When I retired and came home, I had forgotten how contentious Oklahoma is.

For 12 years I have listened to an endless stream of attacks against homosexuality. Frankly, I’m tired of the fuss and am wondering exactly what we should do about it. Shall we throw them in prison, burn them at the stake, or is simple persecution enough?

After 6,000 years anyone would think homosexuality might have lost its fascination as a subject of discussion. Apparently not. Apparently, also, the only way some of us know how to serve God is to attack somebody.

When I graduated from college and marched off to the Army, I was a true son of Oklahoma. I was a sworn enemy of alcohol and homosexuals, and I never missed an opportunity to attack either one. Stationed in Los Angeles, the sin capital of America, I was rarely without targets for my vicious, hateful comments.

Gradually, I came to realize that some of the men in my company were homosexuals, so I started watching them. To my surprise, most of them were good soldiers. They weren’t going around flaunting strange behavior. Mostly they just left everybody alone and wanted to be left alone themselves. Slowly, I came to realize that my attitude and behavior were silly.

There was nothing Christlike in hurting such people. Jesus never led a crusade against them, although he didn’t seem to have a very high opinion of the religious leaders of the day.

My point is, we are not likely to be able to buy our way into heaven with hate and condemnation, so why don’t we give it a rest.

It is hard enough to govern our own lives in a way that meets God’s approval without worrying about everybody else’s behavior. Certainly there is a lot more to worry and pray about than this little hot button political issue.

Fred Gibson

Tahlequah