I am blessed in my life, if I haven’t shared that before. I am healthy, I have a wonderful partner and a great family. This spring, I was fortunate enough to travel internationally with my mother and sister. We went to London and Amsterdam, visiting museums, shopping, and eating delicious food. At one point we were in the very tourist-populated area of London called Covent Garden. It was a beautiful day—the weather couldn’t have been more perfect—and it was at the time of the city’s annual flower show, so there may have been even more tourists than usual.
A couple of men walked in front of us holding hands. My sister said, “Look,” pointing at the men, “It must be okay to be gay here.”
I instantly replied, “Of course it is,” thinking “why wouldn’t it be?” But then I immediately checked myself and remembered some of the places I know it’s not okay to be in a same sex relationship, especially walking down the street holding hands. Russia and Dubai are examples, and then there’s Brunei, a small country in Southeast Asia who has recently enacted an Islamic law that made gay sex punishable by flogging or stoning to death.
It’s hard for me to imagine less personal freedom that what we have here in the United States. It is so easy to take our liberties and sense of freedom for granted. Every now and then a detail comes up to remind us of that for which we should be grateful. Make sure not to miss the moment to reflect.
Celebrating National LGBTQ Pride Month — June, 2019