"Day of Truth" Anything But

Tomorrow, April 26th, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) will sponsor its 10th annual National Day of Silence. This event will involve Gay-Straight Alliances and other supportive students all over the United States. GLSEN is expecting 500,000 students from over 4,000 schools to participate.

This event is described on the GLSEN site: "The Day of Silence®, a project of GLSEN in collaboration with the United States Student Association (USSA), is a national student-led day of action where those who support making anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) bullying and harassment unacceptable in America’s schools participate in activities to recognize and protest the discrimination and harassment - in effect, the silencing - experienced by LGBT students and their allies."

Not to be outdone, the Alliance Defense Fund (founded by leaders like Dr. James Dobson) will rebut with a "Day of Truth" the following day, promoting the "Anti-Homosexual Agenda" in many of the same schools that will host the National Day of Silence.

Alan Sears, the President and CEO of the ADF, wrote a piece that was published on the Baptist Press (the media arm of the Southern Baptist Convention). Here are some noteable quotes.

".....if you hadn’t reckoned with the advocates of homosexual behavior being so single-minded in their determination to crack every moral cornerstone of the country ... if it never occurred to you that they wouldn’t stop until they’d converted every child in America to their fierce distortion of human sexuality....."

"Scheduled for April 27 (one day following the “Day of Silence”), “Day of Truth” is an ideal opportunity for young people to make a strong, thoughtful, outspoken response to the tacit lies and subtle intimidations put forth on the “Day of Silence.”

That's right, Mr. Sears, don't forget to portray your side as the victims.

Our schools are rapidly becoming a major battleground when the "fundamentalist" right will seek to spread their message of exclusion and condemnation and repress any presentation of homosexuality as anything other than an abomination that will lead to the downfall of civilization.

Sears quotes surveys in his piece that show his side is being solidly thrashed in our schools, so they are intensifying their efforts. This only makes it even more important for those of us on the side of inclusion and acceptance to support our youth and reinforce the efforts to protect them from bullying and intimidation from those who aren't so enlightened.