Source code

Wow! the things our genes do to us.

I mean ADD is just one example. There are so many other things out there that can be linked to our genetic codes. Anger, illness, stupidity ;), even who you want to sleep with can be, potentially, tied to your genetic code.

My best friend insists that homosexuality is genetic (and its opposite, obviously). I can not say that I completely disagree with him, but I do couch my responses in a better understanding of genetics. After all, it is not really as simple as big B little b. If it were, then we could honestly say that we expected the majority of people to be bi-sexual.

Genetics is not a matter of black and white though. It is only about 10% black and white at the far ends of the spectrum. The other 80% is shades of grey. Or would it be "hazel".

Eye color is a great example. My father has brown, my mother ... blue. The most basic example of genetics - out of four kids there is one blue eyed and one brown eyed. The other two are, well ... in between - green(ish) and "hazel". So the shades of grey come in that area - green and "hazel". They are obviously different from each other, and yet they are apparently from the same source. Where does the distinction between them start?

There is another point to this example. The eyes of the two "black-and-white-end" children are not the same shades as our parents. The brown is a little lighter - the blue a little more grey. If genetics were as simple as BB vs bb, then all of the bb eyes and all of the BB eyes would be the same as those of their source; and all of the Bb eyes would match each other. We would have no eyes which could be described as violet, steel, yellow, or "hazel". There would be no room for eyes that have "stars" of a different color in the middle (I have seen many people with eyes like these).

So, how does this type of response effect my friend who insists that, if you are genetically gay, you have no choice at all and any pretense at trying anything other than an openly gay lifestyle will result in the breaking of your spirit and ultimate demise?

It doesn't.

He has taken himself to the fringes of zealotry. If any opinion on this one item conflict with his own views, he walks away and ignores them. He refuses to even acknowledge their existence.

Maybe someday he will come to understand that if sexuality is genetic, most of us will actually fall into the realm of "hazel". Maybe he will accept the fact that most of us really do not care who he sleeps with. And maybe, just maybe, he will understand that, for the majority of people, having an issue (thought, value, etc.) shoved down their collective throat is far more repugnant than the issue itself ever would have been if left alone in the open.

And so I go on, spouting off random bits of information as I try to solve the puzzle. (And probably offending my best friend if he reads this blog ........ sorry.)