June is upon us and the rainbows are out full force—but could it be with a diminishing force? Unilaterally appropriated as “Pride Month,” the beginning of summer comes with the unfurling of the Rainbow Flag in neighborhoods, stores, and internet ads because anything less, at this point, would be branded as homophobic censorship. Get in line, fly the flag, cry “love is love,” or get torn down.
But what happens when the untainted and unafraid refuse to fly the flag or bend the knee? When push comes to shove, the Rainbow Flag is meaningless and proclaims a fidelity as fleeting as the rainbow that vanishes as quickly as it appears (how cruel it is to compare that thing of beauty to such ugliness). The time may be coming when people will be brave enough to see it, and say it, and stop the moronic LGBTQIADIDIGETTHEMALL?+ lip service.
They say that woke allegiance is a mile wide and an inch deep, meaning that though it’s pervasive, it’s not as firm as it seems. This latter point is probably in some ways true and not true. It is not true in the sense that the origins of what we call “woke” have roots that run very deep, as the liberal lifestyle and ideologies have a longstanding history of divorcing themselves from natural law and traditional values. But it is true in the sense that society is a fickle thing that is moved by fear, popularity, and power and will march to the beat du jour if only for the sake of obtaining financial security and political sway.
For this reason alone, the Rainbow Flag shouldn’t be flown. It is ridiculous in the haphazard, frantic fashion that we see because no one really means what they say by it. They just don’t. And the demonstrations of Pride Month are beneath the dignity of those who wave it and even those for whom it is waved. No one will die on the hill of gay pride and gay rights. It is too individualistic a cause to motivate martyrdom. The Rainbow Flag is no more than a gesture of safety, self-righteousness, self-indulgence, self-service, and allegiance to the powers that be that wish to promote the false idea of freedom as being limitless choice unrestricted by external norms or authorities.
No one has that much loyalty to a movement that is against the normal course of nature and reason. No one has that much dedication in a relativist, nonconformist culture. The Rainbow Flag is a lie, plain and simple, and it shouldn’t be tolerated either on the conservative Christian side or the liberal secular side. It is pandering, it is patronizing, it is grooming, it is a false front for a trendy and treacherous movement; and it is not about love at all—unless it is love of self. For loving acceptance lies not in a loving acceptance of lies.
And, marginal though it may seem—and may be—there are stirrings of resistance to the agenda behind the Rainbow. The mega-retailer Target has featured LGBTQ+-themed merchandise in June, including this year’s “tuck-friendly” women’s bathing suits for men (in adult and children’s sizes). But this year, thanks to a loud backlashing and boycotting from conservative groups and customers, Target swept those products from their shelves. Though the corporation ascribed their capitulation to the safety of its employees from rabid right-wing extremists, the bottom line is that the dollar is still almighty.
The Bud Light and Nike fiascoes in featuring the transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney are other high-profile, big-business instances of proclaiming support for madness and then backing right off when confronted with sane people who are determined to debase their brand and damage their profit margins.
Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has also shown that Floridians are ready to take a stand against the sexual psychoses of the day with the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and his staunch political war against the indoctrinations of Disney. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been flip-flopping with drag queen invitations due to the loud objection by ordinary, honest Americans. Despite the rainbows that plaster our neighborhoods, there are still plenty who object and who are growing more and more ready to do so with both words and wallets.
