A Letter To Candace Gingrich

Yesterday in the Huffington Post, Candace Gingrich wrote a scathing letter to her brother, Newt, in which she several times referred to him - and ostensibly, all of "us" - as haters. I seriously doubt that Newt will respond in kind, but I have no qualms whatsoever about filling in for him. And I have no fears at all that Newt will be coming to beat me up for slapping his sister around just a bit, albeit figuratively.

Dear Ms. Gingrich,

You don't waste time, do you? In your opening paragraph, you mention the "fears and prejudices of the far right". Couple those gross mischaracterizations with the silly misnomer of "haters", and you have filled your stew with all the wrong ingredients. People are permitted to have strong opinions on subjects without being labelled as such, but it seems to be the most effective tool your "community" utilizes. You put the opposition on defense right out of the gate. I feel no need to defend against such charges, however, I just grow weary of hearing that tired, old mantra.

I will briefly address your concerns regarding "LGBT Americans". There is much credit due for the success the movement has achieved over the past decades. It is a good thing that you no longer have to live in those small closets. It was wrong for people to be brutally beaten simply for being who and what they were. Kudos on that front, you have become accepted in society.

The thing is, it just is never enough, is it? Civil unions were not good enough, were they? The cry was for equal rights for health benefits, hospital visitation, estate bequeathal, etc. Even if all this is offered, you are still akin to the warriors of old, who could not accept victory at the expense of continued conflict. To put it simply, you live for the fight. That is a sad commentary.

Your movement claims that two people who love one another should have the right to marry, but we both know that there are already prohibitions of this on myriad levels, don't we? For example, brothers cannot marry sisters or, if you prefer, brothers. Mothers cannot marry sons, nor fathers daughters. Some things are just wrong despite the efforts of others to obfuscate that fact.

A fair question asked by the LGBT community and its defenders is, "How will two gay people getting married affect you"? That is a question I cannot answer with conviction, but it is also true that someone else's kid getting kidnapped doesn't affect me, either. Does that make the act permissible?

You said in your letter:

The truth is that you're living in a world that no longer exists. I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as [sic]-- and we embrace what it can be. You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past.

You seem to equate change unequivocally with progress. I beg to differ, since changing America's laws and morals into something more resembling Europe is not progress but the opposite of it. Remember, little sis (of Newt), we left that place more than two hundred years ago for a better life, which we created and which you are trying to destroy.

Your disdain for "what worked in the past" is misguided, at best. There is an old axiom that says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

You should also leave political prognostication to the experts such as your big brother. Your belief that this election indicated a sweeping sea change in the ideology of the nation couldn't be further from the truth.

You will learn that in four years, though, and my guess is that you and your comrades will rail against the rule of democracy, just as you have seen fit to do with the proper decision of Prop 8. Democracy is only good when it works to your advantage, apparently.

In the meantime, if Newt doesn't write back, don't feel too bad, no one else would blame him.

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