STOLEN HONOR

Here’s a dilemma. Do I accept ads for “Stolen Honor,” the anti-Kerry propaganda movie being forced down the throats of Sinclair’s broadcasting networks? And the answer is … sure! It’s a free country and I have never believed in squelching views, however objectionable. Running an ad for a DVD raises no public airwaves questions, and funnels a few Sinclair dollars to the blog. Look, I have an ad from Ann Coulter. And George Soros. Just explaining …

SIGH: Jonah says I ignored his piece on the Mary Cheney affair. My apologies. I missed it. But, having read it, my point about his tacit approval of an analogy between lesbianism and adultery and/or alcoholism holds. On that very analogy, Jonah punts by saying “we can discuss all that another day.” Why not now? Here are his other analogies:

[W]hat if George W. Bush had said “divorce is a difficult issue. On one hand we all think society is healthier when marriages are healthier. On the other hand, we understand that good and decent people sometimes have irreconcilable differences. I’m sure if you asked John Kerry’s first wife, she would tell you that there are no easy answers…” Or if he had said, “I’m sure if you asked John Kerry’s lovely daughters whether it was easy for them to cope with their parents’ divorce…”

But divorce is almost always a sad thing. Even if it’s the best thing for the people involved, it still represents an obvious lapse from the hopes they had when they got married in the first place. No such thing should be said about being gay. There is nothing unfortunate about it at all – except for having to deal with incomprehension, hostility and prejudice on a regular basis. And that has nothing to do with homosexuality (a neutral or good thing) and everything to do with homophobia (an evil). Still, Jonah has a final analogy:

Or what if Bush had said, “America is a land of great opportunity for immigrants. I’m sure John Kerry’s second wife Teresa, who was born in Africa, would agree…”

That’s a much better analogy – because being an immigrant is not something we should disparage – but it is something that some bigots do disparage. And on this, I disagree with Jonah. I think it would be perfectly legitimate to mention it. As with Mary’s lesbianism, THK’s roots are publicly known; and there’s nothing wrong with them. In fact, deliberately not mentioning THK’s origins in order not to inflame nativists is buying into the bigots’ rationale and argument. Our leaders should not acquiesce in popular prejudice. They should challenge it when necessary. So I rest my case. I await an analogy that is not inherently distasteful or problematic that would render Kerry’s remark out of bounds.