Original:
"At a time of discord, Pride celebrations remind us the world is moving in the right direction"
There is nothing to celebrate about being an unusual sexual misfit. Why is anyone's sexuality of any particular interest outside of their own personal life? I can't think of a single way my life has been enhanced by the existence of unusual sexual behavior throughout history. Is it wrong? Who am I to judge? Should it be stopped? How exactly could I enforce that even if I wanted to? Via physical violence? That would clearly violate the non-aggression principle (a rule of thumb, not an 'absolute truth'). Vicariously via the State apparatus? That would be dishonest and cowardly. I could vote for a bigot or, more straightforwardly, I could leave the decision to a 'strong leader'. All great ways to pray at the alter of self-serving bigotry and irresponsibility.
So how many of the participants of gay pride are going to focus on the extent to which the support of these ideas (voting, strong leaders) is just a tad hypocritical? Very few I suspect.
What these 'celebrations' remind us of is how easily distracted we are from things that actually do affect our lives e.g. voting and 'strong leaders'. In virtually every transaction we make we pay tribune (e.g. sales tax) to someone else's idea of a 'good' leader. Or even our own idea of a 'good' leader if we were stupid and irresponsible enough to have voted.
How do we move away from such bigotry and prejudice 'at a time of discord' (i.e. any given moment in history). Can I suggest that instead of prancing about in the streets pretending that you are 'free', you take a closer look at what 'freedom' actually is when it applies to everyone and not just a quirky minority who are a useful distraction for those who are busily, and in many ways successfully, moving the world very much in the wrong direction.