I've mentioned it before, but I love Derrick Jackson's writing.
Today, he takes aim at Alan Keyes for throwing his daughter Maya out of the house:
ALAN KEYES owns one of the most frothing mouths of the Republican Party, which is really saying a lot on some moral issues. Mention homosexuality and you can barely see his face for the white of his foam. He should consult Dick Cheney for a chill pill.
It's a no-holds-barred smackdown. His closing, tying Keyes as a fringe candidate to contemporary political and sexual culture is spot on:
In his speeches, Alan Keyes has proclaimed: ''There is a kernel of dignity in every person in this room." By his actions, he has denied the dignity of his own daughter. While he may be a fringe politician, his is the spirit that still rules in the ballot box.
The search for dignity has been left up to the daughter. She told The Washington Post: ''I love him. He's my father." She has written, ''They say most parents would be thrilled to have a child who doesn't smoke, have sex, do drugs, hardly drinks . . . does well in school, gets good grades, gets into the Ivy League . . . goes regularly to church, spends free time mentoring kids." She obviously would be thrilled with a father, and a nation, that searches for that kernel instead of throwing her out as a weed.
Of course, this follows on the heels of an article in Sunday's Washington Post by Marc Fisher. Fisher's article is more personal than Jackson's. Both sides of the story (and far too many like it) are necessary. The tolls people are forced to pay are still too high (one of my students was also kicked out by his parents last year). They are related to the political culture we inhabit.