The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a nonpartisan legal services group providing counsel to troops discharged under the policy, said the survey’s design may yield skewed results…. “Surveying the troops is unprecedented; it did not happen in 1948 when President Truman ended segregation and it did not happen in 1976 when the service academies opened to women,” SLDN executive director Aubrey Sarvis said. “Even when the military placed women on ships at sea, the Pentagon did not turn to a survey on how to bring about that cultural change.”
I understand that we live in a different world than when segregation in the military was ended and when service academies opened their doors to women. Somehow, though, our government managed to muster the moral courage to do the right thing and stop treating a class of people as second-class citizens. In today’s world, making a change is apparently more subtle, more nuanced, and…wait a minute, that’s total bulls—t. Doing the right thing, like ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, is still a simple thing. An executive order, or an order from the Secretary of Defense…and problem solved. Yet, instead of displaying even the bare minimum of moral courage, both the President and the Secretary of Defense are attempting to finesse the process so that they can appear to be all things to all people. They could send the clear and unmistakable message that our armed forces will not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation. Instead, hatred and repression will continue to be an implied chapter of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for the time being.
The latest embarrassment is the survey sent to 400,000 active duty and reserve troops (you can see the survey here). OK, so I was a history major, and as such I may not be well-versed in the subtle nuances of policy considerations. Still, I can’t shake the impression that this survey is just so much mental masturbation, intended to provide cover for dragging this process out until the end of the year. At that time, President Obama will hold a news conference to announce the end of DADT, the Joint Chiefs will pat themselves on the back, and everyone will act as if history is upon us. What a load of crap. Military talking heads parrot the company line that the survey will help if DADT is ended. In reality, it’s just so much obfuscation, stall tactics designed to allow the military to continue DADT and it’s harrassment and persecution of homosexuals as long as they possibly can. That Gays and Lesbians simply want to serve their country in the same way heterosexuals do seems secondary to a military culture thoroughly steeped in fear, ignorance, and hatred. The military has for so long been terrified of catching “The Gay” that they’ve allowed the promulgation of a policy that runs directly counter to their stated goal of protecting this nation’s security.
Really, how hard is it to do the right thing? How difficult is it for a President to simply declare that, going forward, our armed forces will not discriminate based on sexual orientation? How much of a challenge is it for our military to evaluate soldiers based on competence and professionalism? How tough is it to do what needs to be done?
Apparently, it’s tough enough that it requires a survey. At times like this, I’m embarrassed to be an American. I love my country, but this is an occasion when I thoroughly detest what it stands for…because “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” doesn’t end with “unless you’re a homosexual”.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
