The Patriot Post® · Be 'Prideful' or Be Accused of 'Homophobia'

It’s nearing that time of year again. In June, the rainbow flags and motifs come out and those in corporate America once again celebrate our “diversity” by overexposing it everywhere for a month — only to have it be put away like winter clothes as they shift gears toward their rah-rah patriotism for Independence Day before sliding into back-to-school sales after the holiday. Just can’t wait for that summer clearance sale!

Rather than just toe the corporate line, though, there are some of us who recall what the rainbow was originally meant to convey in the Book of Genesis, and it wasn’t a token of diversity or acceptance.

Be that as it may, the reason we bring this up is to note that the Biden administration recently put out a statement commemorating what’s known as the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. (If you didn’t know about it and missed it entirely, join the club.) Part of the statement claimed: “LGBTQI+ people are an essential part of families and communities — teachers, first responders, public officials, doctors, lawyers, front-line workers, and friends who enrich and strengthen every single country. And make no mistake: hateful legislative attacks against members of our own LGBTQI+ community cannot be tolerated in America or anywhere else. They spur discrimination and can stoke violence. And they are rooted in the same ignorance and intolerance that we see around the world. Hate is hate — and all of us have a responsibility to speak out against hate wherever we find it.”

The most interesting aspect of what is otherwise a rather boilerplate statement by a president who was elected on the pretense of unifying us — besides choosing to lead off the “essential part of community” clause by mentioning teachers at a moment in time when “grooming” in schools is front and center on the minds of millions of parents — is the part about “hateful legislative attacks.” Of course, we get no examples or evidence of such attacks from the Biden statement.

Many of us still believe, as our Mark Alexander put it, that “the private affairs of consenting adults, however sordid, are their business — until they attempt to normalize and nationalize them.” We can point to the fact that the “LGBTQ+” community has acquired a number of rights in the eyes of the law in a very short amount of time. Plus they get a whole month to celebrate their identity to boot. To use a catchphrase of a bygone era, “You’ve come a long way, baby.”

But here’s a thought exercise: Re-read the Biden statement, but this time imagine the word “Christian” in lieu of “LGBTQIA+.” Not only does the statement make sense, but it gets us to ask just what efforts the Biden administration is making to advance the human rights of Christian people both here and abroad. Are Christians being served as we attempt to “speak out against hate wherever we find it”?

Given that the prevailing approach of Democrat administrations has been to instill tolerance by diktat instead of letting Christians love the sinner but not condone the sin without undue harassment, it’s worth noting that Christians have to pray for affirmative court rulings to maintain their rights in the face of government policy. Bear in mind the Christian Employers Alliance, which brought the suit, is not seeking a ban on procedures sought by people wishing to resemble the opposite gender — it just don’t want to be forced to pay for an employee to have it done.

As the court ruling notes, the Alliance was put in place “to support Christian employers and develop strategies for them, so that they, as part of their religious witness and exercise may provide health or other employment related benefits to their respective employees and engage in other employment practices in a manner that is consistent with Christian values.” Fortunately, the court found, “Compliance with the mandate requires the Plaintiff and its members to violate their religious beliefs, convictions, and practices. This is an irreparable injury.” Judge Daniel Traynor’s preliminary injunction saved the day for now, but only until a higher court rules otherwise.

In the meantime, even those on the thoughtful Left are figuring out what we are up against. “If we can’t admit that, in certain enclaves, there is some level of trendiness to the idea of being anything other than straight, then this is not a serious science-based discussion,” observed lefty humorist Bill Maher. “It’s a blow being struck in the culture wars, using children as cannon fodder.”

When our children see that the world allocates the rainbow to celebrate “pride” for a whole month, it’s worth reminding them that Scripture tells us pride defiles a man.