Does happiness require a note from your doctor?

For years we’ve heard arguments that since GLBT people are born the way they are, they deserve equal rights.  And that’s fine, because most straight people believe they were born straight*. But on another level, what difference should it make?

When Thomas Jefferson said that the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were “unalienable rights”, why would that not include consensual relationships?  Why would it not include personal image and identity? Take your time, I’ll wait.

It doesn’t matter if there’s a biological basis or not. I don’t care if gay people get up in the morning and take a special pill that makes them gay; they still deserve equal protection under the law. If a young person is miserable in their socially-assigned gender and happier in another gender or none at all, isn’t that the pursuit of happiness? You know, that “unalienable right”? We fought a war over the right of self-determination, and then another, even bigger war.

The concept applies here. If GLBT people make you queasy, that’s on you, not on them. Try to set your discomfort aside for a little while and just listen. Maybe try reading something written by them instead of stuff written about them by people trying to change them.

If your religion is telling you to make their lives worse, also read up on life in historic theocracies.

Isn’t common decency enough reason to just let other people be happy? Maybe even be happy for them? For that matter, why do we even need a reason to celebrate someone else’s joy? Who knows you might make some new friends, and find yourself in a better, happier world.

Notes:

• Discuss this post on Facebook and Twitter
• No special reason I’m writing this now except it’s something I’ve said for years, and I just wanted to get it down in writing.
• I’m not against trying to find out if there’s a genetic basis for GLBT orientation. It is a legitimate scientific question. But even if it is found, I can imagine several scenarios where, instead of defusing prejudice, it becomes the basis of discrimination. A change is needed in our attitude toward people whose happiness is different from our own.
• *Or, not so very different. Straight guys, in particular, are socialized to never even entertain the possibility that they might not be 100% straight. This is more important than religion or patriotism or even Ford vs Chevvy.