When I took my (unpaid) position with the NWU, I had no idea that I was in danger of becoming a limited public figure. But my work involved a number of appearances on panels, local radio and television shows, CBS radio, and a short and vitriolic debate with theocratic right spokesperson, Bruce Taylor, on the live CBS tabloid show, Day and Date. I was also assailed by another prominent theocrat, Robert Simonds (President of the mendaciously named Citizens for Excellence of Education), who, in a letter to the Rock River Times (Rockford, Illinois) declared, "Bob Chatelle is famous for writing half-truth and open distortions about Christians and people of faith." (Some of my most valued allies have been "Christians and people of faith.")
I was also assaulted last May on the front pages of the "liberal" Boston Globe as a menace to society. I have actually spent the majority of my time fighting censorship promoted by those on the left of the political spectrum -- mainly at colleges and universities, where the grim dogma of political correctness has persuaded a generation of future citizens, educators, and political leaders that some ideas are so dangerous that they must be suppressed. Because of the gross insensitivity of the Clinton administration to civil liberties, I now describe myself as a recovering liberal. I find police-state liberals even more insufferable than conservatives, due to their nauseating habit of masking their despotism with a cloying icing of arrogant hypocrisy.
But, unlike most ex-liberals, I have embraced neither conservatism nor Libertarianism. (A plague on all three of your houses!) My heart is still with the powerless and against the powerful. At the moment, however, I know of no significant political movement that cares a whit about the powerless. As a gay man, I have been especially disheartened by the indifference of gay/lesbian political organizations toward essential civil liberties.
Jim and I joined the exodus from Cambridge -- occasioned by the fall of rent control -- and bought (with borrowed money) into a great co-op near Symphony Hall in Boston, where we are happily ensconced with our cat, Eric. Like me, Jim is an anti-censorship activist and we have been doing a joint column on free-speech issues for The Guide (a queer publication with worldwide distribution) for over a year. One of Jim's plays, St. Andrew's Eve, also just finished a successful run in Providence.
The computer-programming contract which has been our main financial support since May of 1987 will finally conclude near the end of 1998. This is perhaps just as well, as it was becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet and we've been without health insurance for a very long time. Since I'll be back on the job market within the next year, I've been trying to bring my writing and programming skills up-to-date with classes (again, with borrowed money) at nearby Northeastern University. After I return to full-time work, I will have much less time for political activism. Nevertheless, Jim and I have been discussing trying to midwife into being a new organization (perhaps called the Free Speech League) that will take a more courageous stand on free-speech issues than do existing groups, including the ACLU and the National Coalition Against Censorship. (Activism, I fear, may be addicting.)
Speaking of addiction, a major life milestone occurred on September 4, 1997, when I celebrated 15 years of alcohol and drug-free sobriety. I've had opportunities, from time to time, to help others also struggling for sobriety, and these opportunities have preserved my life and sanity on more than one occasion.
I am not greatly optimistic about the state of society and the future of freedom -- at least within our lifetimes. (Thirty-five years ago a lifetime seemed infinite. But just a handful of us will be gifted with another 35.) But I believe the values I cherish -- freedom and justice for all -- will prevail in the long run. And I have gratitude for all that I have in my own life today: my sobriety, a loving partner, a wonderful home, a still functioning brain (in spite of the chemical assault I inflicted upon it) and the courage (at least some of the time) to hang onto my principles and integrity.