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I never expected a few innocent comments Elton John made, during an interview, could make me reevaluate what my thoughts on the state of our modern world are, but that very thing has happened.

A few weeks ago, Elton John was quoted in an interview giving his thoughts on Christianity:

I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.

I remember reading the headlines spawning from this and wondering, “This landed on Yahoo’s front page?” I’ve since been glad it did, as it’s spawned some interesting reactions from fanatics, via the following Yahoo news blog:

A Georgia man who posted a video of himself on the Internet holding a sign that said “Elton John must die” has been arrested for making terroristic threats.

After speaking with fellow Elton fans, I started seeing trends in the way people were reacting to Elton’s initial religious comments.

I, myself, think Elton firmly believes in his ability to influence popular culture through his statements. He’s proven this in the past, through his “coming out” Rollingstone interview in the mid 70s, and even through his more recent admissions of transgressions (drug addiction, eating disorders, promiscuity, etc.). There’s no doubt Elton’s openness has had an immeasurable impact on gay culture, and it’s assimilation into our modern world. I admire Elton for saying what he feels and using his reach to try and “stir the pot,” as I think, especially in American society, it needs stirring.

It seems my view is a minority, even among Elton fans. Some will say he lacks self control or that my optimism doesn’t make sense in a “real world” where there are people out there who will react to you. One went as far as to say, “Unfortunately, when it come to certain topics, your opinion could get you killed.”

Among these detractors, many are above 50 years old & are located in America. From here, some began to describe how they’d learned a certain way of thinking wasn’t an appropriate worldview to have, and still others said they had given up voicing their opinions altogether.

All of this brings me to my current struggle..Can a person’s worldview extend beyond their age/location/upbringing or am I looking at my future worldview, as I’m defending my current stance?