The Third Group

I have said before that there are three kinds of parties in the controversy over sex education in Montgomery County. First, there are those people who are concerned about the innocence of children, who believe in a certain sense of modesty, feel that the modern world has become too sexualized, and do not believe the public schools should contribute to the tawdriness. Second, there are those who believe that the public schools should educate young people about the objective facts of sexuality in order to lead them to make better decisions in their own lives, and to have knowledge of their own feelings and the feelings of those around them, with the result that they will be better citizens.

Those two groups can hold a debate and come to a conclusion. They are not actually opposed to one another, in fact a member of one group should have no difficulty seeing the point of view of the other. It is really just a matter of emphasis, is it more important to protect their innocence even though they may find themselves in situations that they don't know how to deal with, or is it better to give them knowledge that they may not be ready for?

But there is a third group. This group wants to disrupt. Unfortunately, this group tends to use the language of religion to insist that their views are not only superior but infallible, because they emanate directly from God. This group demonizes people who are different from them, seeing only evil and immorality where a person stands. The third group believes a conspiracy exists, where some people want to be treated with respect. This group feels that social norms need to be enforced with punishment and abuse, and they feel somehow authorized to dish it out.

The third group does not want to talk about the issues. The school district is going to teach about sexual variation, and soon a curriculum will be offered up which will discuss some facts about homosexuality, and the third group will be against it. Not because the facts are wrong, or because the emphasis is wrong, but because we shouldn't be talking about this topic at all. We will see the third group continue to interrupt, perhaps with lawsuits, certainly in the press.

We have had, in our comments section, some people from all three groups. We have heard some articulate conservative voices, people who are concerned about some of the things that might be taught, and who are making the arguments that support their views. I tend to lean the other way, personally, but I appreciate their expression and am glad they come here to discuss. And of course we've got people who come here to present the case for accepting and respecting sexual minorities, because, well, that is an important part of what this group stands for. On both sides, I might say, we have those who are more and less articulate, and those who are more and less short-fused. It's not all pretty, there are idiots like me who stick their feet in their mouths, but in general I think it makes a lively and worthwhile dialogue.

But the third group visits us, as well. The image that comes to mind is the chimpanzee in the zoo who learns to poop in his hand and throw it at people. The chimp is locked up in a cage, I understand why he's got a bad attitude. But I really don't know why somebody who just knows their morals are better than everyone else's, who just knows that gay people have an "agenda" that they are trying to trick the rest of us into accepting, who just knows that truth can only come from God, and God speaks only to them ... I don't know why they come here to fling poop.

But that's the controversy over sex-ed in Montgomery County. It's not whether to include more or less detail or information at a younger or older age or whatever, it's whether we can discuss the subject at all. Some people want to stop all talk by any means. It's up to the rest of us, the first two groups, to see that the discussion is held, that it is open, that it is civil.