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"... Without altering society itself"

I have always thought that the homosexual is a person with his own attitude and feelings towards life and entitled to it like any other person or minority. Every minority has its own special problems. The Jew and Negro have long fought to have their rights recognized and safeguarded. The religious minority has always been engaged in open or subtle battle with the dominant religious forces. In politics ideas have fought ideas implacably. In every sphere, religious, economic, political, our life is composed of a mass of little engagements in which those of like viewpoint group together, and defend themselves against those of contrary viewpoint, and fight it out usually inconclusively. This Condition of engagement never ends regardless of the momentary outcome because it is a basic ingredient of life.

The important thing here is not the result of the engagement so much as the satisfaction, the feeling of belong. ing socially, of partaking in life, of being accepted by life, the happiness that is the result of the joining together with persons of like viewpoint. That is what human life boils down to I think. The fight never ends. It sometimes succeeds in its objectives or approaches closer to it and of course thereby adds more to human happiness, but the important thing is not the outcome of the engagement, but the successful grouping for the engagement. Before happiness can be derived from the distant vic-

tory, very real satisfaction and happiness can be extracted from the very necessary grouping for the engagement and in many cases the only real result can be the happiness resulting from belonging to this articulate group.

To expect that a particular minority (the homosexual) will cease to be a minority without the problems now encountered by it in our present world is to be unrealistic.

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Equally unrealistic is to think that by hammering away and making oneself disagreeable one can gradually lift the barriers and become accepted. don't think this has ever happened. What does happen is that by forcible attack upon society you don't change people's opinions so much as you force them into a position of more outright opposition or more open support. You create a sharp cleavage where formerly the dividing line was hazy. Is anyone the happier for this? I don't know. But we all feel it necessary to do this. Why? Because this is life: to join with people of likeness to oneself and to maintain your beliefs against those of contrary position. From this one derives his happiness in the larger sense, in addition to the happiness derived from more basic needs.

The homosexual is in a very difficult position and certainly the above approach to his problems does not solve very much, but 'very much' can not be solved without altering society itself to suit homosexual needs.

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