A lot was made last week ““ particularly in the Daily Bruin
““ of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t
tell” policy. Both columnist Jason O’Bryan and The
Bruin’s editorial board made it unequivocally clear: They
want the policy eliminated (“Time to close the door on
“˜don’t ask, don’t tell,'” Feb. 17;
“Please ask, please tell ““ the quiet is taking a
toll,” Feb. 15).
I disagree. First of all, O’Bryan calls the policy
“morally corrupt.” Essentially, then, he is dictating
to the military what is right and wrong, and he and the board want
the government to change its policy based on their perceptions of
morality.
Not only is that insane, it is hypocritical. The editorial board
has condemned President Bush and the Republicans for legislating
morality. However, now they only seem to be saying they don’t
like it when people legislate based on conservative views of
morality. But if it’s a liberal perspective, well, then
that’s okay.
First, let’s get a few things straight: Less than half the
country believes homosexuality should be accepted, and 44 percent
believe it should be actively discouraged, according to the Pew
Research Center.
Also, O’Bryan compares the gay movement to the black civil
rights movement. That is not only completely ignorant but
incredibly insulting to blacks whose civil rights movement was
directed by black churches and preachers such as Martin Luther King
Jr., who probably wouldn’t have been too keen on
O’Bryan’s analogy. Also, 60 percent of blacks today
view gays unfavorably, according to Pew.
The point here, though, is not whether homosexuality is moral or
immoral, as O’Bryan attempts to argue. The point is whether
the U.S. military should allow openly gay individuals to
enlist.
The editorial board argued that the military should allow openly
gay enlistees because it would facilitate debate and
discussion.
Are you kidding me? The military is not a college classroom or a
Starbucks. Based on this, it is evident that the board and its
members know very little about the military. The military is not
“discussion time.”
People are given orders, and they carry them out. People’s
lives depend upon how successfully those orders are carried out. It
is about discipline and training.
In the Army, with which I am most familiar, there is a deep
trust and camaraderie that develops between soldiers. They are
responsible for each other’s lives. If there is no trust, the
whole thing doesn’t work. And if there is no comfort, there
is no trust.
The barracks is not a place for sexuality. It has nothing to do
with the mission to which these men have dedicated their lives. If
people in the Army are uncomfortable with homosexuality or believe
it is immoral, they are as much entitled to that opinion as
O’Bryan is entitled to his.
But because the men and women sacrifice and commit themselves to
the service of their country in the military, their opinions holds
more weight in this regard. How dare anyone tell them what they
should feel comfortable or uncomfortable with?
O’Bryan is right about one thing: They are fighting for
freedom abroad so we can be free at home. Yet O’Bryan, as
iterated earlier, wants to censor their free speech because it does
not mirror what he thinks is “right.”
The men and women of the military don’t have to succumb to
that version of right and wrong. They happen to have their own
views. In the Army, 85 percent are male, and 57 percent of men in
the general population view gays unfavorably; 23 percent of the
Army is black, and 60 percent of blacks view gays unfavorably.
Obviously, the military does not survey enlistee’s
political opinions or their views on homosexuality. However, it is
reasonable to take scientifically accurate polls of the general
population and compare them to the demographics of the Army.
The picture is unequivocally clear: Members of the army would
not be comfortable sleeping next to a gay and would not appreciate
the elimination of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
That is why it will never be relinquished.
I would forgo my plans to enlist if they ever did eliminate it.
The facts make it clear many others would too.
Brown is a fourth-year political science student.