| June 29, 1997. Today is the day that I will, for
the first time in public, reveal something to you, my fellow
Unitarians, that is extremely personal, concerning my sexual
orientation. Though many of you have had contact with me through my
work on the church’s finances, at an adult education program, or
maybe just recognized me as one of the amateurs that happily, albeit
nervously plays and sings his heart out every Father’s
day.......none of you, until today will know the truth. Oh I’m sure
that some of you have a suspicion; there have been hints and clues
that some of you may have noticed over the past several years. Well
here it goes..........I Jack McFadden am straight. As long as I can
remember, I’ve been attracted to members of the opposite sex. I also
strongly suspect, that I will remain heterosexual for the rest of my
days. It sounds so strange doesn’t it? Were any of you
thinking.........Is he gay? It is after all Gay & Lesbian Pride
Sunday and I did say I was about to reveal something about my sexual
orientation. Granted, the small army of children that I’m seen with
every Sunday did pose a logic problem but maybe , just maybe I had a
few of you thinking for a brief moment. And what if I had "come out"
as a gay man. Would it have changed your opinion, of me ? (be that
good or bad !).
When I was asked to give a testimonial as a part of this service,
I kept struggling with the question," What could I possibly offer to
the theme of gay pride ? The word normal kept coming into my
head. Believe it or not that is why I started with such an
abnormal opening. After all, in our society, there is no need to
"come out" as a heterosexual. It’s just so normal ! As I
started to ponder my normal orientation, I also began to
realize how easy it has been for me because of that orientation.
Society has never scorned me for my inclinations and in actual fact,
I have no doubt been stroked and possibly even rewarded for my
attractions to the opposite sex. I was in the "in" crowd growing up.
Would it have been the same had I been attracted to members of my
own sex? And today, my lovely wife and three beautiful children are
not just my family but also an asset to me at work, because I so
neatly fit the good corporate image. It’s been pretty easy being
normal.
But I’m not here today to try and shoulder the blame for the fact
that up ‘till now, I along with other heterosexuals have benefited
from the makeup of our DNA. Nor can I do much more than say that I
realize that up ‘till this point in time, it has been much harder to
live life as a gay person. I wish it had been different! What I am
here to say is that to me, Normal is a society that does not
judge based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. To that end, I’m
proud to be a member of a church that not only states that as a part
of our principles and purposes, but regularly encourages us to
re-examine our thoughts, words and deeds for traces of prejudice
that might still exist due to the indelible mark that "normal"
society has placed on each and every one of us. By recognizing and
celebrating the fact that there are good people here, doing good
things, and that it doesn’t matter at all that some of us are
straight and some of us are gay, we are helping to redefine the word
normal. On Gay & Lesbian Pride Sunday, that is something in
which we can all be proud.
|
