Adam And Steve

The title names the punchline of putdowns of same-sex relationships often employed by religious zealots who fancy themselves both witty and morally right. It is their privilege to be both wrong and scientifically illiterate in a land that treasures the First Amendment to its Constitution.

Deal with reality for a moment. We've come a long way, yet have a great distance yet to travel on this issue. The medical community has evolved from viewing "different" gender orientation and sexual preference as a not-so-moral choice, to manifestation of a disease, to a part of the rich tapestry of variations in the range of normal human conditions.

Despite the millennia-old writings in primitive, and heavily edited texts, this has never really been an issue of morality. Later, no matter the uninformed and data-poor science, the condition(s) did not respond to treatment, counseling, drugs, interventions, or "conversions".

We now know, as we begin to get more rigorous about the genuine science involved, that all this manufactured societal upheaval is based on hard-wiring in the brain. People are pre-programmed to act and interact the way they do, not only in matters of gender and sex, but in all aspects of behavior.

Face it. No one chooses to live on Avenue Q, any more than they choose to be left-handed, color-blind, or intuitive math geniuses. The choices have been made for them in the physical construct of their brains. Maybe the work was done by sub-contractors, in that the wiring often bears no correlation with the plumbing systems in the larger organism.

It's funny - not ha-ha - how more pure minds and souls look at such relationships, those that color outside the lines. In my little universe, our older son and AJ are partners. Uber-Mom arrived home one day to announce that she had great news about the couple.

La Diva beamed, as she exclaimed, "They're getting married!". She was a bit crestfallen when the news turned out to be that they're buying a house. The Kid, on the other hand, was wired for sound at the news. A new house meant a feast was in the offing, and he was determined to make a knockout dessert. Suddenly pensive, he asked plaintively, "Can we call him Uncle AJ then?"

Once again, The Kid offers us instruction that is practical and timely. Look, the population that so many think must surely be conventionally heterosexual is, in fact, riddled with members of the LGBTQ community. They are not all in Hollywood, hairdressers to the stars, or tending bar in Manhattan waiting for Broadway callbacks - or fantasizing about cast members in Glee.

They are bankers, nurses, lawyers, accountants, salespeople, customer service reps, warehouse workers, data analysts, university and high school classmates, supply chain managers, senior executives - you name it, and some number of practitioners are not what you'd like to assume.

As supply chain leaders, we've got to be alert, awake, and aware about sexual diversity. We've got to understand how to cleanse our workplaces of related negative bias. Inclusion is not only a race and gender issue. We can start by jettisoning the Adam and Steve bit. It is not fair to AJ and others, and demeans us as fellow humans on an amazingly creative and diverse planet.

Maybe it wasn't even funny the first time 'round.