I need to take something back. I’ve uttered it, or at least have thought it a time or two.
When Joe Hockey, sitting with Annabel Crabb, sat there last week on telly saying he thought the ‘optimum’ for a child growing up was with a man and a woman, I cringed.
Hearing it said like that, hearing it said from the mouth of a father, made me recoil as I recalled saying it before.
Optimum sounded like a fertiliser. Depending on the perspective, two men could be super phosphate. Two women could be organic fertiliser from Newtown. The point is, it’s about balance.
Many children have suffered in disastrous, negative straight relationships. Children suffer the brunt of most. But if a couple has considered child rearing instead of waking up one morning pregnant – then maybe, just maybe – this conscious decision in a defined loving relationship of same sex is optimum. Worth considering.
In my circle of friends we all hold different roles to each other, similarly in relationships you know you can’t be all things to your partner. Isn’t that the same with children? Don’t you need a balance of men and women in your own life. Don’t we need a balance of crazy Italians and gentle English? Don’t we need tolerant and intolerant to know the difference?
Children can happily grow up with two dads or two mums, a male or female role model and some amazing friends. If they learn balance and have an open mind as they grow, then perhaps that is the optimum.
Mostly on Saturday afternoons, like sleepy kisses in bed, I dream of a day when our politicians aren’t legislating love – rather tolerance.
INFO: You can follow John Meyer on Twitter: @daddydearest_ and on Facebook: DaddyDearest
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