Oct. 15 is almost upon us. Can you feel the excitement?

No, that is not Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day, as some states call it, or Cabrini Day, as it is known in Colorado. That all takes place earlier in the week on Monday. Federal workers will have the day off – oh, never mind, government is closed as a matter of routine for now.

Speaking of silly battles and empty gestures, the 15^th is International Pronouns Day. From the website, the day “seeks to make respecting, sharing and educating about personal pronouns commonplace.”

The summary goes on, “Together, we can transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities.”How could Hallmark ever improve on that beauty and inspiration?

In this moment, everyone and everything has a day, just as every child is above average and deserving of a participation trophy. In that spirit, let’s raise a glass to pronouns.

Or maybe not.

As the organizers of this frivolity express, the day “seeks to center the voices, needs, and interests of trans/nonbinary people/leaders, particularly those who face multiple marginalizations.” And, “Grassroots social justice advocates are empowered to generate their own resources/adaptations.”

Did the backslash key pay for a sponsorship?

Transgender individuals deserve our compassion and empathy. Their lot is not an easy one. Furthermore, adults who wish to change their gender should be free to do so and live their best lives.

There have long been a limited number of people who experience a profound gender dysphoria and find relief, even fulfillment, in a body opposite the one into which they were born. They are just as worthy of God’s blessings as any of the rest of us.

But the number of those claiming such gender misalignment has exploded over recent years. It has become nothing less than a fad or, more fitting to this online age, a social contagion. The affliction seems particularly prevalent in upscale families. Those living closer to survival mode have far less time for the craze.

The count of American youth receiving a diagnosis of gender dysphoria nearly tripled in just the four years between 2017 and 2021. A good deal of this can be traced to heightened public acceptance and the willingness, even proclivity, of some doctors to issue this finding. But there can be no doubting the bandwagon factor. In some adolescent circles, this has become the newest, edgy, in-vogue thing.

As others have pointed out, notably including the gay writer, Andrew Sullivan, a high percentage of those experimenting with gender fluidity and, in some cases, being nudged or encouraged toward medical transition, are actually young gays or lesbians not yet entirely comfortable with that orientation.

In years past, that 6-year-old boy who liked frills and was more interested in dolls than sports may well have grown into being a happy gay man. Today, he is likely to hear the repeated suggestion that he instead could be a female trapped inside a male’s body.

In this way, the trans movement does a huge disservice to many gays and lesbians. The cumbersome amalgamation of LGBTQIA+, which I try to avoid, is hardly a monolithic population. In fact, the interests of those with the first two initials are quite at odds with the earlier and earlier identification and medicalization of those who may be transsexual or may just be confused.

I offer all this as the proud father of a gay son.

Let’s get back to the matter of pronouns and the battles that have come from the rapid move away from the long-held gender binary.

As a matter of basic courtesy, I do my best to refer to people by their preferred pronoun even as I chafe at the use of “they” or “them” in the singular, notwithstanding evolving language guidelines.

However, manners are one thing; coercion is another. The Colorado legislature this past session badly overreached, unconstitutionally so in every likelihood, by classifying misgendering as a discriminatory act with far-reaching potential consequences.

First off, one would think that our lawmakers had more urgent problems demanding their attention. More to the point, public norms in this arena are better changed through gentle persuasion than legal stricture. And free speech remains guaranteed, at least one would hope.

Day after day, all of us receive countless e-mails with the sender’s preferred pronouns conspicuously listed in the signature line. This off-putting practice is particularly pronounced in academia, the nonprofit world, and other precincts of the modern left.

It makes for a patronizing virtue signal. The condescending intent is to demonstrate one’s superior enlightenment and to flag for the tribe one’s allegiance and solidarity.

Here is a proposed bargain: If your pronouns are truly in doubt, then include them and inform us. However, if those pronouns are utterly obvious, how about sparing us the pretense?