Thursday, October 21, 2004
A privileged lesbian aids an anti-gay administration
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Moore is a resident of Glade Spring.
Mary Cheney is intelligent. She is attractive. And she's a lesbian.
Had John Kerry been given the opportunity in the last presidential debate to speak glowingly about the first two traits, Mary Cheney's parents, Dick and Lynne Cheney, would have been pl
eased and thankful.
But Kerry warmly and supportively mentioned the third fact. And the parents are now "indignant," "angry" and "appalled." They say they are mad because Kerry cynically has brought their daughter into the political debate.
Never mind that they have done so themselves on several occasions to appease moderates who fear Bush might be a wild-eyed gay basher.
What has really upset the Cheneys is not the political motivations behind Kerry's words, but that he has called them on their hypocrisy. They are now being forced to reconcile their support of their daughter's sexuality with Bush's ugly attempts to gain the votes of people who do not share that support.
So the parents have some questions to answer. How can they back a president whose policies are a grave assault on their own daughter? And how can they truly reject Elizabeth Edwards' claim that they are at some level ashamed of their daughter's sexual preference?
Mary Cheney also has a responsibility for this current conflict. As crass as it may sound, she truly is "fair game" in this debate. As an openly gay woman, she has worked for the Coors Bottling Co. as a liaison on gay issues, and she has spoken publicly in support of gay rights.
Now, however, she serves as the vice president's campaign coordinator, actively campaigning for President Bush at a time when he is calling for a constitutional amendment that would limit those rights. She strives for the best of two worlds: one in which her father is a vice president, albeit in an anti-gay administration, and the other in which she lives openly with her same-sex partner.
To most openly gay citizens, Mary Cheney's behavior is an insult and perhaps the real outrage of this debate. Unlike millions of homosexuals in this country, she enjoys a life of privilege. And unlike other ordinary gay Americans, she has the opportunity - and the protection - to live openly with her sexuality and to address gay issues. But now she chooses the convenience of silence. And she makes that choice as her parents complain that Kerry had no right to express compassion toward their lesbian daughter.
What Mary Cheney and her parents may not understand is that Kerry was expressing compassion not just for her, but for all gay Americans who see their sexuality as no more of a curse than, say, the color of their hair, their height or their intelligence.
Mary Cheney might find it unfortunate that she was singled out by Kerry for this public discussion, but millions of other gay Americans would gladly endure that kind of uncomfortable exposure for the unique opportunity she has neglected: to make a real, positive difference in the lives of their homosexual brothers and sisters.
