A Timeless Message
I was privileged to deliver the keynote address at the August 19, 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston. We imagined, then, that my AIDS would kill me within a few years. But thirty-two years later, I’m still alive; still an activist; still able to mount a podium, pulpit or platform and speak out.
If I were to speak to Republicans today, I would want to take on the merchants of hatred and false prophets of brutality: white nationalists, misguided patriots, those who peddle misinformation and trade in lies. I’d like to go after those who seek power so that they can reduce their opponents to worthless enemies, ignoring their common humanity.
Were I invited to Chicago – an amusing thought – I’d want to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. They’re poll workers whose integrity suffered the slings and arrows of false charges. They’re the immigrants who crawl through snake-infested deserts because they long for a life in America. They’re children who are hungry, elderly who are lonely, and People of Color who have inherited the legacies of slavery, brutality and poverty. They are people featured in my upcoming book, Uneasy Silence, due out late this year.
In Houston, 30 years ago, I spoke of AIDS. In Chicago, I would speak of hatred. Both, as nearly as I can tell, are versions of the enemies that plague our nation and our politics. “They have not earned cruelty and they do not deserve meanness,” I said 32 years ago of those who had AIDS. I’d say it again today, applying it broadly to all those under attack. I’d say, again, that “they don’t benefit from being isolated or treated as outcasts. Each of them is exactly what God made: a person. Not evil, desiring of our judgment; not victims, longing for our pity. People. Ready for support and worthy of compassion.”
The dehumanizing of others has become a political pastime for some so-called “leaders” and a score of broadcast platforms. It’s not worthy of us as Americans. I’d love to find a way to deliver that message from any platform in the world.
P.S. - Wishing President Biden strength for his speech tonight!