Why not encourage each person to decide, for the moment, who and what they wish to be? We are terrified of this kind of freedom precisely because we have not bothered to create along with it a responsibility for our actions. Instead we create structures, forms and constraints thinking that they will provide a substitute for individuality. They won't. Responsibility cannot be imposed. It must be self generated or else it is a violation of the spirit.

Our heritage is the realm of the spirit. We have known the ecstasy of dancing with the muses and have dared to tell the world about it through the arts. The issue is not where we put our genitals, it is whether we can aspire to a higher ethic, a devotion to the art of living, the commitment to being beautiful that makes us different.

What we need is the kind of admiration for ourselves that comes not by conforming our behavior to the standards of someone else, no matter how well meaning, but the respect of self that comes from knowing that we have sought the guidance of our spirit, have heeded it and have been of service the future of our community.

We must stop our obscene search for acceptance by the larger public. They probably never will and frankly, I could care less. I refuse to gauge my self worth based on popularity polls and election results. Sure, it is hard to deal with a world that objectifies me and treats me unfairly. That is the way it is until it changes, and I would rather devote my time and energy to expanding what God gives me than whining about what he has not given me.

To be gay is to be daring, bold and unconcerned for the conventional.

Dare to be different. Have a sense of humor about yourself and your situation. Carry no guilt, no shame and no explanation. If you don't like something, don't go to the show. If you find fulfillment in a particular form of expression, do it with all the grace, humility and beauty you can muster. Apologize to no one. Relish the dance for the moment, not for the reaction of the audience.

Do not look to anyone else for the shape of who you are. Fill yourself with the spirit that yearns to express itself through you. Find time to be quiet within yourself and wait for that which calls you forth. Live from within to without, reject that which is outside as a source of your inspiration. Yes, we must bend with the winds and deal with the reality of the world around us, but we need never deny who we are because of them.

Our contribution to society lies not in being like them but in the exploration of the fringe, the fulfillment of being queer. If the world around us cannot learn to accept us, maybe it is time to find a bigger world for them to live in.

Grin and get on with it.
If you hurt, give someone the love they need at the moment.
Let your spirit guide you.