HOMOSEXUAL vs. HETEROSEXUAL

LIVING

This very controversial topic was the theme of the sessions held in Los Angeles, January 31-February 2. Visitors from many cities as far away as in Ontario, Canada, heard reports read at the Sixth Annual Meeting telling of the healthy growth and progress of the Corporation during 1957.

The next morning in vigorous debate a psychologist, father of two chil dren, and an attorney, who is a grandfather, were pitted against Lyn Pedersen, Associate Editor, ONE Magazine. and a very charming young woman, a graduate student now studying at ONE INSTITUTE, arguing that, "Heterosexual Living is Better Than Homosexual." The affirmative team poured on the usual arguments, effectively using all of the weapons available to the majority view of society, including scorn, although the attorney tempered his views somewhat. The negative team pointed out the danger to a society of enforcing, or even asking for conformity, claiming that only through non-conformists does progress come. They also cited the mass waves of excessive births now engulfing many parts of the world. Most telling of their arguments was the challenge to heterosexual society to justify itself in the face of mounting rates of divorce, juvenile delinquency and crime. They concluded by citing the great contributions made by homosexuals to every race and every culture.

A lively question and answer period evoked much laughter and the verdict that it was good and healthy that such a debate could have been conducted with such a fine spirit of energetic good humor, bespeaking a high degree of social maturity from the teams and the audience alike.

THE SPARTAN WAY

The six afternoon roundtables are briefly reported on following pages, and the speech by ONE's attorney at the Symposium-Banquet in the preced ing article. Also featured at the Sym posium was a beautifully effective reading by Miss Rachel Rosenthal, actress and dramatic coach, of selec tions from The Corn King and the Spring Queen, a novel by Naomi Mitchison. These selections were titled "The Patterns of Sparta" and tell of events leading up to the great climax of the novel "the Phiditia," or Love Feast, a scene of great beauty in which King Kleomenes of Sparta and Panteus. his lover. retell their twelve companions how they first met and fell in love, as they sit breaking bread and drinking wine together for what proved to be the last time, for the next day they all, and the King they so much loved, died together in an unsuccessful battle for freedom and for Sparta...

"Of these thirteen, there were several couples whose friendship was very deep-rooted . . . These lovers turned to each other for strength and reassurance . . . They looked in one another's eyes and touched one another tenderly. While the body yet lived, it served to show their love."

Then Panteus begins telling how it was that he and the King first came to love each other. It was while they were both out on a campaign and at soldier's mess. After eating they had songs and Panteus had sung for them all and the King could not sleep that night but read poetry and tried to write a poem. While doing so Panteus came in with a message from one of the outposts and the King confessed that he had been trying to write a

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