Gay TV Host Hosts Salvation Army Event

The following post is from Andrew Marin, President and Founder of The Marin Foundation

Recently HGTV designer and host, David Bromstad, has come under fire from LGBT and progressive partisan activists because as a gay man who is a strong advocate for gay marriage, he decided to host an event for the Salvation Army. I couldn’t be more proud of the Salvation Army for inviting Bromstad, and I couldn’t be more proud of Bromstad for accepting.

Contemporary society is pluralistic. There are many worldivews, belief systems, faiths (and none), and passions that wide cross-sections of the population advocate for. And with no effort whatsoever one is able to find a number of people who don’t agree with any of their most deeply held convictions. This. Is. Reality. So, in that reality, what are we to do? There are two choices…

Viable option number one: We can huddle in our corners, surround ourselves with those of like mind, and attack those different from us from a point of strength and security.

Viable option number two: We can make an intentional decision to step in the face of cultural acceptability (see: viable option number one) and take the online, etc hate for being a bridge builder because we are actively engaging in our contemporary reality.

Daivd, and the Salvation Army, chose the latter.

Not only so, but David took to his Facebook page to defend his choice. He said:

Dear fans,

I’ve read your feedback on my participation with The Salvation Army USA, as an openly gay person whom just happens to also be a celebrity, I took the Salvation Army’s request to participate in their fundraiser as one step in the right direction towards equality. If we simply separate ourselves from those that we assume appose us or our beliefs then we will never make strides in the right direction. I applaud the Salvation Army’s symbolic handshake towards acceptance and would be foolish to not extend my hand in acceptance.

I literally could not have hoped for any better of a view and action toward engaging contemporary life! And, as you can see by the comments to his post, the overwhelming majority of the 433 comments are calling him a sellout, a bigot, [insert derogatory term here].

This just shows us how far we have to go to shift our nation’s cultural consciousness away from the imputed, and ingrained ideologies of what is considered a “normal” way to view and engage the other–an other which is in today’s connected reality of acquaintances, almost every person we come in contact with. Thus, in order to surround oneself with large groups of similarities, one has to very intentionally go out of their way to do so.

How are you going to live?

Much love.