The Lie of ‘Live and Let Live’ – The American Spectator

On Jul 11, 2023

Pride 2023 was a pivotal month in the history of America’s relationship with the LGBTQ movement: conservatives retaliated against the Left by boycotting Bud Light and Target, showing the evils of transgenderism with Matt Walsh’s documentary What Is a Woman? and by passing state laws to protect children. (READ MORE: Progressives Don’t Seem to Care about Sexual Assault Victims)

These results are encouraging for those who wish to preserve the innocence of children and a semblance of community virtue.

Despite the progress made in combating this ideology, there is still strong resistance from the left — and even some on the right.

The Progressive Argument

Back when the movement was merely the Ls, the Bs, and the Gs, proponents framed the argument as a question of rights and tolerance — or a “live and let live” perspective. Most commonly, it was argued that gay people had every right to love who they love.

Public figures — such as President Joe Biden — routinely make a show of their support for Pride:

Today, the People’s House – your house – sends a clear message to the country and to the world.

America is a nation of pride. pic.twitter.com/ZZS9oTpDww

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 11, 2023

I wouldn’t describe the Pride parades of recent years as “loving” affairs. Just like a strip club is a mockery of affection, grown men riding naked on bicycles or mimicking oral sex mock intimate love through exhibitionism. Likewise, drag queens gyrating in front of children is a false representation of love. These behaviors are evil. (READ MORE: 12-Year-Olds in Drag: A ‘Kids Only’ Pride Carnival in Indiana)

Some may say that this is disingenuous and that not every member of the LGBTQ community supports such behavior. Perhaps, it is as noble as how Justice John Kennedy described homosexual marriage in the erroneous case of Obergefell v. Hodges:

No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideal of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family…It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law.

The Reality

The LGBTQ movement respects marriage so much that a whopping 10 percent of that population is married to the same sex, with 11 percent married to the opposite sex (bisexuals are the main percentage of this). The movement also respects marriage so much that, despite accounting for less than 5% of the population at the time, gays and lesbians demanded that the government redefine an entire institution to include them because they want to embody the “highest ideal of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.”

Have they embodied that ideal? Do gyrating drag queens, public nudity, and public sex acts demonstrate the Pride movement’s dedication to love, fidelity, and sacrifice? Must we believe that these people care about love as they mutilate and sexualize children?

Of course, not every member of the LGBTQ group supports these things, and a growing number have been outspoken in fighting it. For example, a recently growing group of “Gays Against Groomers” speaks out against such an aggressive agenda. However, if we are speaking of the movement as a whole, where are the millions of monogamous gay couples who want to embody the virtues of “fidelity, devotion, and sacrifice,” as Justice Kennedy or Biden claim they seek to do?

‘Live and Let Live’

This brings us to the claim of “live and let live.” After all, gays argue it is their constitutional right to sleep with whoever they want in the privacy of their own bedroom. Why can’t, they ask, Americans “just live and let live?” The reason is that no major player in the Pride movement desires to “live and let live.” One of the greatest lies of the Pride movement: they just want to be left alone.

However, this movement can not hide behind the veil of privacy rights anymore. They have said — for far too long — that what occurs in their own bedroom concerns their privacy and no one else’s. Then turn around and compel every institution to follow their ideology. Whenever the Pride movement faces backlash for attempting to trans kids or sexualize children, they cry and scream that they just want equal rights and to love who they want to love.

Some gays very well do want to be left alone. But who could possibly say that this movement as a whole can be believed? In 2015, the entire definition of marriage since the dawn of man was destroyed by the Supreme Court. In less than nine years, we see skyrocketing rates of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ, along with rising rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidality. In less than nine years, the Pride movement has, with ferocious tenacity, sought to destroy religious liberty by compelling those who disagree with them to serve them. In less than nine years, the White House erects Pride flags to show its allyship while a transgender individual flashes his artificial breasts on the White House lawn.

All of this took less than nine years. Does this seem like a movement that wants to be left alone?

Winning the Battle

The first step to winning a political, cultural, and religious battle is to know who your opponent is. They do not simply disagree with us and want to be left alone. They want their ideology to be erected across the nation. From here, we battle in every ground they push. We are winning in some school county systems across the country. However, conservatives are decades behind in this battle. In county schools that are under Republican jurisdiction, we need to teach good, traditional values. Every attempt by this movement to infiltrate our communities and influence our children needs to be stopped.

“Gender-affirming care” — otherwise known as child mutilation — should be federally banned. Make drag queen story hours illegal for children and prosecute their parents for child abuse. If a parent took his child to a straight strip club, I would say the same thing. Any parent who exposes a child to such explicit sexual content is committing child abuse. Likewise, those who perform such explicit content should be equally condemned under the law. If you are an adult and want to go to a drag queen show, then it is your Constitutional right to do so. However, our communities do not have to worship your values.

If this movement is merely about love and privacy, then it must stop pushing its progressive agenda onto Americans and their children.

Brayden Dean is a rising senior at the University of Georgia. He studies international relations and political science with a minor in law, jurisprudence, and state. A member of The American Spectator’s intern class of 2023, Brayden enjoys sipping a hot cup of coffee while reading a book.

TikTok Influencers Act as Propagandists for China’s Fast Fashion