Aug 16 2013
Me: Oh! I love this song!
My son: This song makes you cry every time they play it on the radio.
Me: I know. I’m sorry.
My son: The part about the kids?
Me: Always the part about the kids.
My son: Why don’t kids want to be gay?
Me: Oh sweetie… that’s hard to answer. Do you remember when same-sex marriage became legal in Minnesota a few months ago?
My son: Yeah.
Me: Well, you live in a family where that was really, really good news. We were SO happy that, in our state, people that love each other would be able to get married - man and woman, woman and woman, man and man.
My son: I was happy too!
Me: Here’s the hard part… there were a LOT of people that were and are really angry that law passed. People that think a man and a man or a woman and woman shouldn’t be able to get married. That it is wrong for them to love each other.
My son: That’s stupid.
Me: I agree. But that’s why some kids don’t want to be gay. Because they live in a family that thinks it’s wrong. And they think their family won’t love them anymore if they knew they were gay.
My son: …. but… that doesn’t make any sense.
Me: I know. That’s why this song makes me cry.
My son: I’m going to be president and I’m going to make a law that says people can’t be stupid. And I’m going to make all the people that say kids shouldn’t be gay go to classes that will teach them why people should be able to love whoever they love. And I’m going to tell kids that are gay “Gay is Awesome! Be gay!” and kids that are not gay “That’s great too!” because it’s really, really stupid that kids feel bad about love. Love is GOOD.
Me: Damn right, kiddo. Love is good.
My son: Are you going to cry again?
Me: Yup.
Parenting done right.
Seriously, “Same Love” is one of the greatest songs of all-time, and is certainly one of the most important.
