Monday, June 8, 2009

Outrage on "Don't Ask Don't Tell"

Ok, I voted for Obama and feel that overall he has made some great headway in the future of this country. Where I feel like I have been cheated is one of cornerstones for which I voted for him, and that is that he said he was going to repeal the don't ask, don't tell policy. A policy that I believe is unfair discriminatory, and has been abused. It seems that there are many American soldiers that are being discharged under this policy that are true American heroes. Now the Obama administration is not even getting involved in the court systems to help repeal this policy. See video below.





The soldiers’ have enough to worry about without worrying that someone is going to out them, especially these days, with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. With roadside bomb, suicide bombers, and the heightened tempers of the natives’ the last thing any soldier needs to worry about is if their lifestyle is going to put them in the unemployment line. The next video that I have provided on this site is from the Rachel Maddow Show. She interviews an Air Force pilot that has served 18 years, and is highly decorated. Though his story is not unique, I do feel that it puts a face to, what seems until recently, a faceless issue.






I will end this week’s blog with a personal story and then some comments. First, when I was eighteen years old I was in talks with the Marine Corp. to become one of them. My dream was to become a Seal, and thought that I had what it took. I knew that is was years of work and utter dedication, but knew in my heart I was up to the task. After a number of sessions with one of the recruiters asking questions, finding out what all was involved I thought that I was ready. Then something happened, something that I do not regret, but something that put the brakes on becoming a Marine all together. That something was that I met the love of my life, and that someone was another man. Though I was dealing with a lot of issues that come with coming out of the closet, one of the main issues that I had to face was, could I serve as a Marine and keep my lifestyle hidden. An even a harder question that I had to ask myself was, do I want to? These questions inevitably led to others, but most of all it led to rage. Rage that I could not serve my country and be gay at the same time, that I could not have the most important person in my life stand beside me as I chased a dream. This leads me to some final thoughts on this subject.

It seems to me that all of us are searching for the same thing on this earth, and that is a way to chase our dreams and person to share those dreams with. Sure your dream may not be the same as the next persons, but we all just want the opportunity. As a kid we all wanted to wonderful and beautiful things like doctors, firemen, policemen, or maybe a soldier. Why is it if you want to be a soldier that you have to hide who you really are? It should not matter what your sexual orientation is, as long as you are willing to stand and fight for your country. Why is it that only straight men and women are allowed to be open about who they want to come home to? Why is it that when this country needs more and more soldiers, that we have discharged 1,200 soldiers just because they are gay? It seems to me that a those few soldiers that are gay and choose to hide who they are just for the chance to serve their country are the most patriotic, and are truly the ones that are willing to sacrifice the most. When you are willing to hide who you are just for a chance to serve and possibly die for this country, I think those men and women are the true heroes.
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