Brain Lemon

Tonight brought news that the House of Representatives has approved an amendment that will repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of the military.  For my cave-dwelling friends, this policy in effect demands that gays serving in the military must never be asked about their orientation, and in turn must never reveal it lest they be dismissed from service.  The policy is a relic of an era when it was feared that open gays would cause severe disruption to the workings of the military.  To that effect, it was decided that in order to still permit gays to serve, they must effectively pretend to be straight for the duration of their service.

The policy itself is wrong for many reasons.  To summarize a few of the big ones:

• It accepts the premise that being gay is something that is shameful and must be hidden.  This is, at base, a religious and moral judgment that has no place being used to justify policy.
• It suggests that our troops are all raging homophobes who are unable to handle gays in their midst.  It also suggests troops are not smart enough to know who is gay to begin with.
• It results in the dismissal of perfectly qualified, patriotic soldiers whose only sin is not being straight.  Just from a logical perspective, this seems like a silly reason to reject otherwise fine people.

These reasons could go on and on, but that has been done in other places in great detail.  My own view is this – it is an outdated policy that has no place in a society that endeavors to be fair and tolerant.  Those aren’t just buzzwords – we need to move towards being a country that accepts any personal choice that causes no harm to others.  In that regard, repealing DADT is an important step in that direction.  My hope is that we can continue this trend, though we have a long way to go.

Those opposing it need to ask themselves some serious questions.  First, is your opposition based in whole or in part on a view that homosexuality is sinful and wrong?  Second, if you do believe it is wrong, do you feel that this belief should be translated into public policy?  If so, then you should ask yourself why you feel like you have the right to impose your views on others, and whether you truly believe in personal freedom.  I’m sad to say many of my conservative friends will fall into this category.