I found it very comforting to see that there is no such thing as a completely normal family. People find their way through whatever the differences may be. Andrew Solomon More Quotes by Andrew Solomon More Quotes From Andrew Solomon I think an awful lot of the diplomatic problems that exist in the world come from people assuming that their society is the one with a purchase on truth. Andrew Solomon people world thinking I think what the Church should ideally do, and does appear to do in the context of straight relationships, is to support people in crossing from the easier pleasure of momentary carnal satisfaction, into the more difficult pleasure of love and family and relationship. Andrew Solomon support people thinking I have found that the greatest stories of acceptance and love and the ugliest stories of hideous cruelty and abuse have equally been perpetrated in the name of Christian faith. Andrew Solomon acceptance christian names When a church manipulates the law to say, "These people are lesser," it takes a lot of resilience to hold your head up and say, "I am not lesser!" Some people can do it and some cannot; and some of those people who cannot will be destroyed. Andrew Solomon resilience law people I was overpowered by being in the world, by other people and their lives I couldn’t lead, their jobs I couldn’t do - overpowered even by jobs I would never want or need to do. Andrew Solomon jobs people needs I felt like all of the work was training for just one central idea: Accept your child for who he is. I'm not saying that I've done a brilliant job with that. But I've done my best. Andrew Solomon jobs children ideas Religion is so focused on family. These days, for many people, being gay is also focused on family. Andrew Solomon these-days gay people People who believe that they are going to be excommunicated and shamed, or whatever other dark things may happen to them, are much less likely to enter open, loving relationships. And they are also much less likely to have the self-esteem that is required to be monogamous and loving. And in consequence, they are much less likely to create families. Andrew Solomon self-esteem dark believe The Church responds to antiquated social realities, and those realities remain much more current in Utah precisely because of the Church. Andrew Solomon utah church reality In coming to an appreciation of the Mormon Church, one of the things that has been most compelling to me is the Mormon understanding of family, which extends beyond the general injunction to be fruitful and multiply, and addresses the permanence of love relationships into eternity, and embraces the sanctity of having children. Andrew Solomon understanding appreciation children I understand perfectly well why the Catholic Church preaches against abortion. But it shouldn't be the purpose of the Catholic Church to prevent non-Catholics from having abortions if they feel that abortions are morally acceptable. They can certainly only argue for what they believe to be right in the court of public opinion and try to persuade people. Andrew Solomon abortion believe people Any community that remains an abstraction is an easy target for prejudice and cruelty, but any community that becomes fully humanized is much harder to treat in that way. Andrew Solomon target prejudice community A lot of people are very political when they are young, and then they outgrow it. Andrew Solomon political young people The thing that makes me really outraged, is the idea that the Mormon Church would presume to get involved in decisions that have little to do with Mormonism. Andrew Solomon church decision ideas I encounter a lot of prejudice and a lot of darkness. I have to negotiate constantly through situations that are uncomfortable or difficult or strange. Andrew Solomon encounters prejudice darkness When I remember how unhappy I was in adolescence - about the fact that, though I wasn't really using the term to or for myself, I knew that I was gay - I think, "Oh, if someone then could have shown me just an hour in the life that I have now, I would have made it through all of that misery and despair just fine." The pain lay in thinking that I had a desolate future. Andrew Solomon gay pain thinking Religion is so focused on family. These days, for many people, being gay is also focused on family. The Mormon Church is especially focused on family, and I'd have hoped, therefore, that the Mormon Church would especially have celebrated how all of these people who might have been lonely and suicidal and childless are now able to lead this other life. I would have thought it would be a cause for immense celebration. Instead it has been, obviously, a cause of great concern to the Church and its leadership. Andrew Solomon suicidal gay lonely One has to weigh all of one's values always in relative terms. On the upside, you get people who are not acting on their homosexual attraction, who are avoiding the sin of practicing homosexuality. On the downside, you have destroyed marriages, traumatized children, and dead people who have taken their own lives. Andrew Solomon taken children people The more gay people can tell our stories, the more other people will accept gay people. Andrew Solomon gay stories people There is a great deal of sin that comes from homosexuals who believe their homosexuality is a sin. Andrew Solomon homosexuality sin believe
