Gays in the Military

[monk222]

“I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” [Admiral] Mullen said during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on dropping the archaic “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. “For me personally, it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.”

-- Maureen Dowd for The New York Times

The issue of gays in the military and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” seems to have picked up a lot of speed in recent days. I imagine it’s connected to the election shocker in Massachusetts when a Republican took Ted Kennedy’s seat, which may have even wrecked Obama’s bid for, well, something that was close to universal health care.

Maybe Obama is seriously considering the possibility that he will be a one-term president, and he would like to leave with a big victory in civil rights.

I can imagine the scene. President Obama has Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his office for a serious man-to-man, and he explains that he has given the military everything it has asked for on Iraq and Afghanistan, at no small cost to his political position in the Democratic Party, and he now wants a commensurate favor in return, “I want to be the president that allowed gays in the military as a matter of right.”

Secretary Gates understands the political situation and how Obama is in a very vulnerable position, possibly ready to fall as a failed president, and he nods sympathetically, “Yes, sir, Mr. President.”

But seeing how Mr. Obama has been hapless with executive power thus far, one shouldn’t start counting those chickens yet. After a whole year of working on health care, he is now prepared to let the whole matter drop and get nothing for it, even with heavy majorities in Congress. Funny, when a Republican president wants something, he can just ram it through and tell us to suck on it.

Republican presidents are quasi-kings; Democratic presidents are un-American traitors.

Comments

[miss-next.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't see why there is all the fuss in the first place. Where did anyone originally get the idea that being gay had the slightest relevance to soldiering? It's just as ridiculous as the ancient Athenian idea that gay men made better soldiers (they had a hand-picked squad of pairs of gay lovers; I shall probably remember what it was called tomorrow, but the name escapes me at the moment). I suppose that did have the logic that they'd all fight like tigers for their own boyfriends, at least.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

Heh, I knew Sparta was big on combining homosexuality and virility, but I figured the Athenians preferred talking to fighting anyway. ;)

[foolsguinea.livejournal.com]

Pfft. Macedonians unified the Greek-speaking world east of the Adriatic. Then Rome finished the job, I guess. Athens is remembered for the Academy really.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

Ah, Athens is practically synonymous with classical Greece, but, yeah, Plato, Socrates and the gang, along with those dramatists - what a memory it is! practically teaching Western civilization how to think.

[neowiccan.livejournal.com]

the sacred band, i think. the idea being that fighting both in defense of one's love and wanting to be all uber in the eyes of that lover would spur the warrior to greater feats.
agree, both are pretty flawed concepts.
khairete
suz

[wordlesswriter.livejournal.com]

I think we are brainwashed to believe republicans want to preserve what they'd have us believe are american values and the democrates want to tear apart our moral fiber. it's a ploy that has worked for way to long. I think this whole gays in the milatary is just to distract us from the health care issue so they can screw us on that. but I do hope that our nation does decided to let gays serve openly.
I'm just really angry at our goverment right now. the sad thing is I believe that no matter what great things Obama does achive, the man that will follow him will be some bigeted republican who will claim Obama screwed up the nation. It's sad really but it just shows how I'm starting to feel about the state of our country. :(

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

I have been feeling more estranged from worldly affairs, myself. I follow the news a lot less faithfully these days.