Update - Changed title for relevancy
When it comes to a governmental policy, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is one of the lamest policies ever thought up by actual adults, although labeling them adults may be strictly interpreted by the physical requirements of adulthood, depending on who you talk to.
"Don't ask, don't tell" is the common term for the U.S. military policy which implements Pub.L. 103-160 (10 U.S.C. § 654). Unless one of the numerous exceptions from 10 U.S.C. 654(b) applies, the policy prohibits anyone who has sexual bodily or romantic contact with a person of the same sex from serving in the armed forces of the United States, and prohibits any homosexual or bisexual from disclosing his or her sexual orientation, or from speaking about any homosexual relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces. The policy also requires that as long as gay or bisexual men and women in the military hide their sexual orientation, commanders are not allowed to investigate their sexuality. - (Source)
Here we are engaged in a war, a war so enormous and of such importance, some prominent Republican-Americans have referred to it as the "battle for the future of civilization," a "struggle for civilization," and even "WWIII," which, actually was a quote from Newt Gingrich from a Meet The Press interview back in July/06 during the Israel/Hezbollah fracas and what's interesting is what he continued on to say:
GINGRICH: We’re in the early stages of what I would describe as the third World War and, frankly, our bureaucracy’s not responding fast enough and we don’t have the right attitude. And this is the 58th year of the war to destroy Israel and, frankly, the Israelis have every right to insist that every single missile leave south Lebanon, and the United States ought to be helping the Lebanese government have the strength to eliminate Hezbollah as a military force — not as a political force in the parliament — but as a military force in south Lebanon.
RUSSERT: This is World War III?
GINGRICH: I believe if you take all the countries I just listed that you’ve been covering, put them on a map, look at all the different connectivity, you have to say to yourself: this is, in fact, World War III.
Conservatives can argue until they're blue in the face about whether we are or are not in WWIII. What they cannot argue about is their supposed superior support for "the troops" when on the one hand, they lambaste liberals as being not only anti-war, but traitors and unpatriotic while on the other hand, they don't support equal rights for members of the GLBT community (in terms of marriage, at the very least) and, very oddly, supporting Don't Ask, Don't Tell. This is from a purported homosexual:
The Left is already calling for General Pace to apologize to the many gays and lesbians who currently serve in the military under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. But I don't think he should do it.
...
Let me be clear on where I stand. I favor the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. For me, it has nothing to do with morality, because as a gay man I don't think there's anything immoral about two people of the same gender loving each other and expressing that love, sexually or otherwise. I favor the policy for two reasons: 1) it protects gays and lesbians from persecution by their fellow members of the military who may not agree with their lifestyle; and 2) it protects everyone in the military, gay and straight, from the discomfort associated with the hot button issue of homosexuality. There is a time and place for debate about issues relating to homosexuality, but the military isn't the place and the beginning of a long war on terrorism isn't the time. Let's keep our culture wars in civilian society and let the military fight the real war on terrorism, shall we?
With that said, I do disagree with General Pace. I don't think the government has any business legislating morality, and I don't think the basis for a continuation of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy should be morality. Rather, the basis for continuing Don't Ask, Don't Tell should be practical. How practical is it to cause a serious disruption in the military at a time when we're fighting the war on terrorism on two fronts, with potential for another front to present itself at any time?
Stop. I have a number of questions for this diarist.
- You feel DADT as a policy protects gays from persecution from their fellow troops and that to avoid persecution, the obvious answer is to make the GLBT troops live in secret while everyone else is ok to discuss their personal sexual escapades?
- How does it protect everyoen from the hot button issues of homosexuality? Seems to me the only people it is protecting are the ones who have a problem with it.
- You want to "let the military fight the real war on terrorism" yet you don't want to allow every able-bodied, patriotic, America-loving soldier to fight and defend their country because they have a difference of sexuality. Sure, they can fight so long as they don't ask and don't tell but if they're fighting for freedom and democracy yet they have don't even have the freedom to openly be who they are in defense of freedom and democracy then....what exactly are they fighting for? To remain living a secret life amongst their fellow freedom fighters? That doesn't make much sense, does it?
If DADT was anywhere near practical, it would be absolved since anyone and everyone who wants to volunteer to join the armed forces to defend their nation from imminent threat, both foreign and domestic, shouldn't face any obstacles so long as they were physically capable of taking up arms in defense of this nation. Anything less, simply put, is impractical.
What else does this gay defender of DADT have to say? Let's examine some of it. He initially said, as I quoted above
With that said, I do disagree with General Pace. I don't think the government has any business legislating morality, and I don't think the basis for a continuation of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy should be morality.
And then continued on to say:
Even though I disagree with General Pace, I don't think he should apologize...
...Many people may not like his opinion, but that's too bad. Just like everybody else in this great, free society, he has the right to have his opinion and express it. There are many people who share his opinion, and the sooner that we as gays and lesbians deal with that reality instead of trying to censor the majority opinion, the better off we'll be
...This kind of ideological censorship needs to come to an end; we should debate General Pace and others who believe as he does, not seek to quash the debate entirely. If we silence the debate, we lose. Debate is the only way we're going to convince others of our views, and without convincing them we will remain in the minority.
First off, again with the free society shit. According to the GAO and courtesy of Fordham University:
During fiscal years 1980 through 1990, approximately 17,000 servicemen and women (an average of about 1,500 per year) were separated from the services under the category of "homosexuality." Approximately 1,000 military personnel were discharged in 1990. No determination that their behavior had adversely affected the ability of the military services to perform their missions was required. In terms of rank, gender, and race/ethnicity, the majority were enlisted personnel; most were men; and most were white. However, some groups were consistently discharged at a rate higher than their representation in the total active force or individual service. For example, between 1980 and 1990, the navy representing 27 percent of the active force, accounted for about 51 percent of the discharges; and women, representing 11 percent of the total active navy force, accounted for 22 percent for those discharged.
This report may be a little old and I'm too lazy to look up the most current statistics but 17,000 servicemen is in size, almost the amount of troops Bush has recently called up in his controversial "surge" plan. And perhaps when you factor in however many troops have been discharged based on sexuality since this report (1990-current), you might have been able to hold onto enough troops to fund the surge which could very well double. Put in this perspective, it kind of deflates the sails of that old kook Zell Miller who, speaking about abortion, recently said:
"If those 45 million children had lived, today they would be defending our country..."
Zell, all 45 million of those children could have grown up into straight, gay, lesbian, transgender, and otherwise sexually colorful people who could be capable and willing to defend this country. Unfortunetly, the military and those with religious reservations against homosexuality will prevent this country to be protected by "those children."
Getting back to this diarist, however, I'm sensing a sockpuppet of sorts because the diarist states he is gay, states he disagrees with Pace statements about morality, feel the government shouldn't be in the business of legislating morality, yet feels it's good to require gays to stay in the closet when defending the country from the biggest threat we've ever faced but most shockingly:
There are many people who share his opinion, and the sooner that we as gays and lesbians deal with that reality instead of trying to censor the majority opinion, the better off we'll be.
It used to be that a majority of this country thought that all blacks were niggers and were otherwise human property.
It used to be that a majority of this country thought (and sadly, still think today) that a woman was of less value than a man, inferior, less intelligent, and that her place was in the home cooking dinner and raising children.
I wonder how this country would be had blacks and woman simply all just accepted the reality of "the majority" and assumed the roles that were assumed upon them and that were shared by a majority of bigots and sexually divisive people who felt that having a dick or that being white made them superior to anyone who was black or had a vagina.
"Uh yessuh, Mr. Bossman. Whatever you say, suh. I'll git you whatevers you need, suh."
"I'm..I'm sorry honey. Yes, I..I..I know you like dinner to be ready when you get home b-but...I was busy with the children, and cleaning and...[slap]..."
Sound familiar? If blacks and women hadn't struggled to over come "majority opinion," they might not have the rights and freedoms they do today. Ironic, isn't it, how the "minority group" can struggle in the face of overwhelming odds and create a societal ripple effect that completely alters the fabric of our society?
You know...there were people just like you who didn't want to rock the boat then either but who in the end, fully enjoyed their new found rights and freedoms, all thanks to the leadership and bravery of those who weren't afraid to stand up to the majority opinion and who weren't afraid to stand up for what was right, even though their numbers may have been small.
But there were also people who didn't want the boat from being rocked in the first place and what they would do is climb into that boat and try to convince those inside it that it's not worth fighting for and that they'll be better off if they simply stayed quiet. Often times, they were offered rewards for going through such trouble - special positions, money, opportunities.
Kind of like Matt Sanchez who you've brought up as an example of the left of using him to throw the hypocrisy label around while trying to resurrect the repeal of DADT.
Sanchez is a gay porn star, an escort, and also a Marine reservist who was awarded the Academic Freedom Award at CPAC, where Ann Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot" and then tried to play it off as some type of schoolyard taunt. This is the same Sanchez who has appeared on conservative talk shows to criticize "radical anti-military students." And this is the same Matt Sanchez, Marine Reservist, who defends the military by criticizing others for their views on the military when the military itself wants him to shut the fuck up about what he does and who he is, all which the military considers to be immoral and that the US is not well served by.
The diarist concludes his diatribe by warning his conservative counterparts that an effort is underway by the left to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and there's a certain fire in his voice that screams "traitor" much in the same way conservatives would react over liberal's remarks about troop reductions, benchmarks, funding cuts, and bringing an end to this ridiculous and failed war.
I smell a strawman sockpuppet.