Courage, Class & Honesty From A Journalist

I have always liked Anderson Cooper. While CNN seems to want to pander more and more to the right-wing, Cooper has remained honest and always tried to get the real truth to his audience even if that meant reporting from a war zone, a disaster area, or just holding a guest's feet to the fire to get the truth. Now Mr. Cooper has taken another courageous stand.

There have been rumors for quite a while now that he is gay -- rumors he has never dignified with an answer either way. But now he has taken a stand, and revealed the truth about his private life. This was not something he had to do. He did it to help his fellow Americans go a little bit further down the road toward true equal rights. Here is some of what he told Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Beast:

Recently, however, I’ve begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle. It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something - something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true.


I’ve also been reminded recently that while as a society we are moving toward greater inclusion and equality for all people, the tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible. There continue to be far too many incidences of bullying of young people, as well as discrimination and violence against people of all ages, based on their sexual orientation, and I believe there is value in making clear where I stand.


The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud.


I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues. In a perfect world, I don't think it's anyone else's business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I’m not an activist, but I am a human being and I don't give that up by being a journalist. . .


Being a journalist, traveling to remote places, trying to understand people from all walks of life, telling their stories, has been the greatest joy of my professional career, and I hope to continue doing it for a long time to come. But while I feel very blessed to have had so many opportunities as a journalist, I am also blessed far beyond having a great career.


I love, and I am loved.


In my opinion, the ability to love another person is one of God’s greatest gifts, and I thank God every day for enabling me to give and share love with the people in my life. . . I still consider myself a reserved person and I hope this doesn’t mean an end to a small amount of personal space. But I do think visibility is important, more important than preserving my reporter’s shield of privacy.

Thank you, Mr. Cooper. Your private life has never been the business of anyone else, but in your revelations about it you've done your country a great service. I wish all journalists displayed your courage, honesty, and class.