Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

I am glad that Barack Obama has stopped the nonsense and ordered the Pentagon to put an end to the policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

According to this law, approved during Bill Clinton’s time and in effect for 17 years, homosexuals cannot serve openly in the United States military. Gays can serve in the military as long as they don’t reveal their sexual orientation, and their superiors are prohibited from making any type of investigation concerning subordinate’s tendencies.

Repealing this law might cause some management problems since they’ll have to decide how accommodations will be organized and if gay couples will enjoy the same benefits as straight couples, but it’s about time.

It’s not that I am suddenly coming out of the closet; at my age and after so many incarnations, my preferences are well established, but this issue seemed terribly cynical to me.

You might not know that at the end of the Vietnam War, since there were not enough soldiers to go around, the “queen for a day” rule was in effect, which allowed homosexuals caught red-handed to remain in the unit and to continue fighting as long as they swore that they had only done it once.

You tell me what danger it poses to the security, discipline or effectiveness of a battalion that some of its male members prefer the company of men and not women.

Alexander the Great’s love affair with Hephaestion and fondness for wearing Athena’s silver dress did not impede him from conquering the world.

Scipio Africanus’ fondness for hardened legionnaires did not stop him either. The same can be said of Richard the Lionhearted, who was open to anything and who wrote poetry.

Courage, tactical sense, willingness to sacrifice and love for the homeland have little to do with sex.