When my daughter was four years old, my family and I took a trip to Provincetown, a place that holds a special meaning to me since I was also four when I first visited. I remember the beatniks, the sandal shops, and the salty smell of the sea air. Years later, when we brought my daughter to Provincetown, it had transformed into a sanctuary city for the LGBTQIA+ community and much more. My daughter was too young to understand that, but she did see friends holding hands and she liked it. This reminded me of a Hebrew Psalm that speaks about how good and pleasant it is for a community to live together in unity.
As the years passed, my daughter and I participated in many Pride parades. As we marched with the church where I was a pastor, my daughter was fascinated by the drag queens. I let her observe and take it all in without preconceived notions. This made me think about how important it is to make an effort to understand things we might not fully comprehend. Understanding the unknown is like rainwater on a garden. It can be intense and scary, or gentle and refreshing; or in the worst cases, it can be scarce and stagnating. But without understanding them, we risk remaining static and unevolved.
There are times when I fear that we have become so polarized and intolerant of diversity that we are dying as a society. The violence towards communities of minorities is pervasive, caused either by rogue acts or political beliefs. We must not forget that the Loving v. Virginia case was decided as recently as 1967, paving the way for interracial marriages. This landmark ruling was used as a precedent in the Obergefell v. Hodges case, which legalized same-sex marriages in 2015. However, the current Supreme Court may repeal these civil rights and many more, and we must be proactive in defending them.
Perhaps the solution is to work harder towards a society that celebrates “pride” over prejudice. Mutual love among all people is crucial in this time of uncertainty and constant change. As a writer and a Lutheran minister, mutual love is my belief and is what I preach to my congregation. Recently, I was honored to install a new pastor at my previous church who is gay, an advocate for social justice, and hilarious.
In conclusion, my takeaway message for this Pride month is that when it rains, we must remember that the rainbows can bring hope for a brighter future. We may not find a pot of gold at the end of it, but we can have the hope that mutual love and understanding will continue to flourish.
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