Kids These Days:

A few weeks ago, I wrote about teens and race, and how it seemed that Americans younger than 30, particularly our high school students, have a healthy perspective on race and religion.

Yes, there are those in this group who discriminate. But it seems that on the whole, their attitude toward race is closer to “whatever.”

I wrote that the one group that was still facing heavy discrimination, even among the “whatevers,” was homosexuals.

It’s hard to hide whether you are white or black or brown — all groups subject to discrimination. It’s easier to hide one’s sexuality or religious affiliation.

So imagine living your life having to hide that you prefer members of your own sex. Imagine having to pretend in social situations that you think like everyone else when you do not. And imagine having to cultivate two separate groups of friends, two separate groups of business associates and even two separate groups of relatives because one group in each category has a strong opinion about what you do in the privacy of your bedroom.

It’s a shame that Orange County Board of Education President Alexandria Coronado is in a position where her words are reported.

Last month the board unanimously voted to oppose a state bill that would declare May 22 as Harvey Milk Day to honor the assassinated gay-rights activist and San Francisco councilman annually on his birthday.

That victory was not enough for Coronado, though, who sought to rub salt in the wounds of Milk Day supporters by saying, “If you want that lifestyle, don’t make my tax dollars pay for it, and don’t make me teach it to my children.”

And exactly what lifestyle would that be? That would be one that exists in a society where no one is telling you whom to love, or discriminating against you because you are different.

What about the lifestyle of Muslims, who worship differently than, say, Roman Catholics or Protestants? Should we not teach our kids the difference? And Judaism is as much a lifestyle as it is a religion. It is precisely because we have taught these lifestyles far more than we did 30 years ago that we are witnessing the increased tolerance in our society.

Honestly, I thought we’d been through all this, but perhaps Coronado was on vacation or had her ear buds on to shut out rational arguments. The irony is that Coronado cast the correct vote.

The agony is that she did it for the wrong reason.