Finally, Congress makes a vote that matters. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is gone. Link it:
Even though I’m primed to pontificate on this issue as usual, a quote from the link says it all:
"I don't see what difference (sexual orientation) makes in the fighting military," said Melnikow, a public health researcher. "What's the big deal?"I don’t see the difference either. During my four proud years as a soldier at Ft. Stewart, Ga., I am certain that a handful of my fellow soldiers were homosexuals. None of them gave any overt outward appearances, but there were a few situations- some with them talking about it in strict confidence- that cast aside all doubt. Did it matter to the others in my unit? Not at all, at least not to me. There may have been a few knuckleheads (well, maybe more than a few) who if they knew for sure would have made a move for their discharge, but it wasn’t my business, so I just served alongside them.
The downside of the policy was the abused “escape hatch” clause in it that would allow soldiers to be discharged by claiming they could no longer hide their homosexuality. A quick few meetings with the chaplain and you were gone. Your discharge was dishonorable, but if you wanted out, you got it. I know a female soldier who was briefly (very briefly) assigned to my unit that used it. She was a good worker, very pleasant, but after a few weeks began subtly asking how you can be chaptered out from her enlistment. She didn’t like and couldn’t adapt to Army life, and it was apparently too far into her contract to be sent home for her inability to do so. So, she told the chaplain she was having lesbian thoughts and tendencies, and for such she was quickly ushered home.
But those days are soon to be gone. And thank God they are. I said God. Yes I did.
The time has come to understand that it is God who is the ultimate judge of heavenly worth for His children, not us. This issue screams that fact very clearly. If a homosexual man or woman wants to serve their country with honor, let them do so. The whole concept that homosexuality is ruining the fabric of America is ludicrous. Homosexuality has been around longer than our country has existed, and I wager it will be here long after we’re gone, and I doubt that future historians will point to the gay population as the cause of it. Hate the sin, love the sinner may be an apocryphal anecdote, but it speaks to the crux of true Christianity.
Why is it we find radical Islamists who convert and oppress by spewing hate and violence distasteful, but yet say nothing when Christians love to do the same to homosexuals?
Not every gay man wears women’s clothes and works as a hairdresser. Guess what? There’s a bunch of heterosexual males who do the same thing, but because they have the ability to procreate no body lashes out against them. We just shudder at all that wasted sperm out there. And there are just as many heterosexual men out there who couldn’t handle the stress of rigorous training and combat, so please don’t labor under the notion that straight equals tough guy.
There are tough, motivated, and brave men from every walk of life, and since our nation’s defense lies in the decisions of volunteers to step up and make a commitment, we shouldn’t be in the business of limiting the pool of available candidates.
We used to sing a marching cadence with the phrase “pick up your weapon and follow me.” If any man or woman is willing to faithfully hear that call, I would be proud to be followed by- or follow for that matter- anyone who had the courage to muster.
Thank you, Congress. Now apply the same common sense to the rest of the docket, and we may get somewhere.
Chip Grefski
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