On Wednesday, GQ magazine published an interview with Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, that contained some surprising admissions from the prominent conservative. The most unexpected of Steele’s statements were that he believes having an abortion is an individual choice, being gay isn’t a choice, and gay people should have “the ability to be able to share in the information of (their) partner, to have the ability to – particularly in times of crisis – to manage their affairs and help them through that as others – you know, as family members or others-would be able to do” (or, in other words, marriage rights).
Needless to say, there has been considerable backlash to Steele’s statements from conservatives, and he has even been called to resign by members of the RNC. Of course, later that day he gave an interview to right-wing talk radio host Mike Gallagher in which he responded to the question of whether he supports civil unions by exclaiming, “No, no no. What would we do that for? What are you, crazy? No. Why would we backslide on a core, founding value of this country?” But the damage, in the GOP’s eyes, was done.
The question I have is, what’s the big deal? Sure, I’m a pro-life, pro-gay, pro-whatever-the-hell-you-want-to-do-as-long-as-it-doesn’t-hurt-me liberal, so obviously my boxer-briefs aren’t in a bunch over the GOP taking a few hits. But aside from chipping away at the Republican Party’s already-dwindling credibility, what damage has really been done? Why is it so wrong for a member of either party, no matter how high-ranking, to believe something that strays from popular party opinion? Is bipartisanship just another buzzword, like sustainability or Twitter?
This isn’t even about Democrat versus Republican, gay versus straight, or life versus choice. A comment on The Huffington Post Web site sums things up with surprising clarity: “Honestly, I think Michael Steele’s beliefs sometimes get in the way of his politics.”
All too often, it’s the other way around – our politics get in the way of our beliefs, and just about everything else as well. We make divisive, hot-button partisan platforms out of family and relationship issues with little or no thought to the people the issues actually affect. The thing is, it’s downright counterproductive to approach such issues from a political rather than a human perspective.
The same day Steele was causing controversy by (perhaps inadvertently) building bridges, Sarah Palin’s 18-year-old daughter Bristol made headlines by burning them when she and ex-fianceé, 19-year-old Levi Johnston (who is also the father of her 2 1/2-month-old son Tripp) announced the end of their engagement.
It doesn’t matter whether I agree with those who called the teens’ engagement a shotgun-type scam, created by Republican strategists when Bristol’s pregnancy became public just three days after her mother was announced as the Republican VP candidate. Rather than making judgements, I propose people leave Bristol and Levi alone. Everyone makes mistakes in their personal lives, even though Republicans seem to have a monopoly on public and particularly ironic “missteps” – former Idaho senator, Larry “Wide Stance” Craig, comes to mind. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.)
Maybe if we approached things like sexual preference, marriage and reproductive rights with less judgement and more thought for people, instead of treating them as promotional fodder for a politician’s campaign, these mistakes wouldn’t get made in the first place. People end up being pro-this and anti-that for reasons they can’t even remember, just because their political party told them to. If Republicans weren’t so obliged to oppose abortion and comprehensive sex education, perhaps Bristol Palin wouldn’t have had a baby in the first place. Or, if Democrats weren’t so set on trashing and exposing the Palin’s “scandals,” maybe the two wouldn’t have been forced into an engagement before either of them were 20 years old.
Obviously, discourse and legislation are necessary to govern implementation and support of human rights. But to turn issues that are first and foremost about individual and personal choices into political selling points doesn’t solve anything. If it did, we wouldn’t have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world, and maybe more than half of marriages would last.
The downside? The men’s bathroom in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport might start seeing a little less action.
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