The age of the unicorn question

I’ve been in Los Angeles for the last week, and it takes a special set of occurrences for someone to return to the UK from LA and think that Britain is getting a bit weird.

Yet we appear to have managed it. While I was away there was the row about Jacob Rees-Mogg expressing his adherence to the Catholic church’s views on social issues (over which he has no legislative control). Then there was a row about whether it is bigoted to see any differences between boys and girls, and whether children can or should ‘choose’ which gender they are. And there was also a row on morning television in which a man was invited on and shouted at by Piers Morgan because he doesn’t believe that homosexuality is an inbuilt trait but rather something that is learned behaviour (which can therefore be unlearned).

The problem about all these rows is not just that they are conducted in the worst possible fashion (though they undoubtedly are) but that they presume to lecture and berate everyone about issues which are not settled and about which healthy and wide public discussion could be useful.

Take the obscure Christian doctor who claims that homosexuals can be ‘cured’ by undergoing therapy at – among others – his own hands. Dr Michael Davidson claims that he himself was a bit gay in the past but now stands in the heterosexual ranks. Which is quite an interesting thing to hear about. But viewers of ‘Good Morning Britain’ didn’t get a chance to hear about it, because Piers Morgan simply used the opportunity to grandstand with such brilliant ripostes as ‘I say “shut up you old bigot”.’