Kudos to you and Carol for fighting the good fight. It is very sad that the Unitarian Universalists, with their long-held reputation for being open minded and engaged in the search for truth as among their highest values, have succumbed to rank dogmatism for the sake of political alignment with the "woke." Evidence doesn't matter to them. A free exchange of ideas, open discussion and debate in a search for truth doesn't matter to them. All that matters to them is fealty to this new warped version of "liberalism."
My wife and I had a similar longstanding affiliation with our local Fellowship. We were both longtime members of the choir and, like you, I wrote and produced several comedy skits for our annual fundraisers. We attended all manner of social events there. But after Trump was elected and wokeness, in all of its manifestations, took hold, the Fellowship became progressively more insufferable, with the dogma being relentlessly shoved down our throats until we couldn't stomach it anymore.
Unlike you, we took the path of least resistance and just left. We could have put up a fight, but it was obvious to us that the overwhelming majority of the congregation had bought into the gender identity cult and related dogmas hook, line and sinker, and we determined that we had better ways of spending our time, fighting on fronts other than that one. Your experience helps confirm that, even if we had fought for a more tolerant and evidence-based approach to these issues, the result almost certainly would have been the same.
Full Disclosure: Carol and Bruce are friends, nextdoor neighbors and demonstrably smarter than we are. They have taken up the burden in our time, as my hero Mario Savio did so many decades ago. In solidarity, we do what we can to shine a light of tolerance and knowledge in dismal times. However, it is daunting to take one's place at the tip of the spear.
Sometimes I feel as if the world has been taken over by a sort of madness. Up is down, left is right and we are all just supposed to go along with it, regardless of how unbelievable and ridiculous it all is. Science doesn’t seem to count anymore. Glad you two are trying to fight this. I was raised, as a child, in the Unitarian/Universalist Church. It doesn’t even sound like the same church anymore.
Kudos to you and Carol for fighting the good fight. It is very sad that the Unitarian Universalists, with their long-held reputation for being open minded and engaged in the search for truth as among their highest values, have succumbed to rank dogmatism for the sake of political alignment with the "woke." Evidence doesn't matter to them. A free exchange of ideas, open discussion and debate in a search for truth doesn't matter to them. All that matters to them is fealty to this new warped version of "liberalism."
My wife and I had a similar longstanding affiliation with our local Fellowship. We were both longtime members of the choir and, like you, I wrote and produced several comedy skits for our annual fundraisers. We attended all manner of social events there. But after Trump was elected and wokeness, in all of its manifestations, took hold, the Fellowship became progressively more insufferable, with the dogma being relentlessly shoved down our throats until we couldn't stomach it anymore.
Unlike you, we took the path of least resistance and just left. We could have put up a fight, but it was obvious to us that the overwhelming majority of the congregation had bought into the gender identity cult and related dogmas hook, line and sinker, and we determined that we had better ways of spending our time, fighting on fronts other than that one. Your experience helps confirm that, even if we had fought for a more tolerant and evidence-based approach to these issues, the result almost certainly would have been the same.
I am a longtime UU, in NY, not yet open about my “gender heresy”—but your example is giving me ideas. And courage.
Huge thanks to you and Carol.
Full Disclosure: Carol and Bruce are friends, nextdoor neighbors and demonstrably smarter than we are. They have taken up the burden in our time, as my hero Mario Savio did so many decades ago. In solidarity, we do what we can to shine a light of tolerance and knowledge in dismal times. However, it is daunting to take one's place at the tip of the spear.
I will be sharing this article far and wide
Sometimes I feel as if the world has been taken over by a sort of madness. Up is down, left is right and we are all just supposed to go along with it, regardless of how unbelievable and ridiculous it all is. Science doesn’t seem to count anymore. Glad you two are trying to fight this. I was raised, as a child, in the Unitarian/Universalist Church. It doesn’t even sound like the same church anymore.
Outrageous but sadly not surprising. Good that you two are fighting.