The dream is the driving force

Openly gay artists like Sir Elton John and Yves Saint Laurent benefit greatly from being themselves in creative industries. I’ve met Thai gay businessmen who earn millions of baht a month running their own firms. It’s regrettable that some companies employ clever gay men but aren’t brave enough to utilise their full potential.
The success that any gay man achieves isn’t the result of Heaven-sent talent, though. Their drive comes from their ability to dream.
All gay men these days share common experiences, such as feeling alienated in a heterosexual society, fearing the loss of family and peers, hurtful rumours and bullying at school. We are thus all the more indignant if deprived in the workplace or by government.
Yes, it can be difficult to be gay – but that’s what takes us to the land of dreams.
We dream of escaping harsh reality, like Dorothy imagining somewhere over the rainbow in “The Wizard of Oz”, even though we never forget that the truth must be faced eventually. When reality bites, we dream instead about how to live with others, how to be accepted as equals.
We know we’re regarded as second class because the majority believes heterosexual relationships offer society the best value. We might be rich, clever and moral, but we still aren’t equal. So we have to always be better than straight people – twice as rich, clever and moral – to gain acceptance.
Families are all-important in Asian society. A gay son or lesbian daughter can shame the family, and make the offspring feel ashamed and guilty in turn for making their parents look like failures.
Many gay people I know strive not just to be better, but to be better for the sake of their families’ pride. Like any child, they want their families to enjoy a better quality of life, and not only “better than before” but better than that of the neighbours who look down on them.
So dreams provide the drive to bring gay people success, but we shouldn’t forget that it is social pressure that generates those dreams. If your life’s battery is running low, why not dream for a better life and let your dreams recharge it? I’m sure you’ll be successful too.