THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

From the journal of John 'Jack' Quincy Adams, Chief Secret Service Special Agent in Charge, The White House. Code Name: One.

Part 28. Defining Heroes

Jack Adams, the Secret Service agent charged with assassinating President George W. Bush and being held for psychiatric evaluation, is telling about Christmas dinner with his family and the television blitz to promote an anti-gay Constitutional amendment.

The camera panned to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada on Pelosi's right. He picked up the speech from there. 'This new amendment is the first to our constitution in almost half a century and there is a good reason why that is. Whenever an administration in power wants to amend this sacred document three-fourths of all the states in the union must ratify that change. This is the founding fathers' guarantee of a system of checks and balances on the powers of government.'

The camera zoomed back now to include both of them in the frame as Pelosi continued. 'This amendment, this so-called Marriage Protection Act, is different from every other article and amendment to our constitution and has nothing to do with governing our great land. This amendment incorporates religious doctrine into our laws. We will then be telling people what religious doctrines they must believe. That is not the America our Founding Fathers had in mind.'

The camera then closed in on Senator Reid. 'Therefore, we of the Democratic Party urge you to call your Representative and your Senator in Washington tomorrow morning and tell them you do not support this amendment.'

'Think of how this amendment will erode the freedoms you hold most dear. If we tell people who they can marry and who can adopt children based solely upon racial, religious, sexual, or social profile, then sooner or later, they will be telling you that you cannot do something for no other reason than you do not conform to their idea of what the average American citizen should look like. And that is not the American way; it is not how things are done in a land of the free.'

Pelosi then wrapped it up. 'This is America, not the former Iraq, not North Korea, and not Iran. This is America. Land of the free. Speak out and vote no against the Marriage Protection Act. Keep our Constitution and these United States free. With liberty and justice for all God's children. Thank you. God bless each and every one of you, and good night.'

We stood silent for a moment as Jackson walked over and turned the set off, then we all filed back to the dinner table and our cold Christmas dinner. JJ was still in his chair reading his book and, with his free hand, dipping his index finger in the gravy bowl and licking it.

'Where the hell is Lee Harvey Oswald when you need him?' Abbie said.

'Ab! Now you're sounding like one of them,' Quincy said.

'Oh, please, Quincy. You don't think it would be a service to the country if someone took this joker out? The person would be a hero.'

'Abbie, that is hardly the definition of a hero. The people who died on September 11 were heroes, not the assassins of our presidents,' Vera said.

Jackson turned to me. 'What do you say, Mr. Adams? Your job is to protect this man's life and you work with these people every day. You've put your life on the line three times to save a president. Do you think the reverse could ever be true? Is it ever heroic to kill a president?'

'Jacks!' Quincy shouted, and I looked up thinking my son had called me by my first name. 'You can't ask him that,' Quincy said. 'He could get fired just talking about such a thing. And we're probably being bugged at this very minute.'

'Well, let's start with the definition, then. What makes a person a hero?' Vera asked the table at large. 'Surely we can have an etymological discussion without being arrested for sedition.'

'Dad?' said Quincy. 'Say something.'

'Jackson raised the issue. I think I'd like to hear what he has to say about it first. How would you define a hero, Jackson?'

'Personally, Mr. Adams, I don't think that dying in and of itself is heroic. Any more than I think an automobile accident is tragic.' I wondered if this young man would ever call me by my first name. Can good breeding be carried too far?

He said, 'Technically, a tragic act is an act that diminishes or destroys a person physically, emotionally, or spiritually while the person is in pursuit of virtue. That is the essential qualifier. It is not accidental; it is not simply losing out to an evil force. It is diminishment, and usually death, in the pursuit of the Good.'

'Go on,' I said. 'Tell us exactly what makes a hero.' I needed to hear this.