Lithuania divided over concept of family
Opponents of LGBT rights and the implementation of the Istanbul Convention have called for a "March for the Family" in Vilnius on Saturday. Commentators examine the changing concept of family in Lithuania and the right to think differently.
Society must be open to the future
The idea of family is in constant flux, historian Dalia Leinartė writes in Lrt:
“In the 19th century, time-honoured values became an obstacle to development. The Soviet traditions that came later no longer correspond to the forms of family and partnership that are widespread today. The post-Soviet tradition promotes physical and psychological violence in families. ... Today, relationships are more complex and a family often includes more than just a mother, father and their children. We must welcome the changes in family tradition and allow our society to open up to the future. Because a tradition is only alive as long as it serves society and is open to change.”
The enemy is elsewhere
Clumsy criticism of the demonstrators is concealing the real problem, philosopher Nida Vasiliauskaitė warns in Delfi:
“Let them march. I'm not afraid of the 'people', the 'traditional families', the sexists, the misogynists and the homophobes. I'm afraid of the ever longer bureaucratic tentacles, a constantly monitored society and the so-called good political taste that wants to dismantle our fundamental rights, democracy, privacy and ultimately the individual (as an independent social element). For their and our freedom (yes, I belong to the LGBT people)! We are not enemies. We have a common enemy.”