When he took to the floor of the United States Senate shortly before the historical vote to end the military’s “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” policy, SEN John McCain cried out in anger, “Today is a very sad day,” and announced, “There will be high-fives over all the liberal bastions of America,” from “the elite schools that bar military recruiters from campus” to “the salons of Georgetown.”
As someone who has served for more than 20 years, having moved from the ranks through company commander, this is not a “very sad day”, it is a day long over due. Whether you support the homosexual/lesbian lifestyle or not, this has been a disastrous policy which has hurt – not helped – our military. Millions of dollars have been spent to train troops and then to discharge them. Discharge them, not because they’re wounded or can’t perform their duties, but because they’re gay. How does that make any sense, fiscal or otherwise?
Those – including McCain – opposed to the decision have been using, and continue to use, the same tired arguments espoused before desegregation of the military. They claim that it will cost the military recruiting numbers, that straight young men and women will not join now because they’ll be serving with “those people”. Some right-wing gas bags like Rush Limbaugh have claimed it will be necessary to reinstate the draft to fill quotas. Of course Rush also claimed the President was taking over the car industry.
Face it Senator, and everyone else who is afraid some “homo” will be scoping you out, there have been gays and lesbians, serving, fighting, bleeding and dying for as long as we’ve had armed forces. This is not the end of the military, nor is the beginning of the end of the republic.
The Liberty Tree 