Pride is a deeply patriotic and American celebration
No matter how you look at it, gay Pride is a celebration of American values, like expression, bravery and happiness.
Pride is a patriotic celebration.
No matter how you look at it, the elevation of the personal and community-wide accomplishments of the LGBT community during Pride month, and all of the events that entails, is a celebration of American values from start to finish.
Maybe coincidental, Pride Month is sandwiched between Memorial Day and Independence Day. Yes, people died for members of the LGBT community to live their true lives and be both free and independent.
So proud of my country.
The words of the Star-Spangled Banner itself reflect the values of Pride.
“Land of the free”
The United States of America is the world leader in freedom, and in so many respects it is a world leader in the freedom of the LGBT community.
There are still dozens of countries that criminalize homosexuality. Many places in the United States once did, yet it’s a source of Pride that the country moved past that 20 years ago (and many states did long before that).
Even Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who seems to be no big fan of the LGBT community at large, acknowledges the importance of letting adults do what they want to do in their own homes, calling out places like Uganda that imprison or murder gay men. MSNBC falsely called Cruz’s opposition “surprising.” It is not remotely surprising to hear any American support freedom of adults.
Compared to other countries deemed relatively friendly to gays and lesbians, the U.S. has been a leader in our rights. It was the 18th country to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, and places like Massachusetts and Connecticut did it even years before.
“Home of the brave”
Every single person in the LGBT community demonstrates bravery and courage by simply coming out.
Bravery is “having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty.”
It’s the opposite of fearlessness. Virtually no LGBT person is fearless when coming out. Yet they find their way – with courage through fear – to come out and be their true selves.
The LGBT community is, like the United States of America, the “home of the brave.”
“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
Pride Month is at its core a celebration of the single-most important principle upon which the country was founded, that everyone is endowed with the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
After almost three decades of living life as an out gay man, very publicly sharing my love of other men and my husband Dan in particular, this part of the Declaration of Independence is so powerful and important.
That thing called the First Amendment
Governments across the world stop Pride celebrations, yet in the United States they persist as a celebration of our most-beloved freedom of speech in this country.
To be sure, some places are finding ways to slow Pride celebrations, prohibiting drag performances – which can sometimes be lewd – in the presence of children, and Pride organizers refusing to have marches without drag performers.
These anti-First Amendment bans – hiding behind the veil of concern for children on the streets of Tampa – reinforce the celebration of freedom of speech that are Pride.