Over the rainbow

When Tina Fey is talking about it, it must be big. \nAn advertising campaign showing "brotherly love" for the gay lifestyle is catching national media attention, while the Windy City is sending gay supporters back to their pews on an empty stomach.\nIn line with Bloomington's December "Come Out and Play" campaign, which aimed to promote the city as a gay-friendly community and was mentioned during "Weekend Update" on "Saturday Night Live" -- Philadelphia has now entered the field. It is now the first city ever to debut a television commercial promoting itself as a gay-themed tourist destination.\nAccording to the June 2 Chicago Sun-Times, the spot is a part of a $1 million, 3-year effort to attract gay tourists. \nTheir slogan: "Philadelphia -- Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay."\nHowever, not too far away, CNN.com reports that priests in Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral refused to give the Eucharist to "about 10 people" wearing rainbow-colored sashes to Mass in support of gays and lesbians.\nTo be fair, they weren't thrown out in disgust. One priest shook each person's hand.\nCoupled with talk of constitutional amendments defining "marriage" as between a man and a woman, and gay weddings in Massachusetts, it appears we are swiftly approaching the apex of this struggle. We hope to end it right.\nPolitics is as much about momentum as it is about elections. Though we cannot predict the November future, we must do our part to make sure that the ball keeps rolling in the direction of Philadelphia's marketing vision. There are times when cultural inertia is more powerful than the most obstinate of legislators.\nYet the gay tourism boat is to be taken with a grain of salt. Given the fact that the most effective depictions of gay culture have been through television exploitation and travelers' checks, we are left with a sour taste. When freedom and money mix -- the Sun Times reports that Philadelphia sees to grab a large chunk of an estimated $54 billion travel market -- often we find that victories seem less ideal.\nFurther, regarding the "Chicago incident," we note that bringing politics into a holy service is perhaps too far off the liberation guidelines to do much more than stigmatize the movement as "radical."\nBut patently denying communion, in the words of Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, is a "grave matter." Chaput told The Associated Press the Church expects parishioners who deny Catholic teachings "to have the integrity to respect the Eucharist ... and to refrain from receiving communion."\nMovements within the Church to withhold communion could then prove to be counterproductive and harmful to the image of the Church.\nStill, our support for new ways of exploring our options in integrating "acceptance" and "homosexuality" is essential in arriving at an end result: Not asking, but more importantly, not caring, who loves whom.