Self-Reliance: The Virtue of Being Gay
Self-Reliance: The Virtue of Being Gay
By Guest Writer Robben Wainer
What can be said about self-reliance and being gay? What does Self Reliance mean? It means reliance on oneself or one’s own powers, resources, etc. The idea of thinking for oneself rather than meekly accepting what people or society tells you. Virtues are the essence of our character . Virtue, by definition, is the moral excellence of a person. A morally excellent person has a character made-up of virtues valued as good.
Self-Reliance has always been part of our American culture stemming back from the beginning of the new frontier and is a virtue.
In the midst of a non-acceptance world, many gay men and women used self-reliance as a survival mechanism to achieve happiness in their lives. They could only count on themselves for their pursuit of happiness and not the government or straight society in general.
In this current political era, LGBT rights are progressing but are yet in conflict with a great deal of authority on public and private issues. The issue comes up, if same sex attraction is a natural right which co defines our being natural men and women. We are entitled to with the same equality that influences our ability to survive and prosper.
Some of the Stereotypes in consideration of gay men and women are one that provokes a discussion or review of what we infer determines a state that it is inferior or superior to what heterosexuals consider to be a normative procreative act. Yet the LGBT community is creating lives for themselves that show discipline reasonableness, and while a need for acceptance may not be the need for approval that a heterosexual government chooses to imply. In a straight , modern political era , the government has determined male and female gender roles to be specific to their virtue or vice, yet Gay men and Women choose to ignore, and almost retaliate against these gender specific norms as being non applicable to their daily lives. The way they view their roles and function in society are different. It seems the outdated gender specific roles determine a fixed set of character traits that are exclusive of the vast array of preferences and orientations of gay men and women. As People who seek to define their patterns as one that affirms individuality, and creates an intuitive mode of expression that cannot be attributed to the expectation of a patriarchal class or those which it governs, we must be mindful of what the government bestows upon us or how they define us. We all must take an active role in achieving our god given rights as gay Americans.
Remember when one was a gay youth. As many gay boys or gay girls we questioned our reliance on Mommy or Daddy’s views. It made us develop our own self-reliance which is an eye opener that casts light on the differences of preference that are in accordance with their same sex attractions. The separation from family for gay youths may cause a great deal of separation anxiety as their relationships to parents may be all they have really known. Yet it is this pivotal separation that shows gay men and women must address their own conflicts as a great layer of shame, guilt and doubt must be released for them to come out of the closet that had been so claustrophobic, not only to the outside world, but also to see their image as though through a mirror, as the person whose roles define for them a purpose and sense of development in their own personal preference to choose to have same sex relationships.Virtues are relevant to all roles in life. Success in life requires moderating our fears appropriately, being honest with ourselves, being fair, and objective.
In short, it seems to a good time to remind ourselves about the gay virtue of self reliance which was always part of the basic American fabric of American history and life. Gay men and woman can celebrate this and demonstrate one of the great virtues of being gay . We must use that self-reliance to progress our rights in this current political climate that may contrast itself with various modes of dependency or conformity.
