Bathroom Quarrels

I enjoy following politics and I have my fair share of opinions that I’m more than happy to debate with those who may disagree with me, but as I look at a lot of the headlines lately it seems like a lot of folks are only fighting because they don’t know any other way.  For me the whole transgender bathroom issue is representative of this.  It’s just the latest issue they have at their disposal to remain angry at the opposition.  Contrary to how some are trying to portray it, I just don’t think the transgender bathroom issue is that big of a deal. 

Having said that, I can already hear the counter argument that goes something like this; “What if your own child had to go into a bathroom with a transgender person?”  Okay, let’s play that argument out.  When our children are young we go into the bathroom with them so no real worries there.  As they get a bit older we start letting them go in the bathroom on their own and we will occasionally step inside just to make sure everything is okay. Eventually they become old enough and we are no longer concerned about their wellbeing when they have to use a bathroom.  So let’s say your child has reached that age and they go into a bathroom on their own and they encounter someone who strikes them as a little confusing in appearance.  What would happen?  They’d probably come out and tell you about the person they just saw and perhaps this might lead to a good parent-child educational moment.  Would that be the end of the world?  And let’s also be honest about the likelihood of all of this happening as well.  Think about the percentage of those who are transgender, and then think about the likelihood of your child being at the age where they start going into bathrooms on their own and then going into a particular bathroom at the exact same time a transgender person goes.  What are we talking about here, maybe 1 in 100,000? 

It seems to me to be just another issue people can use to make mountains out of molehills and keep on fighting.  As someone who is a Christian and leans conservative, once upon a time I used to get pretty worked up about the culture wars.  But I must admit I now find I’m tiring of them.  Don’t get me wrong; I do think there are plenty of things worth standing up for; I’m just not all that interested in getting worked up over the lesser things.  I think the powers that be in North Carolina were simply looking to keep a fight going when they passed that law.  I also thing President Obama took the bait on the other side of the issue in trying to allow transgender kids their right to choose the bathroom they want in public schools.  Is all of this really about rights or is it more about trying to stay angry at the other side?  2^nd Timothy 2:23-24 comes to mind.  Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil.  I don’t want to get caught up in foolish ignorant controversies because I know I can have a tendency to be too quarrelsome, so I think I’ll sit this one out.