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Friday, September 28, 2007
IN
MANY
WAYS,
I
lead
a
very
traditional
life.
In
fact,
in
most
ways
I
do.
Like
many
moms
all
across
America,
I
just
said
goodbye
to
our
12-year-olds
as
they
headed
off
to
school.
Even
the
lunch
was
traditional
—
peanut
butter
and
jelly.
I
finished
lunches
and
then
did
what
most
stay-at-home
parents
were
doing
at
7:45
this
morning
—
yelled
at
the
kids
to
hurry
up.
The
kids
were
late
this
morning.
Ben
woke
up
and,
for
the
first
time
in
12
years,
decided
to
care
what
his
hair
looked
like.
Typical
and
traditional,
but
for
me,
it’s
so
much
more
than
that.
It
all
feels
so
warm,
cozy
and
comfortable.
Then
I
remind
myself
that
I
am
a
second-class
citizen.
I’m
not
quite
like
all
the
other
parents
who
waved
goodbye
to
their
kids
this
morning.
I
can’t
forget
that.
Nor
can
I
take
the
warm,
cozy
and
comfortable
life
I
have
for
granted.
And
I
don’t
mean
that
in
some
paranoid
way.
We
always
need
to
be
reminded
of
what
we
are
up
against.
So
in
that
spirit,
I’d
like
to
suggest
that
each
of
you
to
do
a
little
homework.
TAKE
A
FEW
minutes
and
have
a
look
at
some
web
sites.
I
don’t
feel
great
about
driving
traffic
to
some
of
these
sites
but
I
feel
there
is
some
upside,
so
here
goes.
Google
the
word
“family.”
The
No.
1
entry
is
www.family.org.
Think
about
that
for
a
minute.
The
No.
1
entry
when
you
Google
“family”
belongs
to
James
Dobson.
He
is
well
funded,
has
access
to
extraordinary
media
platforms
and
raises
millions
of
dollars
instilling
fear
about
gay
Americans
into
his
army
of
followers.
I
perused
that
site
and
stumbled
upon
a
piece
offering
advice
to
parents
whose
son
or
daughter
has
just
come
out
to
them.
It
starts
out
quite
nicely
and
it
isn’t
until
the
end
that
the
true
colors
come
shining
through.
According
to
the
site,
parents
have
to
be
willing
to
do
several
things:
educate
themselves
on
the
issue
of
homosexuality
confess
any
ways
they
may
have
inadvertently
wounded
their
child
find
trusting
others
in
whom
they
can
confide
and
share
realize
it
may
take
years
for
their
child
to
repent
of
homosexuality
and
release
their
child
into
the
good
care
of
God.
“When
we
let
go
of
our
loved
ones,”
the
site
says,
“we
stop
taking
responsibility
for
them.
But
we
don’t
stop
fulfilling
our
responsibilities
to
them.”
Ridiculous,
right?
Wrong.
Would
you
like
to
know
how
many
millions
of
Americans
hang
on
James
Dobson’s
every
word?
Millions
and
millions.
NOW
LET’S
TAKE
a
look
at
the
Traditional
Values
Coalition
(www.traditionalvalues.org).
Andrea
Lafferty
(I
wonder
if
she
made
lunch
for
her
kids
this
morning)
is
the
executive
director
and
is
one
of
the
stable
of
anti-gay
spokespeople
sought
out
by
national
media.
Here
is
her
take
on
the
upcoming
vote
on
ENDA:
“Democrats
have
a
serious
problem
with
this
legislation
and
that
is
why
they
are
hiding
the
truth
about
what
ENDA
will
do.
They
know
that
ENDA
will
give
drag
queens,
cross-dressers,
she-males,
etc.,
the
same
protected
status
in
American
law
as
African
Americans
or
other
legitimate
minority
groups.
Yet,
they
kept
these
individuals
hidden
from
view
at
a
recent
hearing
on
ENDA.”
Next
time
you
find
yourself
wondering
how
a
bill
as
benign
as
ENDA
has
not
been
passed,
visit
any
one
of
these
sites
and
know
that
the
talking
points
you
find
there
are
being
widely
disseminated
by
well-funded
organizations.
I
repeat:
I
am
not
a
paranoid
personality.
I
like
to
be
well
informed.
I’ll
take
that
a
step
further:
I
believe
I
have
an
obligation
to
be
informed.
But
visiting
these
sites
does
more
than
inform
me.
It
reminds
me
that
I
can’t
take
what
I
have
for
granted.
And
perhaps
most
importantly,
the
impact
of
these
words
is
sobering.
It
makes
me
want
to
do
something.
Like
writing
this
article
for
example.
I
can’t
always
get
my
kids
to
do
their
homework
so
I
know
I
have
limited
influence
over
those
of
you
reading.
But
unlike
some
of
my
kids’
assignments,
this
is
not
busy
work.
But
maybe
it
will
get
you
busy.
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