srparedon – editorials (archive)

October 2006

“Equality” has become a buzzword for many gay and lesbian organizations. Indeed, several have incorporated the term into their very names. The Human Rights Campaign, by far the best funded and highest profile national gay group, has even adopted an equality sign as their corporate logo.

Given that for much of history and in many places homosexual expression has been brutally suppressed, it is seductive to think that social and legal parity with heterosexuals is our ultimate goal.

But while gay people should have the ability to conduct their social and civic lives with… Continue reading →

September 2006

Sixty-five years ago this September, German Nazis made it compulsory for Jews to wear a yellow Star of David. Holocaust survivor Victor Klemperer, writing in I Will Bear Witness 1933-1941: A Diary of the Nazi Years, recalls the introduction of the mandatory Star as the darkest moment of the entire Nazi regime.

Klemperer suffered countless indignities, saw and endured horrific abuse, and heard of unspeakable atrocities throughout the Nazis’ rise to power and their subsequent subjugation of much of Europe. One of a handful of German Jews who escaped the round-ups and deportations to… Continue reading →

August 2006

Prudence is an under-appreciated virtue. In a culture that trumpets ideas in sound bites and allots fame in 15-minute bursts, the careful attention needed to grow and sustain an endeavor like The Guide magazine can be undervalued. But without wise care, no enterprise reliant upon not-easy-to-obtain resources (in this case, money) will survive long, much less the 22-plus years that The Guide has.

All of us who value The Guide and its message owe publisher Edward Hougen our appreciation for his prudent stewardship of the magazine through these past decades. By carefully marshaling resources, Ed–… Continue reading →

July 2006

Why do we have juries? Given the complexity of the law, wouldn’t it be wiser to have judges decide how the law does– or doesn’t– apply to those accused of crime? Trials can be long and hard work; wouldn’t it be better to have trained professionals perform the task of fact finder rather than disrupt the lives of a dozen citizens? Why indeed does the US Constitution repeatedly guarantee the right to a jury trial? Why do the constitutions of all fifty states similarly claim for their citizens the right of a trial by jury?

 … Continue reading →

June 2006

June means gay pride celebrations in big cities throughout the world. Marches, parades, rallies, festivals, and parties will commemorate the events of June 1969 wherein patrons of New York City’s Stonewall Bar stood up to police harassment. When the bar was raided that historic night, gay men, drag queens, and street riffraff– instead of climbing meekly into the back of police wagons– fought back. What the cops had thought would be a routine shakedown turned into a riot.

Out of that act of resistance was born the modern gay liberation movement. Central to the spirit… Continue reading →

May 2006

Those hostile to gay expression often raise the specter of a lonely and loveless old age for any man who adopts “the gay lifestyle” thereby straying from the narrow heterosexual path. As they age, gay men– some warn– will be abandoned by a youth-obsessed narcissistic gay culture that cares only for the young and beautiful.

And a few gay men have learned to echo such complaints and fears. Some older gay men lament being left out of the youth-oriented nightlife scene, while young gay men can be found who cannot imagine a worthwhile life after… Continue reading →