As national popularity decreases and health care legislation becomes more controversial, President Barack Obama has finally expressed his support for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is the highest serving uniformed officer in the United States, along with Obama, called for the repeal. This law bans openly gay military personnel from serving in the military. The bill was signed during the Clinton administration and was considered to be a compromise to the gay community because it also banned military leaders from inquiring about one’s sexuality. Homosexuals have been denied the basic right of military service for too long, and the law has forced many of them into the closet in order to serve. Many excellent military members such as Bleu Copas, an Arabic translator; Lt. Dan Choi, a National Guard platoon leader; and countless other gay Americans have been forced out of the military because of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. There are a variety of arguments that conservatives have made for keeping the law including extreme, indefensible accusations like those that say gays could cause an AIDS epidemic in the military. Missouri State Senator, Gary Nodler, claimed that homosexuals in the military “could represent a ‘cultural affront‘” to the terrorists whom we are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. But under that logic, keeping Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would be appeasing to the terrorists by allowing them to define our cultural standards. Another claim is that allowing gays in the military would cause tension amongst the troops who need group cohesion because the group dynamic changes when one member might have sexual feelings for the others. However, this would also mean that women could not serve in the military because they could be attracted to the men (or to each other). Americans should realize that the reasoning for banning gays from the military is similar to the reasons that were offered for not allowing integration of blacks and whites. Both are an affront to America’s position as leader of the free world. If a gay man or woman loves their country so much that they are willing to die for their principles, then the government should not stand in their way and allow them the opportunity. President Obama needs to follow through on his promise and end this disgraceful policy.
President Obama asking to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Published: Thursday, February 11, 2010
Updated: Friday, February 12, 2010 23:02
2 comments
Think Progress's Igor Volsky picked up on a bizarre argument against the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," put forth by Missouri State Senator Gary Nodler during a legislative debate over competing resolutions on whether or not to endorse President Obama's call to end the practice. Here's how Jason Noble of the Kansas City Star reported it:He later said allowing gays to serve openly could represent a "cultural affront" to societies in which the U.S. military is active, "so you would create specific geopolitical strategic dilemmas for the U.S. military -- specifically in the war in Afghanistan."
A Saint Louis Post Dispatch columnist named Tony Messenger interpreted this to mean that Nodler "doesn't want to offend the terrorists," and that's the way Volsky framed it in his post. This led to Nodler offering Think Progress the following clarification:I never said that this would be a cultural affront to terrorists. I don't care what they think. I said it would be a cultuaral [sic] affront to the Muslims in who's [sic] country we are operating. We can not win the hearts and minds of the people by insulting them and ignoring the standards of their culture. This is about the people who live there and the armies we are serving with. Your comment makes the common mistake that all Muslims are terrorists.
Fair enough! The thing is, though, isn't the cat out of the bag as far as people knowing the world over that there are gays and lesbians serving in our military? Seems to me that it is. So, practically speaking, it's way too late to forestall this "cultural affront" about which Nodler is concerned. I think the person who's actually "culturally affronted" is Nodler.For what it's worth here are some other things known to be cultural affronts in the places we are fighting our wars: GITMO, torture, rendition. And just like "Don't Ask Don't Tell," these are also affronts to American culture.