Former President Gerald Ford: Rainbow Warrior?
My grandfather, Bert Harder, said, upon becoming a
nonagenarian, "I'm ninety years old and haven't got an
enemy in the world!" Blowing out his birthday cake
candles just in time to avoid setting off the smoke
alarms, he added, "I've outlived every one of those
sons-a-bitches!"
Bert's daughter Minnie, who was my mother, also saw
the advantages of old age. The baby sister in a family
of eight, she waited patiently for the demise of all
her siblings and then, for a period of about 10 years,
assumed the position of matriarch in a large and
occasionally dissonant family. Her favorite book was
"When I Am an Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple," the
title of which she took to heart. She wore lots of
purple. Unfortunately, she also wore shades of red or
orange or chartreuse or seafoam green at the same
time, causing the members of the family who were more
anally retentive about clashing colors to wring their
hands in despair.
"I don't care," she would say in her own defense. "I'm
old. I can eat what I want, wear what I want and say
what I want when I want to eat it, wear it or say it.
It's the advantage of old age. People either think
you've got wisdom or you're senile, but they don't
spend a lot of time arguing with you."
Grandpa Bert's and Mother's words immediately came to
my mind when it was reported recently that former
President Gerald R. Ford, age 88, announced his
support for providing the same benefits for same-sex
couples and married couples.
Ford, you may recall, was, as president and before
that, as the Republican House minority leader during
the Nixon Administration, a rock-solid example of what
it meant to be a rock-solid member of the conservative
GOP in the time before conservatism was redefined and
radicalized by the Reagan gang of the 1980s. As a
president and former president, Ford has been about
all-American as the Boy Scouts (he is a former scout
and scout leader, by the way). Consequently, his
support of gay rights is against the grain of public
perception and expectations of him.
It is because of Ford's age, his established record as
an old-time conservative and plodding image as Mr.
Mainstream that makes his remarks so shocking to both
friends and foes of gay civil rights. Likewise, it is
also what makes his support so effective.
Ford's remarks were published Oct. 29 in The Detroit
News by columnist Deb Price. In a phone interview,
Ford told Price that he was in favor of provisions for
same-sex couples that would include Social Secirty,
tax and other federal benefits.
"I think they should be treated equally. Period," he
said.
In addition, he stated support for a federal law
banning workplace discrimination against gays.
"That is a step in the right direction," Ford said. "I
have a longstanding record in favor of legislation to
do away with discrimination."
The statements place Ford in the unforeseen position
of being the highest ranking Republican, nationally,
to go on record in support of gay rights.
Why would Gerald Ford suddenly develop a liking for
lavender? There are a couple of reasons speculated,
most of them coated with a bit of cynicism.
The first reason suggested is that Ford made the
statement to deflect criticism from President George
W. Bush, who has recently been criticized by factions
on the right for going too far to accommodate gays and
lesbians, but the former president offered praise. In
the Detroit News interview, Ford praised Bush for
appointing gay people the head of the White House
office on AIDS and represent the U.S. embassy in
Romania, the latter of which was attacked by the
Family Research Council and the Culture and Family
Institute, among other conservative groups.
Of course, Ford did not come forward and support
President Bill Clinton's appointments of an openly gay
man as ambassador to Luxembourg or his
well-intentioned, if misguided, "don't ask, don't
tell" gay military policy. Clinton, of course, was a
Democrat president under critical attack, not a
Republican, which may make Ford's
"rainbow-come-lately" arrival on the gay civil rights
scene more understandable, albeit tardy.
The second reason suggested for Ford's coming out
party as a gay supportive ex-prez has to do with
suspicions that he feels guilty about not
appropriately honoring the gay man who thwarted an
assassination attempt on
the former president in 1975. Bill Sipple, a Vietnam
veteran, hit the hand of the would-be assassin, Sara
Jane Moore, just before she fired at President Ford.
Three days after the incident, Ford wrote a letter of
thanks to Sipple, and he told the Detroit News he
didn't know Sipple was gay until later.
Ford denies the suggestion he is acting on a guilty
conscience about that incident.
"I don't know where anyone got the crazy idea I was
prejudiced and wanted to exclude gays," Ford was
quoted as saying.
Whatever the reasons for Ford suddenly becoming a
rainbow warrior, he should be welcomed to the party.
Better late than never, I always say.
It's becoming more and more apparent that if the U.S.
wants to stand true to its ideal of being a
pluralistic society respecting the inherent worth of
all people, it will have to stop its largely
religious-based discrimination against gay individuals
and families. Gay men and lesbians, as well as
bisexual and transgendered people, quietly do their
part in contributing to the wealth, the protection and
general daily life of our nation. Gay people were
among those who were killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks in the District of Columbia, New York and
Pennsylvania and in the case of the Pennsylvania
airplane crash, at least one gay man was among those
heroic passengers who gave their lives in trying to
prevent the terrorist hijackers from committing a
greater atrocity against another American landmark.
The same-sex partners of these gay people deserve the
same right to survivor, Social Security, military and
other benefits as their opposite sex counterpart
couples. Their commitments to each other as family
members are no less than other couples who have
entered into long-term relationships either through
marriage or common law.
Former president Ford, in an uncharacteristic gesture
of sticking his neck out, has demonstrated that old
age need not be a time of reaction and withdrawal from
public life. He may discover that past allies suddenly
are expressing sadness that he has become senile. He
may be amused to find previous opponents delighted to
discover wisdom in an unexpected elderly source.
Whatever the future holds for President Ford, in terms
of old and new alliances, he should be commended for
continuing to evolve and renewing his commitment to
civil rights for all people in a bold new way that
should stand as an example to other former and present
leaders.
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