Do Ask, Do Tell

image from cbsnews.com

I was never a big fan of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, implemented by former Pres. Bill Clinton. Over the years I've often found myself at the epicenter of some hotly contested debates with some of my fellow homosexuals on the subject. To me, it just seemed redundant, seemed to be that if the military didn't want to ask, they didn't and if a soldier didn't want to tell, they didn't and everyone kept to their closets, just like the military wanted them to. Sure, there was some gay bashing going on, but there are a signifigant number of heterosexual women who are raped and beaten by their heterosexual male colleagues in the military all the time too. That seems to be much more of an issue than does consensual sexual contact between two parties. Besides, when one finds themselves out on the battlefield, with bullets whizzing past and mortar shells exploding just feet away, I'm pretty sure another soldier's sexual orientation is just about the penultimate thing on the mind. My first thought would be "why in the hell am I out here?" Eh, but that's just me.
Besides, it just seemed to me that Don't ask Don't tell was a bit of a slap in the face, it was a way of perpertrating bigotry, and at the same time calling oneself progressive.

It appears that with the drain on our military due to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and fewer and fewer new enrollees, the military is in some dire need of assistance in the form of warm bodies to carry guns into the battlefield. And just in time, Barack Obama has announced that he will be ending the archane Don't ask, Don't Tell policy, that's if he can get it past congress. I must say I applaud him for the gesture, however, the timing seems to be, well, suspect. I mean, really, now that you've got no one else to fight Bush's war, you want us gays? Hurumph.

One of my promises for this year is to be more positive, so I'm going to look at it from a positive perspective and simply say HOORAY for the progress, with minimum reservation in regards to the motivation.

Now, Mr. Obama, whatcha gonna do about this One Man, One Woman silliness?