Archived Article from 2010 on Don't Ask Don't Tell

I've been reading through my past op-ed pieces and found this one and felt it an appropriate post following pride weekend around the world...

With all the recent buzz about DADT, a sampling of marines were surveyed as to whether there would be an issue with openly gay active duty soldiers within their ranks.  I am offended that a survey like this was even administered. What if that survey, instead, questioned whether there would be an issue with openly Italian active duty soldiers, or Jewish, or whatever. Imagine don’t ask don’t tell was about religion instead of sexuality. But now that I say that out loud it doesn’t seem like we’re heading too far from that anyway. According to the survey, the majority of marines reported that having openly gay soldiers in their ranks would affect morale and would be negative overall for the force. Is it reasonable to think that because we are willing to question the legitimacy of gays in the military that we will soon be questioning the legitimacy of Muslims and those that practice Islam in the military?

There is something so arbitrary about excluding people from military service based on specific non-physical attributes.  My theory is if people willingly submit themselves to such a lifestyle, willingly strip their physical identities – hair and clothes -  for the uniformity of soldier solidarity, and willingly take oaths of fidelity and integrity to the cause of furthering the American agenda, then it doesn’t really matter what color, race, creed, ethnicity or sexual orientation this military force is comprised.  They’re all given the mission to hold the course of our American world superpower epoch.  And at this point, with massive rifts looming over the path forward for domestic governance, WikiLeaks airing out dirty foreign policy laundry, and economy-destabilizing wars in progress, I think those who hold strong to the notion that American colors don’t run should also want to fortify our military coffers with as many able bodied persons as possible.