DON'T GET ME STARTED

 

DON’T GET ME STARTED 

I was born in 1938 and I imagine that I am among only a few who are still living who experienced picking cotton. It was in the early nineteen forties that I labored many days dragging a cotton sack up and down rows of white cotton stalks from daybreak to sunset in the unrelenting burning sun of a cotton field.  It was the custom in those days for a Louisiana farmer to have many children who provided the hands that picked the cotton. Even though it was a seasonal occupation, picking cotton was an art. A professional cotton picker could earn 8 to 10 dollars a day and that was good wages at the time. But as a child of a farmer my wages were paid with a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, and food on the table. 

During my life as a teenager, the desires of a homosexual developed into confusing times. I can recall many sermons condemning homosexuals to burn in hell even with the thought of a homosexual relationship. I remember words coming from the pulpit encouraging white, high school football players to take a baseball bat and go down into the gay community and beat up a fag, because they deserve it. I remember sermons where it was proclaimed that all gays should be put behind a barbed wire fence and shot. Children are a product of what they are taught, therefore, for a time; I believed that homosexuality was the worst of all sins. 

But, I also remember sermons where scriptures were used to command all slaves to “obey their masters.” I remember a time when “acts of mercy” were considered a weakness in plantation owners. The whip represented the command for obedience. I remember times when slave owners sat in the Amen corner and shouted Amen to preachers who confirmed their right to own human slaves.  The act of January 6, 2021 confirms that America was born in insurrection and has continued to be a violent nation.  

Like so many others, I reached out to religion to solve my problem of homosexuality. After four years of college I enrolled in the seminary in an attempt to find relief from what I thought was an evil influence that had invaded my body.  After 3 and 1/2 years of biblical studies, it was finally revealed that I was not going to be touched by the magical wand of the Holy Spirit and turned into a straight man.  It was then that I came to the conclusion that I am a temple of God and that God had created me for a purpose and with great contentment I accepted my homosexuality. 

Even though I accepted that I was a gay man, I still thought that I had to live in the closet. As an openly gay man now I realize that living in the closet was a mistake. I am proud that I have been granted several years to acknowledge my homosexuality and to look the world in the face and say; I am a free, proud, openly gay, happy man. I am pleased that God has granted me several years, even in the twilight of my life, to speak openly to other gay individuals, and encourage them to come out of the closet, and declare their freedom, because there is no substitute for being free. 

Now to the heart of this Op-Ed., of all the decades of decadent talk about homosexuals, I have lived long enough to see the evangelical church baptized in evil. Even though it is impossible to name them all, I will name a few of the evils endorsed by so-called American Christianity: lying, cheating, adultery, bigotry, injustice, insurrection of the USA government, supporting White Supremacy, supporting Neo Nazis, invasion of private property, attacking and killing policemen, unlawful rioting of the Federal Capital, and supporting the most evil man ever to be called a human. Those who sleep with the devil will step forward with the stink of evil wrapped in the eternal wardrobe of their character.   

I will say to all Christians don’t you ever point your finger at me and with your forked tongue try to condemn me to burn in hell. This is one southern, gay, man that will not live in the shame of your evil empire. I will continue to announce to the world that it is an honor to know that I am a child of God and that I am fulfilling God’s purpose for me on this planet. With my last breath I will condemn Donald Trump and declare that he is the most evil individual ever to set foot on American soil. 

I will also admit that a new light is now directing a path for progress in the United States. The beautiful speech given by our new president demands a determined direction for an improved society. The ball is now in the hands of the majority of Americans and if we follow great things are on the horizon.  America can be restored to the lighthouse of the world and it is my earnest desire that such action will be accomplished. Let us solute the real American flag, followed by the words, “America’s best days are still ahead.”