Ms. Murphy reports that progressive and conservative religious leaders in Des Moines were finally bridging their differences to bring “civility” to the discourse of politics by uniting to prevent the Des Moines School Board from “incorporating homosexuality into its curriculum. I think such bigotry is a very uncivil discourse. Does this mean that known lesbians and gays in history will be portrayed as heterosexual? Does this mean that the religious leaders of Des Moines wish the school board to try to convince students that lesbian and gay people do not exist? Or that all lesbian and gay people are abominations to God?

God personally wrought destruction on Sodom and Gomorraha. God was angry because the people of those towns were cruel to people who were vulnerable, or were strangers, poor, minorities, or out of the mainstream. Those in power in those cities raped strangers who were dependent upon the town’s hospitality for survival. They cheated one another in business and laughed. The gorged themselves on extravagant luxuries while the poor around them starved. They persecuted those who were not in the mainstream.

Somehow, people who have not fully read these Biblical chapters, or who do not understand Biblical scholarship have gone around thinking and or saying that God destroyed the people of Sodom and Gomorraha because they allowed gay and lesbian people to live there without being stoned to death; when God really destroyed them simply because they were bigoted, selfish and greedy. This had nothing to do with anyone’s sexual orientation.

I would hope that the clergy of Des Moines would stop oppressing gay and lesbian people in the name of God. When people oppress minorities in the name of God, historically God gets very angry, and then who knows what would come of that.

In the meantime, I, a lesbian alumni of ISU and AHS will remain in the safety of a truly civil New York City, which welcomes and nurtures those who are strangers, poor, minority and oppressed.

Sharron Clemons, MSW

BA Pol Sci ISU -1979