“In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.†~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
I’ve always considered myself a rather reluctant gay activist. My main contribution to the cause is living my life openly and unabashedly. Granted, it’s in a way that most people would not dare to do, but I still don’t consider it all that much of an effort. This is me, take it or leave it, and fuck you if you don’t like it. That has made for some strides, but only within my close circle of friends and family.
To take it to a larger level requires much more time and effort, and a commitment that I am far too admittedly selfish to make. It requires an altruism and selflessness that I cannot even fathom, yet there are those who make the sacrifice, and do so when they seemingly have no personal vested interest in the cause.
These are our straight allies – those people who recognize that to deny the rights and equality of one person is to deny and diminish the rights of all. That takes a great deal of generosity, an understanding of our social standing in the world that I have but begun to touch. It is, among a great many other things, the ultimate act of humanity.
It humbles me in ways too numerous to mention. It lifts my heart and spirit in a way that little else does. It gives me hope and faith in a humanity that too often seems to let us down. I myself cannot claim half as much resolve and determination in helping others. I do not have what it takes to be such a giver. Yet because of them I want to be a better person. I want to try harder, I want to make the world a better place, I want to believe that together we can make it happen.
COMING SOON: The Straight Allies ~ A Series of Profiles
