This will be brief -- for all those who are tired of my DADT rants. But I want to respond to the story they're trying to make about the Marines being the branch that's different in opposing the repeal of DADT.
The very wide survey of 400,000 service men and women and their families reveals a pretty surprising result: a large majority (about 70%) says there will be little or no problem with the repeal.
Except for the Marines, where the majority oppose the repeal. Seems they think their vaunted macho reputation will be diluted by allowing gays to serve openly (as opposed to allowing them to continue to serve as long as they don't reveal it) - and they also trot out the line about the intimacy of the battlefield, sleeping next to each other, etc. etc.
The other big factor is that the top Marine generals also oppose it and have done so vocally. So leadership and sensitivity training might take care of a lot of this.
But here is the little-remarked thing at the end that we should put up there is bold type.
Marines also pride themselves on discipline, on following orders, and on excelling at whatever they do. Marine Lt. Col. Hackett is quoted as saying that "every good Marine follows orders, and if that's what the president orders, I can tell you by God we're going to excel above and beyond the other services to make it happen and be damn good at it."
So there you have it: just issue the orders, and the Marines can be counted on to hop to and have the best record on integrating their gay brothers.
Tell that to John McCain -- see if he spins around once again.
Ralph
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We learned with the civil rights laws that you can't change peoples' hearts and minds with laws.
ReplyDeleteBUT you can pass laws that require the conditions (like integration) that put people in situations that allow them to have new experiences and learn from those experiences -- besides correcting the injustice for those who have been discriminated against.
So that lesson should apply here: the Marines, because of their pride and discipline, will do what they are ordered to do, and by God they will make it work and be the best at it.
So -- give them the chance. It will be a marvelous demonstration. If you can just keep the posturing McCains and the homophobic generals from messing it all up.
Anterior to this argument is something much simpler - the right to "be" trumps the rights of others to have "preferences." I understand that DADT was in some ways a sort of reasonable compromise at an earlier time in our history [even though it was as absurd then as it is now]. It was a way to shut people up about an absurd argument over something that didn't really have much to do with being a soldier.
ReplyDeleteBut times have changed. Homosexual is now an accepted category in the world at large - something to "be." There is no rational argument that would support DADT at this point - only "preferences" of non-homosexuals. "Preferences" are not rights.
Having been in the military for a while, I can think of no aspect of military life that's decided by "preferences." In fact, the digital nature of military discipline is a hallmark of the service and the chain of command. As you say, "Marines ... will do what they are ordered to do, and by God they will make it work and be the best at it." [including the generals].
Now that I think about it, this whole topic of "preferences" and "choice" are particularly poignant in a discussion of DADT.
ReplyDeleteYou've just triggered one of my smoke-coming-out-of-my-ears rants from days past -- at least it's not quite as bad as it used to be -- but inevitably in discussion of gay rights some pious Christian woman would draw herself up and declare, "Well, I don't believe in the gay life style."
ReplyDeleteAs if that was all there was to be said. Herself had spoken, and it was not all right to be gay, thank you very much.
How soon we forget. I hadn't heard that for a while, but talk of "preference" brought back the outrage.