Equality of rights is critical, but diversity of pathways must also be honored.
This LGBT Pride, Let's Celebrate Difference Not Sameness
It's hard to imagine an American poet more celebrated than four-time Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Frost, whose most famous poem concludes:
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I --I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
When the most celebrated poet's most well-known lines praise difference why is it that we're so scared of it?
Maybe we need more poets. That's what John F Kennedy said just weeks before his death, at the groundbreaking of the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College. It was soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War was raging on, ten million Americans needed jobs, and America needed strength, said Kennedy, but strength, he said, "takes many forms, and the most obvious forms are not always the most significant."
The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, the President continued, "but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable... for they determine whether we use power or power uses us."
Music and poetry and the arts push us, said Kennedy. "When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence."
That was half a century ago. Today we have entire months supposedly dedicated to "diversity", including this one, June, LGBTQI Pride Month.
Mostly, we don't celebrate diversity; we celebrate sameness. We honor all the progress that we lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans Americans have made, becoming "accepted" as, well, just like everybody else.
Now I'm all for everyone enjoying the same rights in these United States. I support that - on-going - project. But I'd like to celebrate something else too: roads less travelled. Especially the roads less travelled that LGBTQI people take daily, opening up the possibilities for everybody.
The same old roads will take us to the same old destinations. It's divergence, as the straight, white poet once wrote, that makes all the difference.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
It's hard to imagine an American poet more celebrated than four-time Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Frost, whose most famous poem concludes:
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I --I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
When the most celebrated poet's most well-known lines praise difference why is it that we're so scared of it?
Maybe we need more poets. That's what John F Kennedy said just weeks before his death, at the groundbreaking of the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College. It was soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War was raging on, ten million Americans needed jobs, and America needed strength, said Kennedy, but strength, he said, "takes many forms, and the most obvious forms are not always the most significant."
The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, the President continued, "but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable... for they determine whether we use power or power uses us."
Music and poetry and the arts push us, said Kennedy. "When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence."
That was half a century ago. Today we have entire months supposedly dedicated to "diversity", including this one, June, LGBTQI Pride Month.
Mostly, we don't celebrate diversity; we celebrate sameness. We honor all the progress that we lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans Americans have made, becoming "accepted" as, well, just like everybody else.
Now I'm all for everyone enjoying the same rights in these United States. I support that - on-going - project. But I'd like to celebrate something else too: roads less travelled. Especially the roads less travelled that LGBTQI people take daily, opening up the possibilities for everybody.
The same old roads will take us to the same old destinations. It's divergence, as the straight, white poet once wrote, that makes all the difference.
It's hard to imagine an American poet more celebrated than four-time Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Frost, whose most famous poem concludes:
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I --I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
When the most celebrated poet's most well-known lines praise difference why is it that we're so scared of it?
Maybe we need more poets. That's what John F Kennedy said just weeks before his death, at the groundbreaking of the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College. It was soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War was raging on, ten million Americans needed jobs, and America needed strength, said Kennedy, but strength, he said, "takes many forms, and the most obvious forms are not always the most significant."
The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, the President continued, "but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable... for they determine whether we use power or power uses us."
Music and poetry and the arts push us, said Kennedy. "When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence."
That was half a century ago. Today we have entire months supposedly dedicated to "diversity", including this one, June, LGBTQI Pride Month.
Mostly, we don't celebrate diversity; we celebrate sameness. We honor all the progress that we lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans Americans have made, becoming "accepted" as, well, just like everybody else.
Now I'm all for everyone enjoying the same rights in these United States. I support that - on-going - project. But I'd like to celebrate something else too: roads less travelled. Especially the roads less travelled that LGBTQI people take daily, opening up the possibilities for everybody.
The same old roads will take us to the same old destinations. It's divergence, as the straight, white poet once wrote, that makes all the difference.