If LGBT people had not already been a secreted/hidden part of every family on earth it is possible that the advent of AIDS would have derailed the LGBT-rights movement for decades—certainly that is what the Religious Right had assumed when it triumphantly declared "The 'Sexual Revolution' is over" at the dawn of the epidemic. But when AIDS forced an entire generation of gay men out of the closet, it also forced their families to choose between the fundamentalist political conservatism of Jerry Falwell and Jesse Helms—and their own flesh and blood.
No doubt many chose wrong and have had to live with the consequences of abandoning their dying children—the residual effects of which continue to ripple through the collective political conscience of religious conservatism. But many chose their sons and had to confront their own bigotry and ignorance and the politics they had blindly supported. In the process the political landscape of America began to silently shift to the left precisely because of the very same "family values" that had been conceived of as a political tac to destroy gay social gains by hastening a retreat back into the closet.
Because nothing happens in a vacuum it must be pointed out that the explosion of gay political engagement, brought about by AIDS activism, coincided with the "Third Way" political centrism championed by Bill Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council of the 1980s/'90s. The DLC sought to pull the Democratic Party toward the Center by fusing progressive political ideals with moderate economic theory. It not only led to two successive Clinton victories but to the greatest peace-time economic expansion and federal budget surpluses since World War II—all while one-time "leftist principles" began their slow move into the mainstream.
Although Clinton's tenure also produced DADT and DOMA, those anti-Gay statutes were actually championed by Congress, a Fundamentalist backlash against the increasing tolerance that Clinton's time in the White House came to exemplify. Like the AIDS-phobic laws which came before them, DADT and DOMA galvanized the LGBT community politically while educating a public whose once-pious indifference was slowly giving way to sympathy.
Ironically, by having forced the American people to contemplate Bill Clinton's zipper for several years, the conservative witch hunt that made Monica Lewinsky a household name unwittingly helped many to decide they really didn't care that much about sexual peccadilloes. This transformed Americans' expectations of their politicians and pretty much neutralized whatever capacity tawdry scandal alone once had to influence the ballot—prompting a "trickle down liberalization" of how everyone's sexuality—including LGBT sexuality—was perceived. Though it cannot be denied that many states would begin using anti-Gay ballot initiatives to get religious conservatives to the polls, Americans in general started caring less and less about what went on in other people's bedrooms.
When the Clinton era came to an end, George Bush's "Compassionate Conservatism" had promised to dial down the rhetoric in order to gently pull the country back towards the Right. But the Centrist repositioning of the Democratic Party, the increasing "permissiveness" of modern culture, and the world-changing events of 9/11 convinced social conservatives within the GOP ( which had spent the better part of the 20th century honing their moral superiority ) that what was really needed was a shift even further to the Right—leaving the political center ( which was increasingly occupied by openly gay people ) out of their calculus. Over a decade later this remains the political strategy of the Tea Party, which has attempted to ride a new wave of defiant racism and homophobia—tinged with religious overtones—to great glory, with questionable results.
What may have worked in the 1990s ( and still works in some areas ) is now politically toxic in much of the country. AIDS has come to be viewed as a medically manageable disease and no longer carries quite the same moral stigma it once did. LGBT people continue to come out ( some as young as 12 years old ) to their families and friends and co-workers—further eroding America's one-time rock-solid opposition to All-Things-Gay through simple familiarity. ( Historians may never be able to say when the actual "tipping point" occurred—but I'm pretty sure its name was Ellen, Will and Grace. ) The more conservatives have tried to capitalize on the culture war ( which they refuse to acknowledge they have already lost ) the more kerosene they have poured on the flames of their own political pyre. The resulting rapidity of LGBT cultural acceptance—as evidenced by significant political gains once thought unimaginable by both sides—has thus been fueled as much by our maturation as a constituency as by the overreach and histrionics of religious conservatives who thought homophobia and racism were reliable universal constants. Congressional repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the re-election of Barack Obama, the expansion of same-sex marriage by voters themselves and the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of part of DOMA all proved that in spite of every effort to cultivate a Conservative Renaissance in the United States, the tide has turned.
By ripping the doors off an entire generation's closets, AIDS revealed the contorted face of homophobia and held a mirror up to it—and ever since that time a slowly increasing majority of Americans has not liked what they have been forced to see. The realization that LGBT people were also brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and parents and friends and cousins struck our culture like nothing before it ever could have—triggering a re-alignment of America's politics ( and an erosion of religion's influence ) that has taken over 30 years to play out. It is not that everyone has become more progressive, as much as one-time "progressive values" have been mainstreamed within a largely moderate Republican landscape that is now seemingly over-run by LGBT people who, though shaken to their core by AIDS, faced their mortality, rose to the challenges, and now demand not only tolerance but the right to be married and to serve their country—upending every stereotype about them ever conceived.
The "revelation" many straight people have experienced about the LGBT people they suddenly perceive in their midst is emblematic of the degree to which everything has changed—a change that has been easier for some than others. It has also proved a challenge for the many LGBT people who had been quite comfortable defying social conventions.
The question is: Where do we go now? What will become of our community and its historically iconoclastic, liberal activist spirit—one which, though driven by empathy and an innate sense of social justice, has seen its greatest successes financed in no small way by moneyed conservative gay men? As court battles and electoral victories pile up, as poll numbers continue to move in our favor—as we come to embrace our own history and place in the world—what will happen when we find ourselves—with all of our differences—no longer united by the social approbation that has shaped everything about our relationship to the world—and to each other?
LGBT people have, throughout history, been the backbone of so many "movements" that even as those efforts went unacknowledged by homophobic compatriots, we continued to press for ( and achieve ) great social change long before there ever was AIDS.
Given that LGBT political gains have been largely propelled by Democrats and liberal independents, will we push ever-leftward toward democratic socialism? Will an awakened GOP break the loosening grip of religionism to seek out our best and brightest ( and wealthiest ) in an effort to rebuild their troubled brand? Or are we entering a half-century of new "Center" domination where our enemies are largely ignored and LGBT people, having been accepted as a simple fact of life, blithely go along, as so many young gay activists do today, unaware of the price that has been paid for their freedom? What if all this success makes us forget how to fight?
The long road leading to the acceptance of gay people is littered with the corpses of AIDS deaths which are invisible to all except those of us who cannot forget the sacrifices that were made by so many who did not live to see this day. That those deaths were cheered on by purportedly religious people is an inescapable fact that has undermined religion's credibility for today's decidedly liberal youth whose influence at the ballot box will only further accelerate the changes we have seen.
Although we still have a way to go before LGBT acceptance is no longer confined to certain regions and "free" states, our success has been a bellwether of broader changes in society—most of which we made happen. Hence, where we find ourselves during this historic time is no accident. In this way AIDS—and the political, cultural and religionist tsunami it helped unleash over three decades ago—washed away much of what was taken for granted by everyone, leaving an altered landscape—and people—in its wake.
Victor Salvo is the founder and head of The Legacy Project ( www.LegacyProjectChicago.org ).
