Writer believes ‘good old days’ not so great

The times, they have been a changin'.

A few weeks back, pop culture and changing social attitudes made quite a splash at a local high school: Lady Gaga somehow managed to channel her spirit of acceptance, compassion and all things bold into a talent show where a male student used her hit "Born This Way" to make his own statement.

In all honesty, I hadn't even heard about the incident until a friend pointed out a letter to the editor in The Jonesboro Sun from a woman whose sensibilities were apparently offended by the performance.

She wrote of how shocking it was (in so many words) to see a display of "gay pride" and even made a reference or two to Gaga's song lyrics. I'll leave the task of finding those words to you.

I read the letter over again, just to be sure I correctly grasped the point. It wasn't hard.

The woman stated profusely that gay people had pretty much shed the closet and now actually seemed proud of who and what they are.

On top of that, they have the full backing of complicit school officials whose lack of religiosity only encourages such barbaric behavior. Do I have this down right? Oh yes.

It is nothing new for people with devout doctrinal views to insist they've been offended by this, that or the other thing.

Over the years, I've read plenty of letters to the editor in which appalled readers have written of their outrage regarding adults drinking wine with a meal or daring not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance word-for-word at a sporting event (it is not, contrary to popular opinion, a constitutional requirement of Americans), yadda yadda.

Pick up a newspaper or read an online version and the anti-everything crowd is right there in print, blasting away about a longing for the good old days when only "normal" people had a voice.

They are shocked to learn how many young people in 2012 do not believe in blind discrimination simply because a minister tells them the Bible says it is okay or the ignorance of previous generations dictates such a stance.

Another example is the recent passage of a same-sex marriage bill in Washington state.

One news account I read included a quote from a woman whose opposition to the legislation hinged completely on being a Christian.

She worried about why more upstanding people hadn't made their voices heard against it.

Maybe God doesn't agree with her. Ever thought of that?

My rant is a broad critique of how organized religion manages to poison the water we, as citizens of a great country, are supposed to drink from collectively.

Make no mistake about it—the ticked-off letter writer is a mere symptom of this incredibly self-righteous mentality.

She, and many like her, opines that decent, moral people must take their country back.

Ah, those blissful days of inequality, segregation, male-dominated marriages and the like. Who doesn't miss them?

Childress is a graduate student in political science of Jonesboro.