Nothing New Under the Sun....

Commentary by Wanda

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (NIV)

We’ve heard this passage whether in church or listening to Shakespeare’s Sonnet 59. Nothing new? I began to think about the recent “coming out” episodes in the news including John Amaechi the former NBA player who so conveniently professed being gay after he retired, and Steve Stanton the Largo, FL City Manager of 14 years who announced that he was going through a sex-change operation. These things have been going on for years, centuries, millenniums; this isn’t new. The media and biotechnology has advanced significantly in the past 50 years, so sex change operations are possible and highly publicized, but individuals of diverse sexual orientations are not unique. So why are we so shocked?

Among these recent events, the story of the city manager of Largo, Florida admitting that he was going through a sex change was the most troubling. Not because he admitted to being a transsexual but that his colleagues feel that he won’t be able to fill his job position because he will be a woman. Huh? I know it will be strange to go from working alongside Steve to “Sharon” but he is still capable intellectually or isn't he? I guess many people still feel as if female genitalia limits ones ability to lead and manage well. Last week there was a 5 to 2 vote to start a three-step process to remove Stanton. Largo city commissioner Mary Gray Black stated, “I do not feel he has the integrity, nor the trust, nor the respect, nor the confidence to continue as the city manager of Largo.” Many of his colleagues said his secret life undermined his ability to do his job. Are these people serious? Why don’t they just say they’re uncomfortable with the sex change? Why must they challenge his ability to perform his job since he is well liked and respected throughout the department prior to his announcement?

Homosexuals, Bi-sexuals, or Transgender individuals are not 21st century phenomenon. Many of our leading artists, philosophers, scientists, musicians (secular and Christian alike) were not heterosexuals. How can we question the ability and integrity of homosexuals, as if heterosexuals are always upstanding and qualified? Or how can we act as if we don’t interact, work in ministry, or celebrate our lives with “closeted” homosexuals. Whatever we do as humans is old, recycled, and familiar because we really aren’t that original at all. Being appalled or judgmental is no longer acceptable. Being educated on lifestyles different from “the norm” is the new face of being humane. If the majority of humans did that, now, that would be something new under the sun.

Response by Cantice

If a person went through an operation to change from black (African American) to white (of European decent), no one would find his questioning strange. Nobody trusts Michael Jackson anymore—so what’s the difference? What is unreasonable about declaring that an official who recently underwent a major aesthetic and/or biological change be reevaluated for his suitability for public position? Why must it be called discrimination? Is it unreasonable to assume that Steve Stanton was previously unsatisfied with himself? I’ll add that he might be unsatisfied with more than himself. I wonder how he feels about masculine characteristics as a whole. It is just because Stanton is gay (he is actually transgendered) that he is off limits for questioning. Questioning a homosexual/transgendered/transsexual/lesbian/gay/bisexual/etc. about his or her lifestyle is the new taboo. But, if Steve Stanton is truly going to become a woman, then let him go through what women often go through when applying for a position: questions, plenty of them.

Just because homosexuality (transsexuality/bisexuality/...see above), is from “of old” doesn’t make the lifestyle any less grave as a radical aberration from the design for healthy relationships or self-identity. Religion, morality, and common sense work together to cause many to question the homosexual lifestyle. When we stop questioning it, we have become debased, callous and ambiguous. Showing just the opposite of care, failing to recognize the difference in the homosexual lifestyle shows that we no longer take the time to wonder about, or talk back to that which is peculiar to many of our hearts and minds.