An honors student in Fort Worth, Texas, was sent to the principal’s office and punished for telling a classmate that he believes homosexuality is wrong.
Dakota was in a German class at the high school when the conversation shifted to religion and homosexuality in Germany. At some point during the conversation, he turned to a friend and said that he was a Christian and “being a homosexual is wrong.”
Accusations of "Homophobia" are taken very seriously in modern day America and that is why Jews need to be very cautious when dealing with this entire phenomenon of "Gay Pride" versus Torah requirements of correct sexual moral behavior. This is a huge political struggle in America for many reasons.
ReplyDeleteIn American secular life the Gay Rights revolution is seen as no less a political struggle as the fight for the rights of slaves, fighting a civil war and setting the slaves free, Emancipation, the struggle for equal and civil rights, and strivings for Black Power all the way to the White House. Like worker's rights and the right to form unions and banning child labor. Like women's rights to vote and having all round equal rights and equal pay as part of ongoing Feminism. All very volatile and dangerous POLITICAL situations to be involved in.
If religious Jews will make this a "banner issue" they will fall into a huge political trap. They could be put on the spot and asked on what basis they have rights too? to wear their levush, not learn English and live in cut off communities?
It could get far worse for the Jews if the gay rights issue is mishandled and mutate into a crazy sort of civil/secular "blood libel" that could be raised that Jews are "Homophobes" (as if they "killed the son of God") and would be asked if religious Jews want homosexuals to be "stoned" a la a "Biblical solution" for eradicating this abomination? -- So this requires great care and it would be best for rabbinic leaders to exercise great caution in how they speak up about these issues.
America is not a perfect land. It is not "gan eden" and it has been in moral and general decline for some time now. It's like a team of horses from a coach that has gone wild that is charging down the hilly road on its own, and as Rav Yisroel Salanter once said, in such a situation to try to stop the horses would be suicidal. Rather wait for the horses to reach the bottom of the hill (whether it will be the times of Mashiach or forced Aliya to Israel like the Jews of Russia experienced) and then Jews can have this vigorous debate and resolve it within their own communities.