it one way, seems like they get screwed out of happiness, don't you think?

Now, I admit I am straight. It is who I am. But you know, if being gay is who someone is, who am I to tell them it's wrong? Who am I to say, "You can't love that person because you have the wrong plumbing?" Why turn myself into a bigot and make someone unhappy at the same time - that's a lose-lose situation if you ask me. And dear God, there are so many other things in this world that we need to put our attention on, let's not cast stones on someone because of who they love. It's not worth the pain and heartache.

Back to my original point. If we can live in a country that elected an African-American president (who, I admittedly don't like, but that's a whole separate issue), why can't we live in a country where gays don't have to hide behind closet doors? It just seems so ... well, so 1950s. We had the civil rights movement to get equal opportunity for African-Americans and while there's still discrimination in some places, we are light years away from the days of segregation. African-Americans, the Jewish folks, Asians ... they don't have to live in fear anymore, they don't have to hide, why do the gays? Those who don't hide, why do they have to live with the ridicule? Let's get with the times people.