Hello, my faithful and wonderful readers.

I appreciate the fact that you read my advice blog, and I ask you to indulge me this time in asking (again) for some words of wisdom from Uncle RJ.

I'll ask him his opinion and see how he replies.

Uncle RJ,

What is your opinion of the political scene in the United States and the increasing terrorist attacks in the United Sates and in the rest of the world? AND for which of the candidates will you vote in November?

I ask these questions because some of the very right wing religious (evangelicals, etc.) are saying that the world is doomed and the blame goes right to us, the LGBT community. One nun said that we do things which make God "puke."

I have no idea how to respond to this stuff, and I find that most of my friends simply don't care.

Do you think we are in the end times and that the world is about to end as we know it?

Thanks, from your nephew, Cousin Butchie!

 

Dear Butchie and all of his readers,

Thank you for bringing this question to me to answer. I do not have beliefs and opinions which are totally trustworthy, but they do represent what life has taught me from the time before Butchie's parents were born, and I have formed my opinions on what life has taught me thus far.

First of all, I believe that people have never had access to worldwide news the way they do today. I recall my own parents saying that they knew about the Holocaust and other horrendous periods in history by attending the "News Reel Theatre" in Newark, NJ.  (and other cities). In essence, we have never before been bombarded with so much bad news before. If you think about the horrible events of the past, for example: the Inquisition, the torture of "heretics" as just a few examples, I would not suggest that we have moved forward very much. I don't think life is hopeless, but it can be very scary at times. When the fundamentalists of every religious group isolate passages from the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, they are doing what so many fanatics do-- THEY ARE CLAIMING TO KNOW where this world is headed and the causes for any disturbing and frightening events. LGBT people are easy for some of these self proclaimed prophets to blame. We have been implicated for and blamed for everything evil in society which has happened since the beginning of time as they know it. If we take a search engine and read all the times that the end of the world has been forecast by Jehovah's Witnesses, Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson, various Catholic mystics and Jewish prophets of doom... you may get unhinged unless you study how wrong they are about almost everything that goes wrong in this world.

The hardest thing for LGBT people to understand is that they are created with their unique sexuality and that the bigotry and bullying of heterosexual society is embarrassingly at the center of all our oppression and condemnation through the centuries. What people fail to understand, they condemn. Using their self-righteous stupidity makes it easy for them to join in the fight against what they fear and what their various religions tell them is right. The terrorist suicide bombers believe they are gaining the approval and reward from the "god" of their understanding. How many times in this country did  people lynch African-Americans for crimes they were imagined to commit? And how many people opposed an end to slavery because they found it approved in the bible?

Let's make a concerted effort in the LGBT community to become more loving and caring for one another. The old issues of racism and sexism and intolerance need to be swept away so that we know in our heart of hearts that we are a loving people... still somewhat MARCHING FOR OUR LIVES. The march is now as important as it ever was. Ellen DeGeneres ends every program by exhorting us to be "kind to one another (or is it "each other"?).

I don't feel that it's appropriate to name the candidate I want elected in November. Actually, it's so easy to buy into Donald Trump's exploitation of the fears and insecurities we probably all have deep down inside. This, I believe, betrays what America is all about.

So... I didn't say which candidate will get my vote, but I think it's a no brainer.

Please get back to asking Cousin Butchie for his expert advice. I think he's getting depressed (whether he admits it or not) because he doesn't have all the answers. NO ONE DOES!

Have a safe and gay summer,

Uncle R.J.