I felt moved to respond to this commentary piece from one Alfred Sangster whose poorly thought through article just irked me as I sipped my tea this morning, I hope the Gleaner approves my comment but in case they do not it sits below the article excerpted:

'CAUSE' Editorials And The Culture War

By Alfred Sangster

The Gleaner editorial of July 03, 2014 asks the question, In whose CAUSE? and answers the question in the body of the editorial. Essentially, the editorial is sounding the battle cry against the consortium 'Churches Action Uniting Society for Emancipation' (CAUSE).The article attacks the evangelicals and is strong for the gay-rights movement. The war that The Gleaner has declared is against, "those who are intent on turning back a liberalism that sees same-sex orientations not as a fundamental right, but as an intolerable aberration." There has been a second supporting editorial of July 8, 2014 by The Gleaner titled: 'Good tactic, wrong CAUSE', which was obviously prompted by the fact that the CARICOM leaders at their recent meeting deferred approval of the anti-discrimination document (PANCAP) which has a strong gay-rights agenda. The successful lobby of over 140 organisations against the document must have sent a strong signal to the CARICOM leaders and a jarring message to The Gleaner writers as well!

This so-called culture war is driven by imperialists whose methods have been no different from those of earlier years. Jamaica has had its challenges of culture wars before with threats to life and liberty. The most recent historically was in the '70s when Michael Manley launched his democratic socialism - a cover-up for communism - on the Jamaican people. But Jamaica rejected this foreign imperialistic doctrine and the People's National Party was rejected in an unprecedented way. The Gleaner editorial writers seem to have forgotten their paper's history. It was the same Michael Manley who led a demonstration at The Gleaner's gates with the promised threat of 'Next Time'. The Gleanercried out to the country for help, and people rallied around and bought shares in the company. I was one of them.

WAKE-UP CALL

For our present time, the Brendan Bain issue was a new wake-up call to both the Jamaican society in general and the Church in particular. The communist threat, now history, has been replaced with a new imperialistic threat to the country in the militant gay-rights movement in what the editorial described as the new culture wars. This new value system is characterised by the cleverly disguised use of 'rights' to bypass existing laws and practical questions of right and wrong. In President Obama's reflections on racial and women's 'rights' on issues of freedom, equality and justice, he was correct and argued from the highest ethical and moral value system known to mankind. When he added the rights of homosexuals to his list of rights, he moved America down the slippery slope of moral decay. So the Christian community and many elements of civil society have risen to battle this new imperialism and its challenges. These are the issues and this is the CAUSE.

It is about a lifestyle which has the following sexual elements.

It is an unnatural lifestyle. The plant and animal kingdom have their male and female genders for propagation, renewal and replacement

It is an unhealthy lifestyle. The Brendan Bain statistics - internationally confirmed - noted the realities of the enhanced threat to sexual diseases

It is an unproductive lifestyle.

The gay lifestyle strikes at the heart of the family and the sanctity of marriage currently entrenched in the Jamaican Constitution as a union between one man and one woman, The buggery law is not about prying into people's bedrooms; it strikes at the root of the justice system and creates a false value system.

The firing of Professor Brendan Bain was just such an example. A large number of splinter groups described by The Gleaner headline as 'duppies' led to the false premise that Professor Bain had lost the confidence and support of his constituents.

STRIKES at NATION'S HEART

The gay lifestyle strikes at the heart of a nation's ethical, moral and spiritual value system.

The movement is characterised by some of the following elements.

The tactics of the imperialists remain the same as those of the old slave masters - use any available resource to subdue, or buy out the 'natives',

Use the media to induce 'the hate speech concept' and attack those who stand for Christian values.

Use underhand and deceitful methods to influence the young. The recent sexual material in the children's homes is an example. The interchanges between Carolyn Gomes, Kay Osborne and the Jamaicans for Justice raises the question as to who is telling the truth.

It is clear that The Gleaner editorialists have captured the imperialistic gay-rights agenda, quite the opposite of the struggles of the '70s. What is the policy of The Gleaner's board of directors on this issue? What of the voice of shareholders who supported The Gleaner in the '70s. We need answers.

ENDS

My response:

Dr Mr Sangster,

Please step out of the dark ages and step into the present reality, the procreation argument does not wash anymore as ONE person can be made produce and embryo via stem cell research/manipulation and other scientific methods for persons who cannot have children naturally or same sex couples who do not want to go the route of a surrogate.

Because you are not attracted to the same sex does not make it unnatural for someone's whose experience is different from yours but clearly you wish to IMPOSE your beliefs on others yet pretend that you hate he sin but love the sinner which is a silly argument.

Anal sex as implied in this poorly thought through and under-researched article is NOT the untidy affair as your active imagination would like to think as your mind seems stuck on the "sex of it" instead of the orientation of the individuals (mostly in this case gay/bi men) but bear in mind heterosexuals also practice anal penetration, some for contraceptive means as evidenced by medical doctors who have spoken publicly on the issue. Walk into any pharmacy and there are anal healthcare products similar to those that women use for their own issues.

Please list the actual page(s) that had the so called offensive lines in the JFJ sex education manual as I find many as yourself who are in strong opposition have failed miserably to be specific on that matter but are up in arms at a report by a newspaper, they did bypass the CDA but the reporting mechanism and monitoring visits by the CDA should have picked up in the 6 or 7 months the activity was taking place a point that I have yet to see you self righteous voices elucidate.

You wrote:

"The movement is characterised by some of the following elements. The tactics of the imperialists remain the same as those of the old slave masters - use any available resource to subdue, or buy out the 'natives',Use the media to induce 'the hate speech concept' and attack those who stand for Christian values."

Where is the proof of this when this very newspaper and others has allowed your piece to be published (as nonsensical as it is), so how can it be blocking freedom of speech and you, Rev Peter Espeut, Dr Wayne West, Shirley Richards and others over these many years have contributed articles and so on unimpeded or blocked by these so called imperialists?

The fact that a rally that basically incited hate & reawakened old homophobic feelings was even allowed to occur to supposed fight against as you put it "imperialists" when this is a MINORITY lest we forget is not clear to you yet? ..... it is interesting that very freedom of speech which you defend so stoutly is now being used by you and yours to suppress a minority, wow 15th century England all over again but this time in little Jamaica and then you claim the victim-hood card to justify your arguments ........ are you for real?

Finally stop clouding the atheistic or secularist push with that of the LGBT rights advocacy, not all voices who are atheist are homosexual that is what is causing a lot of this nonesense.