Political Morsels and Other Droppings

Unless you were living under a rock today, you have probably heard that the military’s top brass testified that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ should be repealed.  Granted, they have asked for a year to research how to go about allowing the gay community to serve openly in the military, which is a lot longer than many folks like myself feel the repeal should take. Yet, it is an acknowledgment by the top of the military food chain that our military needs to end the discrimination of a segment of the population who should be able to serve honestly and openly.  I have posted on here some of my own experiences about serving my country while hanging out in the back of my closet, so I will save you from a repeat on this posting.  Let me just say that I hope to participate by lobbying my Senators and Representatives in person about the importance of repealing this heartless policy.

You may think that by no longer allowing third parties to out gay members of the military is good for now. I can tell you that I had a friend who I saw out herself because she was forced into it by another service member. That is not covered in the moratorium. Yes, it does save folks from having to worry about ex- girlfriends/boyfriends outing them, or the cruel witch hunts that take place, but it isn’t good enough.  I saw good people get the boot. One friend of mine lasted longer than I did, as I could only handle four years. However, when she left after eight years, the military lost a good linguist.  Those who I knew when I was in, worked in critical fields. These are people that who did their jobs and did them well. These are folks who qualified for their jobs by placing very high on the ASVAB in order to qualify for work that not everyone can do.  Let me tell you, life in the military is not a cakewalk to begin with, then when you add on an extra ingredient of having to lie about yourself in order to stay in and serve your country, do your best to cover your tracks in hopes that no one will find out is not an easy task.

As for those who argue that gays should not be able to serve openly in the military, I just want to say that the same was said about integrating the forces years ago. To look back to when we had a segregated military, we can see just how foolish we were, as the important aspect about putting on the uniform is not about color, sex, or sexual preference. It’s about defending the people of this nation, serving this great country, and being a part of something bigger than you or I. No one should be denied that opportunity.  No one.

I ask you to please contact your state’s Representatives and Senators and ask them to put a stop to a policy that never should have been enacted in the first place.