The-Not-so-Charlie-Browns: Is society creating a disorder or a culture?

"I was born this way."

We've probably all known somebody who has spoken those words. Or maybe you haven't depending on your age? It's incredibly common for people in my generation to have gays friends or family. (More accurately people who identify as LGBTQ+) And I feel that I hear this phrase more often than ever before. So, are peoples genes becoming more gay? Or is society turning people gay.

Is it possible that our culture is just more inclusive and accepting now of people who identify as LGBTQ?

I doubt it. It’s more complex.

What I’ve seen in the media is that people are more polarized than ever. People continue to flock towards either leftist ideologies or right. I do believe about 80% of people sit somewhere in the middle. With all the media and influencers ramping up their opinions on hot button topics we see more people divided than ever before in our country’s history! Yet there is this tremendous surge in people.

"LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020)."

How does this statistic make any sense if we are more accepting now than ever...? I think the answer lies in a difficult yet simple truth. We all have a problem.

Our problem is the desensitizing of our youth, it’s the fact that 70% of adults who are gay reported being sexualized or abused sexually as a child. It’s also that parents are pushing these poisonous ideologies on their children at younger and younger ages so they can virtue signal to their friends about how "loving and progressive they are." Anybody who labels their child as gay, lesbian, trans or whatever sets them up for failure in life. One of my nephews believes he is spiderman, and he wears his mask and light up shoes everywhere he goes! Children’s brains are so plastic that anything can take root and become their entire personality, they aren’t aware of gender or sexual attraction.

What consequences will we face down the road if we continue down this path? It’s quite funny to imagine but if the rates of people who identify as LGBTQ continue to grow as they have been for the last 75 years, then everyone will be gay by 2050! It’s certainly not possible, however funny it is.

I have my own fair share of things I wish I didn’t want. There is no lasting happiness to be found in seeking after your own gratification. No matter your religious beliefs or ideals, we know that family and selflessness lead to lasting happiness far more often than anything else. Becoming better is what you should strive for, not living with who you are now. Therein lies the message I wish you to know, it doesn’t matter if you were “born this way or that” be better.

Now we have arrived back where we started. Were you really born this way? Perhaps, just remember that everyone has their own proclivities towards certain things, whether you decide to indulge in them is your decision. I have a propensity to sleep in, I am currently undergoing a transition. I love sleeping in, but for the last two weeks I’ve gotten myself out of bed and hit the gym at 6:00 AM every morning. Afterwards I end it with a 2 minute cold shower. David Goggins refers to painful self-inflicted experiences as “the suck”. I enjoy “the suck” because that where growth lies. I feel more in control of my mind and body, and it leads to me making more changes in my life. If I sat back on the couch telling myself “This is who I am” I wouldn’t ever grow, so maybe you are gay, maybe your not. But ill be damned if I don’t speak my mind that nobody cares. Everyone has demons, get out and conquer them before you start going out proclaiming “I was born this way”.