Mary Cheney, Howard Dean, the personal and the political.

cross-posting for my journal:

Back in the ‘80s a phrase caught my eye. “Politics is personal, and the personal is political.” The various ramifications of that simple statement are, undoubtedly, subject to debate. The context within which it was being used at the time, however, was one of sexual awareness and education. Spousal rape, for example, was most emphatically not a personal spat between husband and wife, nor was it a "personal issue" which could be ignored in the public and political spheres. Equally emphatically, sex education was not a “personal” matter to be addressed solely within the home. For our children’s health and well-being, certain key facts were deemed essential to their knowledge and public education was the only venue well-suited to providing that knowledge. Unfortunately, exactly which facts are deemed essential is politically determined and our children now enjoy the limited benefits of abstinence-only education.

It’s curious watching right-wing efforts to drive and maintain a massive wedge between the two, the personal and the political. They try to force these issues and others like them into a box, into the closet, out of sight, out of mind. Whatever you do, don’t ask and please don’t tell. By some political sleight of hand, these same issues get raised as kindling for moral outrage. It’s in the box, and as long as it’s in the box all they have to do is threaten to lift the lid and let the monster out to fire up the conservative base.

Two statements were recently made, both warranting consideration in this light. Mary Cheney, the right’s token lesbian, was let out of her closet long enough to call John Kerry a “son of a bitch” and state: {he} “didn't 'out me', nor did he offend or attack me by calling me a lesbian. It wasn't a secret that I was gay, and I certainly couldn't be offended by the truth. What was offensive was that he was obviously trying to use me and my sexual orientation for his own political gain.'' The issue originally raised by Kerry, as many recall, was the apparent inconsistency between the vice-president’s personal life and the right-wing’s proposed legislative agenda. Kerry’s offense, in this instance, lay in his attempt to drag the issue out of the knee-jerk realm of moral relativism and into the realm of rational public discourse. True to form, like a lemming from the log cabin, Mrs. Cheney objected to his turning on the light switch.

The second statement was made by the DNC chair, Howard Dean, and has been the subject of scorn both for the words chosen as well as for the audience addressed. Mr. Dean erroneously claimed: “The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says that marriage is between a man and a woman. That's what it says.” This has been and will certainly continue to be quibbled over. Those words are undeniably not the words presented in the ’04 Democratic platform, and he might do well to simply apologize for the misstatement regardless of his original intentions. In fairness, though, it could be argued that the ’04 platform tacitly acknowledged that at the time of its making gay and lesbian couples were not being accorded the same rights, protections and privileges being accorded their heterosexual counterparts. Mr. Dean continued: “I think where we may take exception with some religious leaders is that we believe in inclusion, that everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect, and that equal rights under the law are important.”

Individual reactions to this statement will vary, and, in all likelihood, little may be said to sway those initial responses. Setting those responses aside for a moment, Mr. Dean has chosen to do something here which is deserving of recognition, if not respect. He’s chosen to turn on a light switch. And, he’s done so in a festering environment which sees little light on this subject. Even if just for a moment, he’s spoken to a group of people not about the monster in the box, not the boogeyman in the closet, but about the dignity, respect and rights which should be accorded every man, woman and child among us. This, I think, is a good thing.

-fl