“Stand up straight!” “Straighten up!” “Stay in line!” “You’re out of line!” “Toe the line!” “Make a straight line.” “Line up single file.” “Don’t cross the line!” Criminy, these poor little dominoes, trying their best to act right…to be right, all based on what we tell them: What we think they should think. What we think they should do. What we think is important. What we think about God, gods, religions, churches, other people, the food they eat, the clothes they wear. How we think they should keep their rooms, how lucky we think they are, how grateful we think they should be, how much and what kinds of foods we think they should eat. As if that’s not enough we tell them how to bathe, how and when and where they can and can touch various parts of their bodies (noses, lips, their nether regions). And because there is always more: how to sneeze into the crooks of their little elbows, how to wipe, and how not to get hurt.  These viewpoints we impart are natural, unavoidable, even.  And even when we get it wrong, it is with pretty good intentions:  we want our kids to go out into the world prepared, not pampered.  We are meant to be their guidance counselors, not their buddies (that can come later).  But what about when we impart opinions to them as fact…like teaching a child that homosexuality is sinful, unacceptable, shameful?  And what about when these viewpoints lead to a death, a suicide?  That’s when toeing the line and being “straight” is not in the best interest of a child.  That’s when the near-perfectly aligned dominoes need to fall, each one hitting the next and the next and the next until the hatred and judgement is eradicated.  I pray my little dominoes will live to see and be a part of this long overdue revolution!