Congress at work in the Senate Miltary Affairs Committee produced this, as covered by TPM (and the Daily Show):
Jon Stewart last night lampooned Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) continued stalwart opposition to repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, even after the Pentagon released its review indicating that a repeal of the ban on openly gay men and women would have little to no effect on military readiness.
"McCain's like one of them Japanese soldiers living on Okinawa in 1949, still fighting because he doesn't realize the war ended a long time ago," Stewart said. "And, for some reason, even though he's been alone for years and years on this island, doesn't like gay people."
Read TPM's full coverage of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell debate here.
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6 comments:
I understand that President Obama would prefer to have Congress repeal Don't ask, Don't tell but as the representative of the full population of the United States, its seriously time for Obama to start acting more aggressive. Truman believed in integrating the armed forces, and made an executive order to do so. In a time of war, telling anyone that is willing to go that they are unwelcome is not only immoral but tactically wrong.
As someone who will join the military some day, I view that the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is a good thing. I'm not against homosexuals serving in the military, I think its just as admirable for a homosexual to serve as it is for a heterosexual. But I would not be comfortable serving with an openly gay man. I would just request he doesn't tell me what his sexual orientation is, and I'll do my part of this policy by not asking. But I do think the repeal of this policy could do more harm than good.
I read an article on the DADT policy, published in 1993, when DADT was first proposed by President Clinton. The writer is against the policy and thinks that the Military should not get rid of their policies on dealing with homosexuality. Even though the circumstances are different, I agree with some of the points that were made: if Homosexuals are allowed to serve in the military, Unit Cohesion will be weakened and Professionalism will be undermined. The context of his argument is slightly different, but I think that the argument is still valid. I agree with the author when he says (paraphrased) the issue is not one of fairness, but of military effectiveness. The Armed Forces were established to fight the wars of this country, and war is fought by units, not individuals. When differences among individuals are kept to a minimum, the unit functions at its best, and when a unit functions well, fewer Americans die.
For those interested in reading the article I reference, here is the URL:
http://heritage.org/research/reports/1993/07/em359nbsp-the-military-gay-ban?query=The+Military+Gay+Ban:+Why+Don't+Ask+Don't+Tell+Don't+Work
I don't really get what the big deal is about this policy. I do not see why people are forced to "stay in the closet" while they are enrolled in the military. With the overwhelming percentage of troops saying they are comfortable working, fighting next to someone who may be gay, I do not see why these people would need to keep what they are a secret. Now I could see the fight between conservatives and democrats, those who believe being gay is wrong and those who feel people should have their rights, but I view soldiers as soldiers. These are people that go out and risk their lives to protect us, the homeland. I don't care if they are black or white, man or woman, homosexual or heterosexual, they are out there to protect us, and I think this should be the main reason that they are in the army.
President Obama needs to use the power of the Bully pulpit and get something going with this. If he does not man up and actually do anything with his term, he will not be re-elected. No question about it, Obama has failed to represent Americans up to this point.
On another note, I do not believe that repealing it will have any negative effects on military personel. To be uncomfortable about serving next to an individual that identifies themselves as homosexual is an unfair assumption that they are into you... Just because a man is attracted to men does not mean that he is attracted to you. If women are allowed to serve in the military then why not openly gay citizens as well?
This is a huge restriction on rights of members in the gay community, and to ban them from serving while openly being gay is as unjust as allowing blacks or any other minority to serve.
I really don't see why Don't Ask, Don't Tell should be repealed. The fact that all kinds of men, even homosexuals, are willing to fight for their country should be enough. If Don't Ask Don't Tell is repealed, the country is just going back on its own regulations. The Constitution repetitively implies that all men are created equally and have equal civil rights. There is no reason that homosexuals should be deprived of this. I agree that Obama needs to take action carefully, and for the right side, unless he doesn't want to be reelected.
A policy like "Don't ask, Don't tell" advocates for a silent disapproval. Serving in the military is a job, and no job should be determined by sexual orientation. Thus, regardless of the fact that a citizen may be gay, it should not have to be hidden. It puts a burden on the man serving because he is forced to keep this pivotal fact about himself a secret. Of course if the concern is regarding sexual harassment or misconduct, the concern is valid. But to simply shun or be blind to the fact that someone is gay and wishes to serve in the military is slightly backwards.
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