US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced, with the support of the administration, that the US diplomatic machine will no longer suffer the bigotry, discrimination and violence of other nations in regard to gay rights and freedoms.
Stance and human-rights records on the treatment of gay people will be taken into consideration when granting asylum and as factors when figuring foreign aid, just as fundamental rights for women and minority groups have been factored into the equation. I am proud that America came forward with that position but it is a delicate matter. Clinton readily admits that the US does not have the best track-record in civil-rights in general but has made strides, like with the revocation of her husband's compromised Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell policy and though gay people are living and being born all over the world and in some places shunned for it, it is going to be difficult to manage this embassy without appearing to promote cultural imperialism or chauvinism, imposing American norms and values on others. Such fears, though never to be dismissed, are a distant, academic excuse--considering all the other direct and indirect American ambassadors and peddlers of influence. Life isn't easy for anyone and no one can indoctrinate whole nations with the tools of statecraft, nor is anyone trying to--only that countries tolerating or persecuting injustice in its most awful forms not be given equal footing with the rest of civil society. It is noteworthy that just on principle, opponents and detractors of everything the current US administration does or fakes or contemplates, is as shrill and vocal about this change in policy as those few nations that find any degree of support or acknowledgement of gay rights surpassingly objectionable. The German Foreign Minister (Clinton's counterpart) is openly-gay and travels unaccompanied by his husband when his job takes him to lands where this practice is not accepted. I don't know that his husband's absence sends a stronger message to international foils, and personal choice, respected, does not become official position and vice-versa. Not to diminish Clinton's bold work, but maybe first the US as a whole needs to become more tolerant and inclusive, to the point where they too could be represented by such an individual and that nobody knows and nobody cares whom he or she loves.
