Moscow's Pride and prejudice

Tom Palmer (of the Cato Institute) wrote this Op-Ed appearing in the Washington Blade about Russia and the on-again, off-again Moscow Gay Pride Parade. It's about the relationship between diversity and tolerance on the one hand, and economic success and civil society on the other.

Thirteen years ago, Russia’s democratically elected leaders made the right choice by decriminalizing homosexual love. In doing so, they advanced into the front ranks of modern, progressive, open societies.

The debate over whether to allow a Gay Pride parade in Moscow is a proxy for the much wider debate about whether Russia will choose to be counted among the nations known for creativity in technology, science, art, culture and wealth, or among those known for insularity, prejudice, poverty, and backwardness.

It's a lesson we all should take heed of.