Countering Silence with Dialogue

Special Report - April 14, 2011
This Friday, thousands of students in hundreds of public schools nationwide will participate in an annual event created by homosexual activists to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender behavior among young people. The pro-homosexual “Day of Silence,” which is scheduled this year for April 15, is an annual school event created by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) that encourages students to remain silent throughout the school day to show support for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). It is important to note that the event is often organized in schools by student members of the pro-homosexual Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, or GSAs, and not necessarily by school officials.

As in previous years, a coalition of pro-family organizations is countering this pro-homosexual event by urging Christian parents to pull their children out of schools that are actively or passively participating in the  “Day of Silence” on April 15. Organized by several groups, including the Illinois Family Institute, Mission: America, and the American Family Association, the “Day of Silence Walkout” is a national initiative to protest the promotion of the homosexual agenda in schools. On its website, Mission: America offers a number of resources, including an instruction sheet for parents on how to go about pulling a child out of school on the “Day of Silence.”

Christian students have another way to respond to the “Day of Silence” on the Monday following the pro-homosexual event. On April 18, Focus on the Family is sponsoring the “Day of Dialogue” (formerly the “Day of Truth”), an annual event created by the Alliance Defense Fund in 2005. The “Day of Dialogue” is intentionally held a few days after the “Day of Silence,” with the goal of  “encouraging honest and respectful conversation among students about God’s design for sexuality.” During the “Day of Dialogue,” students are encouraged to hand out “conversation cards” to fellow students during non-instructional time at school that read in part: “I am giving you this card as a reminder that God cares about every single student in this school, including you—and to invite you to have a conversation about this concept. I believe He loves every person regardless of how they identify. That’s why as a Christian—someone who follows Jesus—I will stand up for students around me being teased, bullied or harmed for any reason. Because God cares so much about us, I also believe that He designed the best plan for our sexuality and relationships. And that He created every one of us, male and female, so that we could enjoy an intimate relationship with Him. Let’s talk about it!”

In a press release, Focus on the Family education analyst Candi Cushman, explained the purpose of the event. “We're trying to raise awareness that more than one side needs to be heard on the issue of homosexuality, and we're helping to ensure Christian students have the chance to express their viewpoint,” Cushman said. “What is freedom of speech, after all, but a guarantee of the right to have dialogue?”

North Carolina Family Policy Council president, Bill Brooks, recently interviewed Candi Cushman about the “Day of Dialogue,” on the NCFPC’s weekly radio program, “Family Policy Matters.” Go here to listen to the program. For more information on how homosexual activists are using the “safety” issue, including events such as the “Day of Silence,” to promote sexual and gender confusion in schools, read our March/April 2008 feature article in Family North Carolina, “In the Name of Safety.”

Related Resources:
Countering Homosexual Promotions - April 14, 2010
Truth Overcomes Silence - April 5, 2010

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